Boll Weevil
5 year old buck +
Agree 100%. Especially considering social and resource capacity this is how I manage.
What is a "Managemernt Deer"?
- Thread starter yoderjac
- Start date
Nova
5 year old buck +
I don't think this fits into the "management buck" category, but I green light older poor racked deer simply to "make space" for a good one. Nothing worse than a 4+ year old bully buck that will never amount to anything taking up space that a good one could have.
I guess with my logic above you could say I'm managing for antlers. To an extent that is true. But I have nothing against shooting a nanny doe to make it easier
^ this exactly, and bully bucks too
trampledbyturtles
5 year old buck +
My definition of buck management
Pass on any 2.5-3.5 deer under 135
Cross fingers an pray the hoard of apostolic poachers don't kill every deer in the surrounding five miles.
Rinse an repeat.
Very few deer survive past 4 years of age, very few. I have run trail cams long enough to figure this out.
As far as Management buck,
Don't have any, not enough live to come up with a criteria.
Pass on any 2.5-3.5 deer under 135
Cross fingers an pray the hoard of apostolic poachers don't kill every deer in the surrounding five miles.
Rinse an repeat.
Very few deer survive past 4 years of age, very few. I have run trail cams long enough to figure this out.
As far as Management buck,
Don't have any, not enough live to come up with a criteria.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I also dont believe in management bucks. We have deer that I would like to see get shot but hunting in a state that only allows us to harvest one buck I'm not going to burn a tag on one of them. It is a rarity for us to hold a buck on our property or area for that mater to watch long enough to determine who is worth another year. I have passed up plenty of 3 and 4 year old bucks over the years and have never seen them again or heard of them getting harvested. Also have a couple of NEW mature bucks move in every year that we never saw before. Some of them stay the next season some dont.
If I decide to hunt the late muzzleloader season I MAY harvest a 4+ with less than "trophy" antlers If I think that he is one of those "Bully" bucks but prob wouldnt. Like I said it isnt a sure bet that it will be around the next year anyway.
If I decide to hunt the late muzzleloader season I MAY harvest a 4+ with less than "trophy" antlers If I think that he is one of those "Bully" bucks but prob wouldnt. Like I said it isnt a sure bet that it will be around the next year anyway.
j-bird
Moderator
I see "management buck" and "cull buck" in the same light. These are deer that for one reason or another are not reaching a particular standard, while they have been given the opportunity to do so. As such these deer are removed to essentially make more room at the table and or to TRY to eliminate a particular trait from reproducing. Now - I see this as only applicable in grossly managed settings, where resources are grossly monitored and controlled.....namely behind a fence or on large expanses of property. I do NOT see this as a necessary thing on public or even private ground in many cases. An older age buck that simply doesn't "measure up" will surely make some hunter very happy. Now if that buck calls your place home and you feel he is being detrimental to the other bucks (typically called a bully buck) - then maybe his time has come. However I personally would need sufficient evidence to convince me that was needed. Any 5 year old buck is typically a tank of a deer in my area.....so even if he has some messed up rack and we only are allowed to harvest a single buck.....many a hunter would gladly put their tag on him. Not all trophies are measured in antler inches.... What frustrates me is when these terms like "cull buck"and "management buck" are used by folks that simply use them as an excuse. They hear these terms on TV and thus try to use these terms to further validate their choices. I have a buddy that texted me about him taking a "cull buck" while on stand. I told him if I ever saw him type or say that again I would come over with my saw and cut the tree he was in down! My 150 acres of free range deer that I did all the work on while he hunted for 2 weeks a year gave him NO position to even come close to using a term like that in my opinion.....and I tried to make that clear.
Someday isle
5 year old buck +
Not really an answer but a more of a question. Doesn’t it all really depend on your goals as a property owner, land manager and hunter. Maybe these are all the same thing. I have a small property surrounded by small properties. Some are hunters some are not. Some guys have feeders out in a no feed county. Baiting is illegal. No Ag in the immediate area and the construction guy 2 miles down the road carries his rifle in his truck year round to “dispatch any predators he sees while driving around”. The three guys that share our road only have one decent buck on camera and it’s the same deer. Our management plan is to see deer and let our young hunters have an opportunity at harvesting any deer they like. I take the same approach myself.
So I guess my question could be my answer - doesn’t it depend mostly on what your individual goals are? And if so, then only you can determine what that really means to you?
So I guess my question could be my answer - doesn’t it depend mostly on what your individual goals are? And if so, then only you can determine what that really means to you?
Bill
Administrator
Yep, there's a box about 20 yards left of the deer. Makes for a pretty rifle sit even though the big guys don't like to come out in the open at that time of the year.
Bill
Administrator
Yes you pay the taxes you make the rules..
I'm a strong proponent of taking the best deer your neighborhood offers. If 1.5 year olds are rampant I might suggest waiting for a 2.5 year old but won't look down on you for taking a 1.5 year old. So long as you don't say it was a cull.
Say it came by, I shot it and I'm happy. If you're happy, I'm happy!
John-W-WI
Administrator
I'm a bit off topic here, but my personal rule for harvesting a deer is "if you are happy when you walk up to it after the shot, it's a success". Doesn't matter a bunch to me how big they are. My goal may be higher than others, but that is my issue not theirs.
Last year I took a video of a young 10 pointer at <20 yards. I called the video "maybe next year". A few weeks later a neighbor friend of mine shot him. He was happy with him and so was I. He invested plenty of time money and effort in getting that buck and was happy with it. Good for him.
Not exactly related to the original question, but semi related.
-John
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
Well said Bill, and John! I am not a bone hunter, so I dont care, as long as one takes a deer legally and they put their tag on it, then it is none of my business. I like to take a couple deer a year, I don’t care, as long as it is a decent sized, and I don’t mess up the meat. Antlers are nice, because they give me a handle to make it easier to drag it, if it doesn’t have antlers, no problem either.
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H20fwler
5 year old buck +
We don't have management bucks in my area, properties are to small to positively keep deer on them, we don't have what I would consider high deer population and we can only shoot one buck a year. And gun hunters shoot EVERYTHING... if its brown it's down mentality.
I just do what I can in my little world, shoot a buck if it strikes my fancy oldest boy does same and my youngest boy shoots a doe or two a year along with a buck. The older I get the less I care if I kill a buck it's more watching than shooting for me, but I do like the big ones.
I just do what I can in my little world, shoot a buck if it strikes my fancy oldest boy does same and my youngest boy shoots a doe or two a year along with a buck. The older I get the less I care if I kill a buck it's more watching than shooting for me, but I do like the big ones.
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