roymunson
5 year old buck +
This is simply anecdotal evidence, but in taking an inventory of the deer this summer, we're seeing a noticable uptick in health of deer and size of racks. Which is kind of the goal.
When we started hunting this area it was 2013. there were some nice deer, but not anything like the overall quality we have now. In 2014 we started with habitat work. Food plots, bedding cover, less pressure on deer, sanctuary, hinge cutting, TSI work, etc. We've focused on different things at different times, but overall, have tried to make the ground the deer are living on, more conducive to deer health.
Here's the crux of my point/question. If you have a deer that's spent its entire 5 year life in prime habitat, with the exact same genetic makeup, will it out perform a deer that has only been in that prime habitat for the last 2-3 years of it's life?
We've noticed our yearling and younger deer having bigger bodies and larger 1st and second year racks. We're finally getting some of the deer that were born after we started hunting the land to maturity. And we're starting to see a noticeable uptick in the body size, antler size, antler points, etc on our bucks. Does are better fed when they're pregnant, and the whole deal.
When I type it out, it seems pretty obvious, but I guess I just didn't expect to see such a noticeable difference once some of those deer born into the good habitat reached maturity. Or is it something that cycles from year to year?
When we started hunting this area it was 2013. there were some nice deer, but not anything like the overall quality we have now. In 2014 we started with habitat work. Food plots, bedding cover, less pressure on deer, sanctuary, hinge cutting, TSI work, etc. We've focused on different things at different times, but overall, have tried to make the ground the deer are living on, more conducive to deer health.
Here's the crux of my point/question. If you have a deer that's spent its entire 5 year life in prime habitat, with the exact same genetic makeup, will it out perform a deer that has only been in that prime habitat for the last 2-3 years of it's life?
We've noticed our yearling and younger deer having bigger bodies and larger 1st and second year racks. We're finally getting some of the deer that were born after we started hunting the land to maturity. And we're starting to see a noticeable uptick in the body size, antler size, antler points, etc on our bucks. Does are better fed when they're pregnant, and the whole deal.
When I type it out, it seems pretty obvious, but I guess I just didn't expect to see such a noticeable difference once some of those deer born into the good habitat reached maturity. Or is it something that cycles from year to year?