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Deer Management 101

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  El Cazador 
#1 ·
I have been following a couple of threads over the last few days and really can't believe some peoples views on the high fence controversy and deer management. Most every hunter that I know wants to kill a deer with the largest antlers possible. If this is the case then why not do whatever is necessary to improve your deer herd.
First, let me tell you that I am no game bioliogist or expert on the subject but I do spend a lot of time watching and working with deer and just apply common sense. I lease a place that is just over 5,000 acres (low fence) and own a place that is just under 1,000 acres that is high fenced. These ranches are exactly 10 miles apart from each other. We have been hunting the low fence place for about 6 years and have killed some really good deer during that time. We do feed protein throughout the year and try to help manage the herd with selective culling, letting the deer grow up, and keeping the deer density in check with range conditions. The high fence place is relatively new, but we started with nothing on the property and have purchased deer with superior genetics to see what we can grow. We are not doing this in breeder pens, we are just turning the bought deer loose in the enclosed area and supplying them with unlimited food and water. The long term goal here is to be able to see better than average deer on a regular basis. I am anxious to see the results in the upcoming years but this is a very slow process.
In my opinion, in most cases it takes 3 things to grow big deer, genetics, nutrition, and age. If any one of these 3 things are missing then you will end up with your average 110" 8 point buck. If there is something that the landowner or hunter can do to improve on this then get with the program!!!!! It is obvious that what we (hunters and landowners) are doing is working. Look back at the deer contests 15 years ago and see what was winning. If you killed a 175" deer you could win every contest within a 100 miles of Cotulla. Today it takes a deer well over 200" (high fence and low fence) to put you anywhere near the top. I think this is mainly due to people letting their deer grow older before they shoot them. You have to pass on a 170" deer before he will ever be 200". Very few deer jump from a 120" deer to a 200" in one year, and if you kill him at 120" then its over. Common sense tells me that we are heading in the right direction with all of the techniques that we are using. High fence, low fence, feeding, not feeding, enhancing genetics or not, we all want to shoot bigger and better deer when we go out, and anyone that believes that just because a deer is behind a high fence (of reasonable size) is an easy kill is crazy. Deer are just like people and have their own personality. Some you will see some on a regular basis and others you may never see. I don't think we give deer the credit they deserve. They are a very cunning animal and can outsmart the hunter on most occasions. There is only a very small window (during the rut) that most mature deer abandon their ability to outsmart the hunter.
Bottom line is we just need to use common sense in each individual circumstance to enhance the sport we all love. No one way is right or wrong, and it doesn't do our sport any good taking jabs at the other guy just because he does it in a way that you disagree with, as long as it is legal.
 
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#2 ·
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PortATrout said:
No one way is right or wrong, and it doesn't do our sport any good taking jabs at the other guy just because he does it in a way that you disagree with, as long as it is legal.
I agree 1,000%, you do it one way, I do it another, you are correct, and I am correct, you are no better than me, and I am no better than you, lets all just get along and be happy.
 
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