Growing Your Own Trophies

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: Goose

All I have to say is AGE!!

That would be the one we have the most control over.  We can't make a deer eat something, we cannot manipulate the genetics, but we can let them walk and get another year older.

[buckhunter21]

ORIGINAL: ranwin33

It's a little more difficult to grow big deer than just laying out minerals and vitamins on a food plot.  You can do that all day long and still not have big deer. 

So yes, Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett should still exist.  They serve as a standard for some, a goal for others, and a testament to what we as sportsmen can achieve through proper conservation practices.

Additionally these clubs go beyond just maintaining a system to objectively measure big game animals - they also serve as organizations involved in conservation practices relating to game animals.

 
I agree 110%!!

[upatreestand75]

Big deer have 3 things that make them that. Age, Genetics, and Nutrition!  In that order I'm pretty sure.  Not all deer get to be 170" plus.  Letting the young'uns walk is the only way to tell what the genetics are in your area.  Do that while putting in a few food plots and mineral licks (also needed for your does) and you can see the biggest racks that your area will produce.  Afew miles from me I had a friend kill a massive 5 yearold.  He had a pinky thin rack which had 8 points and a kicker that grossed 122".  He has put out plots and minerals for years to the point of wasting money I think.  Last Xmas I arrowed a 3 1/2 year old 10 point that went 135.  No plots or minerals were here at that time.  You have to be where big bucks have been known to come from usually.  I planted summer plots and set 2 mineral sites this year. I have a 10 point that I am after this year.  He was a nine last year. I will post pics of him.  He added approx 30 " this year, but we did have excellent rain for native browse.

[Cut N Run]

Even though bigger bucks are more likely to be found on lightly hunted larger tracts of land and managed properties with food and mineral plots, every now & then a bruiser buck will be taken off heavily hunted public land nowhere near places where bucks are artifically grown.  For that reason alone P&Y and B&C ought to stand.
 
I believe there ought to be a private versus public land designation added to each book qualifying buck. To me, a public book buck is more impressive than one taken off private land.
 
Jim

[KSbowhunter]

IMO-round these parts the free-ranging bigger bucks are found both on public and private land. The public lands all border private ground and not all private lands are lightly hunted.
 
Not to mention in agricultural areas, most farm ground is one large food plot.  Farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land, and raise food as a source nutrition for humans, livestock, etc. including wildlife.
 
There is no difference between p&y/b&c deer from private or public grounds.  A hunter can greatly increase his opportunity at a trophy class animal by scouting, being a good steward to the land, and spending as much time as possible in the woods; just as every now & then a hunter will take a bruiser buck by stumbling into the right place at the right time. It makes no difference where the trophy is taken from, as long as it is free-ranging.

[Cut N Run]

ORIGINAL: KSbowhunter

IMO-round these parts the free-ranging bigger bucks are found both on public and private land. The public lands all border private ground and not all private lands are lightly hunted.

Not to mention in agricultural areas, most farm ground is one large food plot.  Farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land, and raise food as a source nutrition for humans, livestock, etc. including wildlife.

There is no difference between p&y/b&c deer from private or public grounds.  A hunter can greatly increase his opportunity at a trophy class animal by scouting, being a good steward to the land, and spending as much time as possible in the woods; just as every now & then a hunter will take a bruiser buck by stumbling into the right place at the right time. It makes no difference where the trophy is taken from, as long as it is free-ranging.

 
I have a friend in Virginia who owns 1,000 acres where he manages the deer strictly in that he doesn't shoot a buck until it reaches 5 1/2 years of age.  His trophy room is covered in huge-racked bucks that look like they come from a long ways from here.  Just down the road from him on the public land, a 130's class buck raises eyebrows.  I'm not saying that it is easier to take a big buck off private managed land, but it is easier than taking them consistently off hard-hunted public land.
 
The deer just don't grow as big in this part of the world as they do in Kansas, plus they are pursued harder.  A true trophy book buck is pretty rare around here.  Check the record books.  North Carolina didn't even have a typical buck registered into the B&C book until the mid-1980's.  Public versus private land is comparing apples to oranges around here.  Not that huge deer don't come off public land, but the ones on private are usually not pursued as hard, or there may be self-imposed antler restrictions on private land (like on our lease), so they stand a better chance of growing larger.
 
Jim

[ranwin33]

I understand what you're saying about the public versus private land issue - however, much of private land is in less than 100 acre lots.  Given that deer travel, I'd have to say that unless it's behind a high fence, finding the really big deer is pretty difficult in either case, no matter how well the private land is managed.  And I don't think deer behind a fence are considered fair chase and considered for the books.

[JPH]

quote:

ORIGINAL: Elkinde 

"XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX Game Farm and Hunting Preserve is a family owned and operated whitetail deer farm in central XXXXXXXXX. We have been raising whitetail deer since 1977 are are well known for providing world-class whitetail genetics all across the United States. We have sold many bucks as breeders scoring over 200 gross B&C. These great deer were all born and raised on our XXXXXXXXXX Game Farm. Most of the bucks we have used for breeding over the past several years have scored between 250 and 492. These great deer were ALL born and raised on our XXXXXXXXX Game Farm. Many of the 300+ inch bucks in the industry also come from our genetics.

Witness Our Hunting Action & Genetics Video Online! Click XXXXXto see it now!

In 1999, we opened up XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX Hunting Preserve to the public. The preserve was initially stocked with quality bucks and does that come almost entirely from 200+ class breeding stock. It is our goal as managers of the preserve to provide hunters with the opportunity to harvest the buck of a lifetime. and nearly everyone who has hunted with us has been able to take the biggest buck of their lives.



Here are a few of our happy hunters from 2009!




Please feel free to e-mail or phone us if you require more information, or have any questions. Thanks for visiting"
 
Wow! ^ Talk about your delayed fuse spam-bomb!

That was a 5 month set-up! Haha!

[SHKYBoonie]

ORIGINAL: Elkinde

XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX Game Farm and Hunting Preserve is a family owned and operated whitetail deer farm in central XXXXXXXXX. We have been raising whitetail deer since 1977 are are well known for providing world-class whitetail genetics all across the United States. We have sold many bucks as breeders scoring over 200 gross B&C. These great deer were all born and raised on our XXXXXXXXXX Game Farm. Most of the bucks we have used for breeding over the past several years have scored between 250 and 492. These great deer were ALL born and raised on our XXXXXXXXXX Game Farm. Many of the 300+ inch bucks in the industry also come from our genetics.

Witness Our Hunting Action & Genetics Video Online! Click HERE to see it now!

In 1999, we opened up XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX Hunting Preserve to the public. The preserve was initially stocked with quality bucks and does that come almost entirely from 200+ class breeding stock. It is our goal as managers of the preserve to provide hunters with the opportunity to harvest the buck of a lifetime. and nearly everyone who has hunted with us has been able to take the biggest buck of their lives.



Here are a few of our happy hunters from 2009!




Please feel free to e-mail or phone us if you require more information, or have any questions. Thanks for visiting

Boy, he really snuck that infomercial right through the back door! LOL

As for big bucks, the only way to get a truly big buck is to hunt where the big bucks live. Sure you can get a little more out of a buck supplying it with good nutrition at the right times of year and age will almost always be the best way for a buck to reach his growth potential, but if the biggest buck you have had come out of your area is a 130", that's about all you will get out of that area. I have hunted on farms in MS that had been over populated for so many years that we were killing 5 1/2 yr. olds that didn't have 90" on their heads. The inner breeding had caused the genetics to go South. Once it has been messed up that bad, it's really hard to get it back. I think there is alot of skill in pursuing big, old bucks, but I have been in and seen situations where luck was the biggest factor. Being in the right place at the right time in the right area has alot to do with it IMO. To make deer in a certain area be the best they can be, you have to use ALL of the management resources available. Not just good food and minerals! That's only a small part of the BIG picture.

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: SHKYBoonie
... but if the biggest buck you have had come out of your area is a 130", that's about all you will get out of that area.

 
I would agree with this only to a point.  But it all depends on the factors behind the 130" and can those factors be changed.   Your mention of the 90" 5 1/2 year old deer is a prime example.  Kill enough of them so over population isn't a problem and give them an environment that provides appropriate nutrion.  Since deer do not live in a closed environment inbreeding if it is occuring would then not be a problem and those 90's would get bigger.