re: Do any of you guys use a deer management program?

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1. We need to let the bucks grow and let their antlers outside the ears and be at least 3-4 years old

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Aging a buck in the field is a lot harder than most think. Shooting an 8 point outside the ears will kill your 2 and 3 yr olds with potential

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2. We still do deer drives with dogs and do 6 points or better

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Get rid of the deer drives. Do you want to manage for trophies or fill the freezer? If you have people in the club that just crave shooting something, invest in a skeet thrower

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3. Too many people in our hunting club.

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Management cost money. If it means paying more per person to cut down on members or picking up more acreage. Not sure what the habitat there is but controlling deer numbers is more about making sure there is adequate nutrition.

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4. Need to be a trophy hunting club and not a social club

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Can be both if everybody is on the same page about what you are trying to do. biggest problem I see is people feel that if they paid X amount of dollars to hunt they are going to bring something home. You have to be willing to invest the money and patience for 3-5 years before seeing results