We are on 2900 acres with 12-15 members depending on the year. This year was the first year we implemented rules on bucks. None of us are professional biologists but just doing what we think is best.

Here is our harvest information for the past 4 years, i took the members names out. If it’s blacked out it means they weren’t members for that year. I welcome any input.

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Posted by TheDrunkenTigah

Baton Rouge

Member since Aug 2011

17350 posts

Posted on 12/29/23 at 10:18 am to Yukon7

It’s hard to say anything definitive about those numbers without knowing a little more about the property and what kind of bucks were getting killed prior to your rule. 2023 looks good, I would see where you’re at with a couple exclusion cages this January. If the plots are staying clipped down, shoot a few more does before the season closes. Acres/doe is highly dependent on the habitat/region but killing a doe per 150 acres will help you see if that’s adding or removing deer and where to go from there. Our recs are closer to doe/75 acres but with young kids we got behind (east central MS). In the delta that can be the standing order.

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Posted by Farmtiger

West "By God" Monroe

Member since Dec 2003

2793 posts

Posted on 12/29/23 at 4:50 pm to Yukon7

quote:
This year was the first year we implemented rules on bucks

We did that too. If I remember right it was either 1 or 2 with 3 on one side and 1 or 2 4 or better on one side.

The problem we ran into was there were some great 1.5 and 2.5 8 points getting killed every year.

It’s hard to balance in an average club where people still want to shoot but most other want to shoot big deer. Then you get into adding more and more restrictions and then the “oh if he had another year” stuff happens.

I got out of the club but, we were starting to see the benefits of letting deer get older after 3-5 years.

I now hunt about 75 acres that I own and I hold bucks from yearlings to 5.5 plus early into the season. After the velvet comes off they tend to like the dark and then start wandering off by muzzle loader season.

When it comes to bucks, the rule on my place is my now 18 year old son gets 1 buck of choice, and anything he wants to put on the wall. I only shoot bucks that go on my wall, and the old man (78 year old father in law) shoots what ever the hell he wants to!

Do what works for you and try to enjoy the people you hunt with more than you actually enjoy the harvest and you will never have a bad season!

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