Managing For Fully Mature Bucks

[Admin]

Question for the day: How many acres to you hunt/manage? Are you having any luck in managing for deer older than 4-1/2 years?

[beltcutter]

Oh how I would like to have more property to manage for older age class bucks!  The key to this management is the collaboration of surrounding landowners..if you have a smaller tract, like the 600 acre tract that we enjoy.  The genetic code is in place, soil and food sources are stable, and buck/doe ratios are not too bad.  The last link in the chain we cannot seem to accomplish.  An immature buck is just too tempting for the locals around here, and try as I may, they just don't get it!

[gunther89]

[size="4"][font="times new roman"]With our hunting land, we have about 400 acres to hunt.  The key to growing fully mature bucks is to talk to your neighbors and see if they are letting the young bucks go.  If they are then all you will need to do is keep your buck to doe ratio in check and have a good food source for them all year long.  If you do that, and pass up immature bucks you will have and hopefully see more mature bucks.  Also you can manage your woods as well.  Try and set aside a sanctuary in your woods or create a bedding area for the deer to live.[/font][/size]

[HiddenHornsRanch]

We have 500 acres we are currently managing. It has been untouched for a few years until we took control a couple years ago. Since then we have managed exceptional bucks, some that way up into 160's, but we are still trying to hit a higher class!

[rushboy222]

we manage 80 with a good bit of QDM around us. our problem is doe control, the ratio is not good enough in our area. we, not just our neighbors, need to get the ratio a lot closer to 1:1 because we're not making our bucks travel.

[deerdoc]

I have taught a junior college course on wildlife management and densities are the hardest topic for many of my students to comprehend. The easiest way of looking at it from a small property scale is to use the model and example that has been used here before. In the example used here, 80 acres (if it were prime) could be "home" to about 4 or 6 deer max, depending on your region. However, a mature doe's home range is 200 ac+, so it would never be permanent. See where I'm coming from? The bigger question, which is brought up by the first two posters, is that to manage for fully mature deer, you need to have excellent working relationships with your neighbors. This is hard on 500 acres, so imagine how hard it must be on a couple of 40s.

Great forum. Great site. I'll be back. Thomas H.

[hard county]

We have managed 350 acres for the last ten years and have yet to have killed a four and one half year old buck, several three and a half year olds, but no four and a half year olds. We have killed some does that age and older.

[ohiohunter]

I hunt one a very small part of land...about 70 acres. It is surrounded with parcels of land that are heavily hunted and any buck is in danger. However i killed a 4 1/2 150 class buck this year. I believe it is because I leave half of my land as a sanctuary and all the deer flock to my area.

[loneranger]

If it's brown it's down. That was the phylosophy of majority of hunters, especially firearm hunters, up in MI, and sadly, the same metality out here in IA, where the potential for older animals is much greater. I have only 40 acres to hunt. I leave most of it unmolested by me most of the yr. All I can do. I watched a little yearling all last bow season. I told him to stay on my 40 to be safe, for the up-coming shot gun season. He did not listen. Found him dead in neighbor's creek this spring, shot by someone, and obviously never found.

[jacannon63]

Our lease is 19 years old. We have 2200 acres. We have a 12" min. antler spread and a 6 point min. Each member can kill one 6 point and the other two have to be 8 point or better and all the does you want. We encourage our members not to shoot 2 1/2 year old bucks. Most of the bucks taken are 3 1/2 and older. This season we took two 4 1/2 year old bucks.