question need help confused

[GRISWOLD]

i lease 250 acres of prime hunting land lots of all age bucks but an obscene amount of does  will i make the buck hunting  even better if i slim the doe herd down or leave well enough alone

[LIVE2HUNT6969]

I have a similar situation at hand, I see alot of 1 1/2- 3 1/2 year old bucks of camera and even some mature older bucks, but the property holds alot of does. During the pre rut (seeking&chasing) I saw smaller bucks on the hoof quite often, and a few of the nicer bucks in the area but no where near what I had been expecting to see. The better your herd is 1-1 for buck to doe will force those buck to get on there feet and find them before another buck does. I belive after some of the bordering properties took over 15 does, and also we took a few off our land that next year will produce a much higher buck sighting during the year and during the rut especially. They arent as active during a time when they should be simply because they dont have to be, there are enough females in areas these bucks no without the competion of several other bucks finding them at the same time so basically there alot less prone to be on the hoof as much as they should be. Slimming your doe heard will not only improve your overall herd quality, healthier deer, healther fawn offspring, but much improved quality of action during the rut...I hope this is helpfull information you! - Kyle

[logawhit01]

I believe that as long as the rut is over, (it is unless you are in Texas, Lousianna, or Alabama and Florida) You should be shooting the adult does.
 
I am real careful to not shoot the young ones because there is a chance that you will shoot a button buck.
Also beware that you don't shoot ALL your Mature Does as their home range is in your area and next year they will be your Buck Bait.
I find that if I clean out all the Mature Does that the younger deer disperse to another area.
 
Check out QDMA's Website @ www.qdma.com
 
All those does are eating up your available browse at a rapid rate and when that browse is gone the deer will be gone too.
 

[ranwin33]

Fewer does will create a more active rut as bucks vie for the attention of the fewere remaining does. 
 
A smaller deer population created through the shooting of more does will create a healthier herd in most instances, and that too will provide healthier bucks and most likely a better hunting experience.

[jsjandro]

agreed. shoot your does, it will definately help and remember - the does are harder to keep track of, so the less the better. i do disagree with dont shoot out the mature does. im not saying kill em all, but take them out too.  once you have a handle on your herd, some seasons you might need to shoot an old doe and a mid aged doe, and other years some other combo because what your trying to do with does is keep em stable. remember, shooting an old doe that births 2 or 3 fawns is a world of difference from shooting a fawn doe that may produce 1 fawn next spring. see? its an ongoing game and its a fun one.
 
lots of hunters my way worship does and all qdm to them is is passing young bucks.  having all the does obviously works, my woods was a doe woods its first year i owned it. but the action is much much slower, sure, but slow.  by the way, not shooting does is a good way to screw up the hunting real fast in a lot of ways - just look at wisconsin where i live. everyone here hates shooting does and some people shoot like one outta the 20 in their plot and call that management..lol!! then they all complain there aint no deer and no buck sightings or sign. we've got more deer here than that crazy cat women you know has cats in her house lol..haha...  good luck.

[logawhit01]

To answer what jsjandro said about shooting all the Mature Does,
I guess it depends where you are located and how many Mature Does you have living around you.
What I was getting at was not to shoot ALL of your Mature Does! If you do that here in Georgia you might go the rest of the season without seeing any more deer!
And just how many is ALL? Well that depends on your habitat and land's carrying capacity! Doe have a home range of about 800 acres, Bucks have a home range of 2500-4000 durring the rut! If you shoot all the mature does in your home range you are taking the RUT-READY bait out of the picture. Most of your yearling Does don't get bred untill December or even January so they will not be a real active part of the November Rut! Also remember that Mature Does are very slow to redispurse, so if you do shoot all the Mature Does then the deer who redisperse back into that hole may very well be younger Doe (and yearling Bucks) who get pushed into there by Mature Doe from another area - Therefore you are always reinventing the wheel if you are always shooting All your Mature Does!
 
Shoot a good mix to have a healthy deer herd!