Hunt for a world class typical

[Baker]

Self video of a hunt for a stunning Old Mexico whitetail

 

[omicron1792]

So cool. How many acres there in Mexico @Baker? How many mature deer do you carry a year?

 

[Baker]

So cool. How many acres there in Mexico @Baker? How many mature deer do you carry a year?

We have cobbled together a rather large ranch. 25,000 acres. No clue how many mature deer but safe to say the age structure and buck/doe ratio reflects what nature produces naturally. The deer there behave as deer were normally programmed to behave unlike most herds in the U.S.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Great deer! What did he end up scoring?

 

[Baker]

Great deer! What did he end up scoring?

I will have him officially scored next week to satisfy my curiosity . My preliminary score is 212 5/8. He will net somewhere in the top 5 ever though I won't record him or put him in any contests. Not my deal.

 

[Telemark]

We have cobbled together a rather large ranch. 25,000 acres. No clue how many mature deer but safe to say the age structure and buck/doe ratio reflects what nature produces naturally. The deer there behave as deer were normally programmed to behave unlike most herds in the U.S.

Can you explain that further? What do you see that's different there?

This year where I hunt in Ohio, the deer seemed really different compared to most years.

 

[Baker]

Can you explain that further? What do you see that's different there?

Simple. I contend most deer in the U.S. are paranoid schizophrenic psychotic vampire deer that behave much different than the natural propensity. One exception I'm familiar with is the deer of the Kings Ranch in Tx. There because of a century of essentially no hunting they behave as nature intended not having been grossly harassed by man.

Unmolested deer only use heavy cover lightly. They prefer more open country where they can see and escape predators such as lions. For the most part deer prefer savannah type environments much like the planes of Tanzania Serengeti Unmolested deer move according to weather ,temperature, moon, daylight hours and the natural cycles of the year not as dictated by human pressure. In a natural herd the b/d ratio naturally balances itself at about +/_ 1.5 to 1 ish does to bucks. In a natural herd the age distribution ranges from fawns to an ample sampling of 6 yr old to much older deer. This has a profound effect on all aspects of social behavior.including which bucks do the breeding how mothers teach children nourishment , safety, flood avoidance, thermal adaptation etc etc.

You drive around my ranch in the summer and you'd think nothing exists there. Everything is nocturnal. That gradually shifts into the fall and winter as weather cools and the rut kicks in.Full moon in December, you won't see a deer early or late but strong midday movement. We have some very heavy brush on the ranch. No deer there. They are in the more motted country for the most part. The odds of anything younger than 4 breeding...,zero. The biggest issue deer on the ranch deal with are 1) lions 2) climate 3) getting killed by other deer 4) probably rattlesnakes. Man isn't on the list

I could go on. This what you are looking for?

 

[Telemark]

I could go on. This what you are looking for?

Exactly what I'm looking for. Please continue.

 

[hillrunner]

Simple. I contend most deer in the U.S. are paranoid schizophrenic psychotic vampire deer that behave much different than the natural propensity. One exception I'm familiar with is the deer of the Kings Ranch in Tx. There because of a century of essentially no hunting they behave as nature intended not having been grossly harassed by man.

Unmolested deer only use heavy cover lightly. They prefer more open country where they can see and escape predators such as lions. For the most part deer prefer savannah type environments much like the planes of Tanzania Serengeti Unmolested deer move according to weather ,temperature, moon, daylight hours and the natural cycles of the year not as dictated by human pressure. In a natural herd the b/d ratio naturally balances itself at about +/_ 1.5 to 1 ish does to bucks. In a natural herd the age distribution ranges from fawns to an ample sampling of 6 yr old to much older deer. This has a profound effect on all aspects of social behavior.including which bucks do the breeding how mothers teach children nourishment , safety, flood avoidance, thermal adaptation etc etc.

You drive around my ranch in the summer and you'd think nothing exists there. Everything is nocturnal. That gradually shifts into the fall and winter as weather cools and the rut kicks in.Full moon in December, you won't see a deer early or late but strong midday movement. We have some very heavy brush on the ranch. No deer there. They are in the more motted country for the most part. The odds of anything younger than 4 breeding...,zero. The biggest issue deer on the ranch deal with are 1) lions 2) climate 3) getting killed by other deer 4) probably rattlesnakes. Man isn't on the list

I could go on. This what you are looking for?

Wouldn't man be a natural predator as well? At least for the last several thousand years?
Up until very recently they would have been a year round predator of deer. Native weapons would have been easier to evade but they killed a lot of deer with them.

 

[SwampCat]

Fantastic deer and story. You deserve him!

 

[Telemark]

Wouldn't man be a natural predator as well?

No. There were extensive and sudden extinctions of megafauna wherever humans turned up, and humans spread across the globe fairly recently. Most animals haven't had the time to adapt to human brains and technologies. We are a fundamentally different type of predator. We even domesticated food animals and changed them genetically.