- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
So Who Do You Think is Right? - Deer Population Question
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:27 am
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:27 am
Here's the background. We have a small piece of property in Mississippi near Brookhaven (50 acres). It's too small to hold a deer herd. We mostly see what passes through from around the area.
Last year, we saw hardly any deer at all. A few does here and there and a buck or two, but only ever at night on the cameras. In fact, the deer moved so little in our area that it was difficult to detect when the rut began and ended.
This year, we have plenty of deer moving through, but it's all does and yearlings, mostly female (from what I can tell). We only really see one buck on the cameras. He's not bad... a young 11 point.
In our area, our doe to buck ratio (at least what I see on the cameras and in person) is around 3 to 1, possibly 4 to 1.
My dad says now that there's does on the property, we will see bucks moving in the rut.
I tell my dad that yes, we have does on the property, but we have too many of them, and because of that, the bucks will not be ranging as much as they ordinarily would. They are practically surrounded by does, so why run all over?
So I think our buck sightings during the rut will mirror last year... and Dad thinks they will be much improved.
What do you think? Do does outnumber bucks greatly in your area? What are the ruts like?
Last year, we saw hardly any deer at all. A few does here and there and a buck or two, but only ever at night on the cameras. In fact, the deer moved so little in our area that it was difficult to detect when the rut began and ended.
This year, we have plenty of deer moving through, but it's all does and yearlings, mostly female (from what I can tell). We only really see one buck on the cameras. He's not bad... a young 11 point.
In our area, our doe to buck ratio (at least what I see on the cameras and in person) is around 3 to 1, possibly 4 to 1.
My dad says now that there's does on the property, we will see bucks moving in the rut.
I tell my dad that yes, we have does on the property, but we have too many of them, and because of that, the bucks will not be ranging as much as they ordinarily would. They are practically surrounded by does, so why run all over?
So I think our buck sightings during the rut will mirror last year... and Dad thinks they will be much improved.
What do you think? Do does outnumber bucks greatly in your area? What are the ruts like?
10
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:30 am to SpqrTiger
Somewhere in the middle
You need to make sure you have some "home" does but if you have too many you will not see much buck movement during the rut
You need to make sure you have some "home" does but if you have too many you will not see much buck movement during the rut
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:30 am to SpqrTiger
4:1 is not the ideal ratio but it's much closer than most people ever get. If it's really that close I suspect you'll see more than last year.
Are the cutting timber near you? Habitat loss can force them to consolidate to surrounding tracts of land.
Are the cutting timber near you? Habitat loss can force them to consolidate to surrounding tracts of land.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:30 am to SpqrTiger
3:1 and even 4:1 isn't too outta whack for a ratio. I don't think you will be able to kill enough does on your small piece of property to effect the ratio in the area unless you kill every doe on sight.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:44 am to DieselTiger1
quote:
Are the cutting timber near you? Habitat loss can force them to consolidate to surrounding tracts of land.
Gold star for perception!
Yes... a neighboring property did cut some timber nearby... within a quarter mile.
I think you nailed why my property looks like deer kindergarten right now.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:48 am to SpqrTiger
On my last place the does outnumber the bucks by quite a few.
One thing you will notice is you will probably see some smaller younger bucks running the doe's on your place. The older bucks will stay put since they won't have to travel very far to find doe's to breed.
One thing you will notice is you will probably see some smaller younger bucks running the doe's on your place. The older bucks will stay put since they won't have to travel very far to find doe's to breed.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 8:59 am to SpqrTiger
quote:This says to me, it doesn't matter. Kill 'em all.
It's too small to hold a deer herd. We mostly see what passes through from around the area.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:03 am to AlxTgr
I think your odds of seeing bucks are better if you have does..... yeah the ratio is off but if they are there, eventually a buck will show up to try and breed them.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:06 am to SpqrTiger
i have the EXACT "problem" as you. I have 40 acres (plus an additional 40 that is not hunted but family land). I am about 30 minutes south of you on I-55 in La.
We (me and my wife) only kill 1-2 deer a year. We see many more does than bucks. Lots of young bucks. For the first 2 years i did not shoot a buck and had the opportunity to shoot two 4 points.
Last year i shot a 6pt. We never had many bucks on camera but they have been increasing. This year i have two 4 pts, one 6 point and one 8 point that show up consistently at night. During the rut, late december - early jan, i get a few different bucks that roam through.
I am starting to see more does so we need to remove a few but we just dont see them that frequently.
I cant manage a heard on this land but i try not to shoot a young 4 point. The genetics arent great where im at so a 4 point could be a 3.5 year old deer and i promise you, the locals who hunt the same woods as me will shoot it. There are no clubs so there are no rules
We (me and my wife) only kill 1-2 deer a year. We see many more does than bucks. Lots of young bucks. For the first 2 years i did not shoot a buck and had the opportunity to shoot two 4 points.
Last year i shot a 6pt. We never had many bucks on camera but they have been increasing. This year i have two 4 pts, one 6 point and one 8 point that show up consistently at night. During the rut, late december - early jan, i get a few different bucks that roam through.
I am starting to see more does so we need to remove a few but we just dont see them that frequently.
I cant manage a heard on this land but i try not to shoot a young 4 point. The genetics arent great where im at so a 4 point could be a 3.5 year old deer and i promise you, the locals who hunt the same woods as me will shoot it. There are no clubs so there are no rules
This post was edited on 12/17/14 at 9:11 am
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:07 am to ElDawgHawg
quote:
I think your odds of seeing bucks are better if you have does..... yeah the ratio is off but if they are there, eventually a buck will show up to try and breed them.
+1
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:11 am to SpqrTiger
quote:idont think you are that out of whack, I would say your Dad has a valid point.
I tell my dad that yes, we have does on the property, but we have too many of them, and because of that, the bucks will not be ranging as much as they ordinarily would. They are practically surrounded by does, so why run all over?
Bucks aren't like people, they want all of them bred......and as they get bumped in and out of areas you never know what will show up.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:22 am to SpqrTiger
Your area for a sample ratio is very small. You can't manage a 50 acre tract and unless you are working with the hunters on the adjoining properties you being selective is going to be frustrating.
Chances are that most of what you have is pine trees correct?Unless your property or the ones directly attached to your property lines are too thick to walk through/see into easily you aren't holding deer anyway.
If it were me I'd shoot Mississippi legal bucks for a first one and be selective/progressive on a second buck... Then on does maybe two does maximum for the property.
Chances are that most of what you have is pine trees correct?Unless your property or the ones directly attached to your property lines are too thick to walk through/see into easily you aren't holding deer anyway.
If it were me I'd shoot Mississippi legal bucks for a first one and be selective/progressive on a second buck... Then on does maybe two does maximum for the property.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:27 am to SpqrTiger
I may be totally wrong in this, but I think using a camera on a feeder can be deceptive when it comes to seeking deer populations. I've had the same 4 does come to my feeder nearly every day for the past 2 months. Yet, I've only had 1 buck show up until very recently.
Compare that to actually sitting in the woods, i've seen 5-6 different bucks from the same deer stand, never at the feeder.
I dont really know what it means, but I dont trust cameras that much.
Compare that to actually sitting in the woods, i've seen 5-6 different bucks from the same deer stand, never at the feeder.
I dont really know what it means, but I dont trust cameras that much.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:28 am to Citica8
quote:
Unless your property or the ones directly attached to your property lines are too thick to walk through/see into easily you aren't holding deer anyway.
This ^. My woods are so thick, you cant see 2' into them. Good luck TRYING to walk through. We also have a few hills and hollars. I know they hold deer. My neighbor said last year christmas day he walked out and hit his grunt and a big 8pt walked out of a thicket on my property, i have never seen this deer on camera or in the stand in 2.5 years (my camera is 100 yds from this thicket)
Its only a matter of time. Its frustrating to see 1-3 deer a season but seat time is the only way we kill. Example: last year me or the wife didnt see a deer ALL season. Jan 4th a 6pt ran out chasing 2 does. He was only out of the woods for 1-2 min before he was heading back in, i had to take him then.
This season - we havent see any shooter does or bucks during shooting hours. We have seen a yearling doe almost every weekend. Last time iwas there we saw here every hunt all weekend. That is a first for us so i think it is getting better
This post was edited on 12/17/14 at 9:32 am
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:30 am to SportTiger1
quote:
I dont really know what it means, but I dont trust cameras that much.
I feel the same way. in the last 3 years, i have seen more deer, does and bucks, that were no where near my cameras or feeders.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:37 am to SpqrTiger
The problem with hunting small pieces like that is putting pressure on the deer. You might not think it, but when you walk through the center of a 50 acre piece, you are putting pressure on the deer. They might not blow or run off, but every time you go in the woods you leave a footprint in the mind of the deer. Minimizing your footprint is tough when you only have that small place to hunt. I hear stories every year about people killing big deer on small tracts. Sometimes they say "I hunted here every weekend and never even knew this deer was here, he just showed up." The chances that deer was lured off another property by a hot doe is high. It's also a very good chance the hunter walked right by that deer all year. Bucks are funny sometimes. Had one living behind my uncle's house several years ago. Big 20" 8 pt when he was finally killed. Had night pictures of him in several places for 3 years. Deer was killed from the porch one afternoon, when the deer stood up from a bed 50 yds behind his dog pen. He was living right under their noses.
You don't have too many does. Even if you did have too many, you couldn't do anything about it. Unleashing hell on does on a piece of property that small will only add more disturbance to a piece of property, thus risking spooking the few bucks that like being there.
Cliff's Notes: Be sneaky, and get fricking ready because the rut in
You don't have too many does. Even if you did have too many, you couldn't do anything about it. Unleashing hell on does on a piece of property that small will only add more disturbance to a piece of property, thus risking spooking the few bucks that like being there.
Cliff's Notes: Be sneaky, and get fricking ready because the rut in
quote:is about to be on like donkey kong. I hunt not far from you. Sneak in, sit all day, and pay attention. One day right after Christmas it's gonna bust loose.
Mississippi near Brookhaven
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:46 am to tenfoe
quote:
every time you go in the woods you leave a footprint in the mind of the deer. Minimizing your footprint is tough when you only have that small place to hunt.
This is true also but there isnt much you can do about it, you have to walk to the stand.
My FIL is at our place right now "checking on the feeders and old house". I hate that he does that but its his property first so i cant stop him
He's 74 and set in his ways so he responds to me with "them ole deer will still come out, yall just go hunt" 
Posted on 12/17/14 at 9:53 am to SeaPickle
quote:
My FIL is at our place right now "checking on the feeders and old house".
I deal with the same chit. There are only two ways to deal with these folks.
1. Go fishing until does come into heat, because at that time you can almost dress like Santa Claus and play an electric guitar with an amp, powered by a generator, sitting on a stump in the middle of a field. Those bucks get in a fricking trance.
or my method
2. Go hunt a piece of the property that's too difficult to get to for anyone else to bother. Chances are, that's where the bucks are anyway.
Posted on 12/17/14 at 10:05 am to tenfoe
quote:
1. Go fishing until does come into heat, because at that time you can almost dress like Santa Claus
The longer i hunt here, the more i do this. Its hard to pass up weekend when every hunt counts. This weekend though the 11th im hunting hard. I havent been since thanksgiving
quote:
2. Go hunt a piece of the property that's too difficult to get to for anyone else to bother. Chances are, that's where the bucks are anyway.
This isnt really much of an option. We have 2 stands...I have gone lean against a tree a time or two for a change of scenery
Posted on 12/17/14 at 10:28 am to SeaPickle
quote:
is about to be on like donkey kong. I hunt not far from you. Sneak in, sit all day, and pay attention. One day right after Christmas it's gonna bust loose.
When I read this, I got fired up. Seriously!
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News