What is best for your deer herd?

[ddd-shooter]

The doe day thread got me thinking. If hunters on GON are fairly mindful of the places they hunt (I believe most are) then I would love to see what you guys feel is the state of your local herd.

Please note, I’m not asking if you’d like more deer, as I realize asking hunters if they want more deer is kinda like asking the government if they want more taxes. I do, however, feel that most in here have a pretty good feel for their area.
The question is what is best for your herd. Do you have too many deer for the land, not enough, or just right? This includes leases, public land, private land, wherever you hunt the most.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Absolutely covered up - but I am across the river.

 

[Kev]

most of the places I hunt are covered up. It Probably wouldn’t hurt to have a few less.

 

[kmckinnie]

I want more buck tags !!
3 bucks 5 does ! I could manage that into my club.
My rule would be on my club land then if they chose so.
1. Any size buck for meat
2. A good buck.
3. It better be a wall hanger buck.
4. You need meat. Didn’t get 2 bucks well take a mature doe. You could kill a doe with archery also or any size buck. Archery is a challenge.
It would be something on them lines. Lots of family’s hunt clubs on one membership. All have lic. Just give them more options with the family.

 

[35 Whelen]

More deer, fewer bear.

 

[JB0704]

I have never in my life hunted anywhere that had browse lines. My interests are competing with farmers, I know. But I have never felt like I had too many deer.

 

[bullgator]

Know your land’s habitat. You’ll know when the nutritional browse is being negatively affected by too many deer.
The reason for more doe tags has more to do with keeping insurance companies writing auto policies under the threat of higher premiums.

 

[MYRX]

We have a good deer population, probably about perfect. We also manage food plots very well.

 

[elfiii]

We need more deer in my locale. Compared to the 90's and early 2000's I would call what we got now a skeleton crew.

 

[Mauser]

I’m in farm country and farm. We harvested somewhere between 60-70 does on one 1750 ac farm last season,and the last several seasons have been taking 50-60. And we hadn’t made a dent in the population. Unfortunately we will have to resort to crop permits this year which we have been trying to avoid. It’s a rarity to see a good buck chasing a doe for us,they seem to lay and wait and let the does come to them. We’ll see a bunch of chasing but all young bucks. I know some on here won’t believe it but we are 75+ does in a hundred acre field. 45+ in some 30 acre fields. There are dry land fields we don’t plant cotton in because of deer,soon as it come up they bite the top out and that plant is dead, rows of cotton look like toothpicks.

 

[ddd-shooter]

I want more buck tags !!
3 bucks 5 does ! I could manage that into my club.
My rule would be on my club land then if they chose so.
1. Any size buck for meat
2. A good buck.
3. It better be a wall hanger buck.
4. You need meat. Didn’t get 2 bucks well take a mature doe. You could kill a doe with archery also or any size buck. Archery is a challenge.
It would be something on them lines. Lots of family’s hunt clubs on one membership. All have lic. Just give them more options with the family.

I could get behind that. I also think it would reduce doe killing “for meat” in places that shouldn’t be killing does

 

[NCHillbilly]

Around here where I live, the deer population is pitiful. On my SC place, better, but still not a heavy population by any means.

 

[Buford_Dawg]

I hunt in NE GA, upper Piedmont, Oglethorpe and Banks counties. The deer herds at present time are at a good stable population. They both hit hard times in the early 2000s up to about 2019 or so. The last couple years we have seen a nice build back and hope that it keeps this trend. I would hate to know it goes back to the early 2000s, there were many days not seeing anything.

 

[Nicodemus]

One of the places I hunt has a very slim deer herd. It reminds me of what it was like in the late 60`s - early 70`s.

 

[elfiii]

One of the places I hunt has a very slim deer herd. It reminds me of what it was like in the late 60`s - early 70`s.

We're not quite that bad and it has improved some but we're still not close to where we were in the early 2000's. We were tripping over them back then.

 

[Nicodemus]

We're not quite that bad and it has improved some but we're still not close to where we were in the early 2000's. We were tripping over them back then.

This is a big swamp that was mostly second growth timber. Hurricane Michael opened it up considerable so with sunlight hitting areas that haven`t seen sunlight in over 100 years a lot of young greenery is doing well. That is helping.

 

[elfiii]

This is a big swamp that was mostly second growth timber. Hurricane Michael opened it up considerable so with sunlight hitting areas that haven`t seen sunlight in over 100 years a lot of young greenery is doing well. That is helping.

We were victims of Brown and Down and it's never fully recovered because we're a trophy county so young bucks get passed and instead lots of people switch to does for meat. The rule on my place is if it's a legal buck, shoot it. If you kill a doe, you die.

 

[1eyefishing]

I've got plenty of deer but far more young bucks than does.
I see at least a couple of slow chases by yotes on the does every year and find a few carcasses every year preseason.
I think the bucks have more stamina and are better able to defend themselves from these long slow chases.
I'd rather my guys kill a one and a 1/2 year old buck for meat or a second buck, instead of a doe or a 2 and a 1/2 year old buck that has trophy potential for next years.

Year before last, I had a doe come trotting straight through camp like she was trotting straight up to me. At about ten yards, she darted off into the brush. About that time two yotes showed up on her trail but wouldn't follow her through camp and went back the way they came. I believe she knew what she was doing.

A big club near me says they have plenty does but they are trapping yotes.

All this would lead me to believe we could use smaller management units, not statewide regulations, but I can see that not even that would solve my problem.

 

[kmckinnie]

I could get behind that. I also think it would reduce doe killing “for meat” in places that shouldn’t be killing does

I see so many looking for a place to be a member. They say I’d like to kill a big buck. If not 3 does for the freezer. Well I ain’t pming that.

 

[kmckinnie]

We were victims of Brown and Down and it's never fully recovered because we're a trophy county so young bucks get passed and instead lots of people switch to does for meat. The rule on my place is if it's a legal buck, shoot it. If you kill a doe, you die.

Do you check backpacks. Asking for a friend.