Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Just curious, are you generally relying on a shooter from the current year to make it through the season for next year or relying on a 3.5-4.5 to make it through and put on enough inches to make the mark?
You don’t count on the game ranch!Both.
Just curious, are you generally relying on a shooter from the current year to make it through the season for next year or relying on a 3.5-4.5 to make it through and put on enough inches to make the mark?
For sure me too, just curious if it’s more common for folks to have an already mature deer to make it or a younger deer blown up?I am not picky and will take them anyway I can get them. I am hoping to get them to 5 in most of the spots I have don’t care as much about rack size as I do age.
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It is more common for me to have an already mature deer 5 or 6 year old. Our highest scoring deer are 4 yr olds. Might be one - two at very most. May have three or four older deer. By the time they are 7, dont want to shoot them anywayFor sure me too, just curious if it’s more common for folks to have an already mature deer to make it or a younger deer blown up?
I have an across the road neighbor with 1400 acres under high fence. I help him burn in the winter and it is alarming the number of older dead bucks we found while burning. He said with the 1.1 buck doe ratio he maintained, a lot of them died to fighting each other.Ideally, I like to watch them grow until they are 5.5+. Rarely works out though, as too many get killed by other bucks during the rut or simply disappear.
Same experience at my buddies place. I’ve found several deadheads shed huntingI have an across the road neighbor with 1400 acres under high fence. I help him burn in the winter and it is alarming the number of older dead bucks we found while burning. He said with the 1.1 buck doe ratio he maintained, a lot of them died to fighting each other.
Yes, I find them quite often after a burn, including this one (174). Last year a 160 was found dead fresh from a buck fight. Took a tine right into the lung and killed him.I have an across the road neighbor with 1400 acres under high fence. I help him burn in the winter and it is alarming the number of older dead bucks we found while burning. He said with the 1.1 buck doe ratio he maintained, a lot of them died to fighting each other.
Yeah this is what I was getting at. I don’t have a no doubt shooter anymore. Had 4 coming into the season. One disappeared so most likely dead as it was a homebody. One the neighbor shot, one I shot and one is still hanging around but he is borderline. So my only hope is one of the younger deer blow up.Depends which property and which state, to be honest.
Many differences between my two MN properties even though they are only a few miles apart. Most of that has to do with parcel size, neighbor impacts, and quality of cover. At my house I get to watch more deer and see them grow, rarely do they get to 5 years old here and even then they aren't huge, 150" is a very big buck for this micro area. Down the road I have a small(er) parcel where the neighbor size is larger, but the pressure is still high. There are some real chances for 160-180" deer over there although I need to do some work to my property to get those big mature deer to spend more time over there. Usually always a good one that survives and another one or two that blow up in this area, my guess is slightly improved genetics with better age opportunity.
ETA: The deer density is pretty high at my home property and much lower 3 miles down the road.
In WI, that property had three 160"+ shooters my first year on the property, and I tagged one. Another one got shot opening day of rifle, and one survived. I tagged him this year but there wasn't another shooter (my criteria) on the property. There was one other shooter very infrequently this summer but never saw a pic of him hard horned. There were several up and comers that I hope make it to replenish the stock for next year. Time will tell.
Deer density is very high on this property as well. We'll be working on that this weekend.
I've always heard/read that new mature bucks will slot into openings left by other deer if the habitat is desirable. I hope for your sake and mind that's true. I guess we'll find out next year.Yeah this is what I was getting at. I don’t have a no doubt shooter anymore. Had 4 coming into the season. One disappeared so most likely dead as it was a homebody. One the neighbor shot, one I shot and one is still hanging around but he is borderline. So my only hope is one of the younger deer blow up.
Just didn’t know for the guys who consistently hunt big deer, how the end of the season usually looks for you. Are you consistently waiting on the next cohort or do you usually have shooters make it through?
As far as new deer moving in, so far on this place (2 seasons so small sample size) I haven’t seen it. The deer I’m hunting this year were present last year.
I go for maturity also,like tonight I have a big 6pt that always bullies other bucks around and he smashed my decoy tonight.I will shoot him the 31st given the chance. I saw the most aggressive buck fight last night between a 150 10pt and a 1 sided buck.I also found a shed tonight in same field that had alot of skull so must have come out in a fight.These bucks aren't acting rutty they are acting aggressive towards other bucks so i can see how right now they could get severely injured