To many small bucks on lease????

Bowhunter24

Senior Member
Our new lease this year seems to have alot of small bucks on it. I have seen one big 9pt that i missed in bow season but other than that have seen alot of small bucks and my partner mrbowdeadly has also. And on our trail cams we have not got one big impressive buck pic either, which cause a lil bit of conceren for me. Dont get me wrong im happy to see the deer, but shooting them lil bucks just dont do it for me, i get more excited about shootin does lol. Now we have an 8pt rule on my lease theres only 5 of us on 505 acres, and i have talked to the surrounding people with land around us and they said they have an 8pt rule also. With that in mind should i be worried that there just aint alot of big deer where we hunt, we are in dodge county which is a pretty good buck county, or am i just overreacting to early??
 

Junebug

Senior Member
Oh, they're in there alright!

One area I hunt is just like that...low pressure and little bucks everywhere. I hunted it for 7-8 years and actually started to get frustrated because all ever I'd see was basket racked 6's, 8's, and forkhorns.

Then one morning I saw 'em; a pair of bucks, hog-bodied, roman-nosed, and HORNS GALORE. They gave me a serious case of the shakes.

That single sighting has renewed my confidence and totally changed how I hunt that farm. Hang in there...they'll show up.
 

leadoff

GONetwork Member
Little bucks turn into big bucks when you let them walk! :) Your club is on the right track with the 8 pt rule you and your neighbors have going. As long as those bucks have good food sources (and I am sure they do, or they wouldn't be there), then they will grow. It may take a few slow years, but the years to come will be well worth it.

Who knows, you all may have a monster out there you don't know about who is just camera shy! :D
 

Bowhunter24

Senior Member
Well i hope they are camera shy lol, i have 5 cameras out this time so we will see what happens on the film when i go back up this week.
 

Peanut

Senior Member
We have the same issue on our club. We've already seen 12 different bucks in the last 2 weekends including at least 3 that had 4 on a side. We are in a Trophy Managed county (Troup), but lets face it, most deer with 4 on a side are not trophies. We let 10 different bucks with 4 on a side go last year on our lease and our trail cameras this year don't reveal any deer big enough to mount. That was very disappointing. We are trying to grow deer that would gross around 115 or 120 - so we aren't talking huge expectations.

The biggest deer I let go last year was a 9 point with good tine length, but a tight spread. This year, I am certain he is the ten point that we have pictures of. His spread his probably pushing 14 inches and he has really good tine length, but very little mass. I saw that deer the afternoon of opening day. He fed in the food plot at my stand and I passed him up. He was the biggest deer I've ever passed up. He would probably get shot by someone else on another club, but then again, maybe he'll be the big boy next year. I think that it takes time to get trophy deer showing up on a lease every year.

I can't say that we are seeing the results of letting good bucks walk yet, but I think we eventually will. Only time will tell for sure. In the meantime, all I have of the deer from this weekend is a 6 minute video of him feeding. Interestingly, he was right alongside a spike and a 4 point, eating oats and wheat.
 
E

Etter1

Guest
You also might be real suprised about what is actually there once the rut really kicks in.
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
THunter said:
That's kinda like saying too much money, isn't it?

THunter
Sort of. I think he's saying he's got too much change and would rather have some folding money. ;)
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

Guy

Senior Member
They are there. They are everywhere. The big boys always don't let themselves be seen. The rut is the best chance.

Don't get down. Keep a positive attitude. We have no pictures of any kind of quality buck on our land. But I know they are in there. We have the sign. Just gotta see 'em when your in the stand. This weekend, I am going to stay in the stand until noon. get out eat and get back in at around 3 the latest.

the more time your in there the better.
 

Rebel 3

Senior Member
They are there. Big bucks are territorial this time of year. Dont expect them to be bunched up and all grow up and stay on your property. There is only room for so many and they are not going to show them selfs like the little bucks. I think the little bucks tolerate each other more and just move around and stay out of the way of the big ones. A few of those big ones, will stay around your land. My lease has a bunch of small bucks, but I hunt hard once gun season starts and especially the rut and I usually see a few big ones each year.
 

Woody

Founder - Gone but not forgotten.
Rebel 3 said:
They are there. Big bucks are territorial this time of year. Dont expect them to be bunched up and all grow up and stay on your property. There is only room for so many and they are not going to show them selfs like the little bucks.

Rebel is telling it like it is.;) --- also remember a mature whitetail buck is a species unto itself. -- Totally different from anything you will ever hunt and luck plays an important role in being successful.
 
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