Grow ’em Big: Tips on Managing Bucks on Your Property

Managing land for deer doesn’t just mean putting out a few food plots but also includes careful consideration of the number of does and bucks you need to shoot as well as how to manage bucks for whatever size or number you want to have on the property.

GrowemBigVeteran hunter and land manager Steve Bartylla offers some great tips for buck management in the latest episode of Grow ’em Big. First and foremost, Bartylla says, is you need to do what you want to do and have fun with your management plan. Don’t let someone else impose their views upon your hunting happiness because that may not be in the best interests of your property’s potential or, of course, what you want to do.

Bartylla discusses several key topics such as how bucks move and disperse, how does play a big role in this dispersal, how you cannot stockpile bucks and how you cannot significantly impact genetic potential through buck management.

“You’re only going to hold x-number of bucks on your property,” he says. “Offer it everything you can that he wants, and it may increase the number (of bucks) a little bit, but once your management starts humming along you may have more mature bucks than your property can handle. You’re not shaping genetics but you’re making a hole for that 2 1/2-year-old buck to have everything it wants. Take out … the ones that are not desirable to you, and leave the ones that are. That does not impact genetics but it does impact the quality of the hunt you want.”

“Controlling genetics does not work in the wild. But that’s not a reason to not manage your bucks.”

Check out Bartylla’s insights to buck management with this episode of Grow ’em Big, and watch the other episodes of this exclusive webcast to see more great management tips for cameras, habitat, stand placement and other hunting strategies.

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To watch all the episodes of Grow ’em Big, click here.

MORE VIDEOS FROM D&DH:
WATCH: Why Hunters Are Needed in Managing Deer Herds
WATCH: 5 Things Every Deer Hunter Should Know
WATCH: Big Buck Sheds Both Antlers on Camera

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Food Plots for Deer Deer hunting success begins with a solid plan. Before you clear that first food plot, or clear your first trail, make sure you have a good plan in place to make your property hunt as efficiently as possible. www.food-plots-for-deer.com

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