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Lots of does mean bigbucks!! #6864029
05/05/20 02:49 PM
05/05/20 02:49 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Ok tired of corona, politics and germ warfare.
So, Tons of land managers and "big buck" factories tell of how you need a 1 to 1 buck doe ratio to have big trophy deer. Thru my experience and what I have seen in last ten years I feel the other way around. First if you have neighbors on all sides that are hunting it is a good chance that a trophy deer on your farm will wonder over the line looking for ladies. UNLESS you are covered with does and he has NO reason to wander That's why I refer to does as BUCK BAIT . The 191 12 point I killed had spent his last 2 years on the farm I was hunting because( in my opinion) He was in a thicket that NOONE ever went thru all year except opening day of gun season. No trail cams in his bedding area or tractor activity. How do I know he didn't wander off. NO neighbor had ever seen him . I had pics on 2 cams around the 25 acres of thicket he was in for 2 years. He had no reason to leave. F C F : food , cover , females. 3 things a big buck needs. this farm was 100 acres and no woods cover or other thickets with in 500 yards.
Ok there has been a GIANT deer here on a similar farm in the city limits of my town. DOES every where. Pond in the middle. He has been seen hundreds of times. Over the past 3 years always in the same field on one end of the farm or other. Buddy Of mine had permission to bow hunt so I wasn't able to hunt him. I turkey hunt and trap the same farm. Well he killed him last December and finally got the mount back . Nice deer but I don't care to much for the poise....
[Linked Image]

Last edited by jbyrd63; 05/05/20 03:13 PM.
Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864032
05/05/20 02:51 PM
05/05/20 02:51 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Oh yea several on here where saying last fall that I needed to kill my does early so it would be harder for a big buck to find a doe and he would be walking around. OK that is why he may go over to the neighbors farm if he can't find a doe at his house he will cross the road !!!! LOL

No does = roam the roads LOL

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864051
05/05/20 03:09 PM
05/05/20 03:09 PM
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 1,354
Saskatchewan
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rvsask Offline
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Saskatchewan
That's a great buck anywhere on the planet!!
I think some bucks will wander regardless as it's in their individual nature, others will stray less. That's an entire other discussion I guess, and a good one compared to politics, covid etc.
I love talking whitetails,......and killing them.
grin

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864053
05/05/20 03:11 PM
05/05/20 03:11 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Yea I read an article once that older bucks seem more to reduce their range. Mine and the one in pic were 6 1/2 years olds

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864060
05/05/20 03:23 PM
05/05/20 03:23 PM
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 1,354
Saskatchewan
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rvsask Offline
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Saskatchewan
I'm lucky enough to live where access to large amounts of land are easy. What that means is that I am able to hunt different landowner pieces but all in all some stretches are 5-7 miles of continuous access. Some bucks I will see all over that space throughout the year and others only ever in a smaller, say 1 sq. mile area. These are bucks of all age classes too. Good topic. grin

I'd assume the amount of human activity and pressure plays a role too.

Last edited by rvsask; 05/05/20 03:24 PM.
Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864068
05/05/20 03:33 PM
05/05/20 03:33 PM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,971
Oklahoma
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Matt28 Offline
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Oklahoma
Originally Posted by jbyrd63
Oh yea several on here where saying last fall that I needed to kill my does early so it would be harder for a big buck to find a doe and he would be walking around. OK that is why he may go over to the neighbors farm if he can't find a doe at his house he will cross the road !!!! LOL

No does = roam the roads LOL

Do you have the link to the post where some one said kill the does early so it would be hard for a buck to find the does? I sure thought they said kill them early so you aren't shooting des during the rut, which might be the best time to get a nice buck.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864076
05/05/20 03:47 PM
05/05/20 03:47 PM
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Posts: 10,723
SW Georgia
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Wanna Be Offline
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SW Georgia
Your bucks will roam. Extremely rare that a buck will stay in the same area year after year unless he’s fenced. If bucks didn’t roam the herd would diminish with interbreeding. Bucks are going to be where does are in estrous, whether it’s your Farm or the neighbors. The best time to find a buck is during the Summer months and kill him the day season opens because once the velvet comes off it’s only a matter of time before he’s gone. Bucks down here can be one one property Oct 31 and 2 miles away Nov 1.

The purpose of the buck to doe ratio isn’t to get your bucks moving as much as it is providing the optimal habitat and food to maintain a healthy herd. More food equals healthier bucks...healthier bucks equals larger antlers. If everyone tries to keep as many does on their property all you end up with over time is smaller bucks weight and antler wise. Sorta like not keeping fish out of a pond...eventually their growth gets stunted.

I could show you places down here that take an average of 100 does a year and still kill record book bucks every year. (Record for our area) and up to 250-275 pounds at that. No, I don’t get to shoot bucks at these places, but I e been invited on their doe shoots and have seen these deer in person.

Different strokes for different folks, but killing does produces big bucks for this area.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864086
05/05/20 04:03 PM
05/05/20 04:03 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35,124
McGrath, AK
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white17 Offline

"General (Mr.Sunshine) Washington"
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McGrath, AK
X2 Wanna Be:

I recall when I was still in school in CA. The CA deer herd was estimated right at a million animals.....900,000 of which were estimated to be does. Needless to say the hunting was awful !


Mean As Nails
Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: Matt28] #6864206
05/05/20 08:06 PM
05/05/20 08:06 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Originally Posted by Matt28
Originally Posted by jbyrd63
Oh yea several on here where saying last fall that I needed to kill my does early so it would be harder for a big buck to find a doe and he would be walking around. OK that is why he may go over to the neighbors farm if he can't find a doe at his house he will cross the road !!!! LOL

No does = roam the roads LOL

Do you have the link to the post where some one said kill the does early so it would be hard for a buck to find the does? I sure thought they said kill them early so you aren't shooting des during the rut, which might be the best time to get a nice buck.


It will take some looking and I'll do it tomorrow . But it was a question about to shoot or not to shoot lots of does. I said we NEVER shoot any does until the end of season after we kill our targeted buck. (biggest one on the farm) . Some years the buck is 120 inch some years 180 plus. (1 time LOL) I was told I was wrong because the bucks wouldn't move during the daylight because it was TOO easy for him to find a doe to breed. That we should shoot our meat deer in the hot 90 degree sept and OCT we have here in Ky . The one farm that the deer didn't roam hardly any on we only killed 6 does in 20 years. Go ahead tell me how bad that is. BUT what we found was instead of the resident bucks we saw on cam from august until December leaving we would have new ones show up !!!! Hence the term buck bait. Our farm was over run by does and the surrounding guys were shooting does left and right. The co it was in has unlimited doe tags. One 151 inch deer I killed showed up on the second day of gun season and the neighbor was crying I watched him all year. Ok stop shooting your does until after the rut. STOP running all over your land on a 4 wheeler. Just giving my experience in my little piece of heaven here in Ky !!!!!

Don't make me post pics of results from how I hunt LOL I don't like to as most know !!!!!!!

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864313
05/05/20 09:44 PM
05/05/20 09:44 PM
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 10,723
SW Georgia
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Wanna Be Offline
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SW Georgia
So you profit off your neighbors management practices.
That’s why before I ever get a place to hunt I make sure all the surrounding landowners are all practicing the same program to benefit the health of the herd, that way I don’t feel like I’m doing all the work for those that just show up to pull the trigger.
I do know of one landowner that said the heck with everyone else and threw a fence up around his place, lol. Believe it or not, surrounding landowners got ticked off. They could no longer benefit off his work and haven’t killed a deer over 120” in years.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864353
05/05/20 10:28 PM
05/05/20 10:28 PM
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 8,860
Indiana
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Providence Farm Offline
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Indiana
I haven't found a way to get the antlers to be edible and bucks tend to taste like they smell. So I prefer to eat doe. It's an interesting topic I need to learn more about. But only having 96 acres management would be difficult.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: Wanna Be] #6864402
05/05/20 11:04 PM
05/05/20 11:04 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Originally Posted by Wanna Be
So you profit off your neighbors management practices.
That’s why before I ever get a place to hunt I make sure all the surrounding landowners are all practicing the same program to benefit the health of the herd, that way I don’t feel like I’m doing all the work for those that just show up to pull the trigger.
I do know of one landowner that said the heck with everyone else and threw a fence up around his place, lol. Believe it or not, surrounding landowners got ticked off. They could no longer benefit off his work and haven’t killed a deer over 120” in years.


OK How did I profit off his "work '" LOL His "work" consisted of only happening to "see " a nice deer he wanted to kill. If He didn't shoot every doe that walked across his property then his buck might have stayed on "his" proprty . One may look at it as I PROFITTED from my work by letting the girls live and feel safe on "my" property LOL

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: Wanna Be] #6864409
05/05/20 11:09 PM
05/05/20 11:09 PM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Originally Posted by Wanna Be
Your bucks will roam. Extremely rare that a buck will stay in the same area year after year unless he’s fenced. If bucks didn’t roam the herd would diminish with interbreeding. Bucks are going to be where does are in estrous, whether it’s your Farm or the neighbors. The best time to find a buck is during the Summer months and kill him the day season opens because once the velvet comes off it’s only a matter of time before he’s gone. Bucks down here can be one one property Oct 31 and 2 miles away Nov 1.

The purpose of the buck to doe ratio isn’t to get your bucks moving as much as it is providing the optimal habitat and food to maintain a healthy herd. More food equals healthier bucks...healthier bucks equals larger antlers. If everyone tries to keep as many does on their property all you end up with over time is smaller bucks weight and antler wise. Sorta like not keeping fish out of a pond...eventually their growth gets stunted.

I could show you places down here that take an average of 100 does a year and still kill record book bucks every year. (Record for our area) and up to 250-275 pounds at that. No, I don’t get to shoot bucks at these places, but I e been invited on their doe shoots and have seen these deer in person.

Different strokes for different folks, but killing does produces big bucks for this area.


Heck please don't compare Ga deer herd to KY's . You guys get to shoot like 4- 5 a day for 6 months or something like that right LOL.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: Providence Farm] #6864413
05/05/20 11:14 PM
05/05/20 11:14 PM
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Posts: 13,056
Ky
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jbyrd63 Offline OP
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Ky
Originally Posted by Providence Farm
I haven't found a way to get the antlers to be edible and bucks tend to taste like they smell. So I prefer to eat doe. It's an interesting topic I need to learn more about. But only having 96 acres management would be difficult.


The property I was hunting was 100 acre. Lay out was the key Open pasture for miles around it . Flat land and little agriculture. Plus this farm had not had a bush hog on it for 14 years. Thick jungle and only paths where cut once a year with a DR trimmer. Deer walked in the trails. Around each field and one swipe across the middle. Too easy really . But why was it easy . MY HARD WORK !!!!. Running that dr trimmer thru head high blackberry briars in 95 degree heat in august is tough.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864643
05/06/20 09:04 AM
05/06/20 09:04 AM
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meadowview, Virginia
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EdP Offline
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meadowview, Virginia
I don't think it's about how much a buck travels but rather having larger numbers of big bucks. If they are there some hunter will find them.

The biggest single factor in having big bucks is letting them get old enough to get big. Ky and Ohio both do that by having a one buck per hunter limit statewide. The number of trophy bucks killed each year in both of these states shows that it works. When hunters don't preferentially kill all the young bucks every year the population trends towards a 1:1 ratio. Here in Va we can shoot 2 bucks each year and the doe kill is limited by severely limited days when does can be taken. Consequently it's hard to find a buck older than 1 1/2 (at least in southwest Va) but we are overrun with does. The poor size and quality of the bucks also reflects this management strategy.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864686
05/06/20 09:54 AM
05/06/20 09:54 AM
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Saskatchewan
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rvsask Offline
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Quote
The biggest single factor in having big bucks is letting them get old enough to get big.


This is true.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864723
05/06/20 11:03 AM
05/06/20 11:03 AM
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Posts: 265
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin
1 to 1 buck doe ratio to have big trophy deer. Thru my experience and what I have seen in last ten years I feel the other way around.


1:1 the other way around is 1:1

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864734
05/06/20 11:25 AM
05/06/20 11:25 AM
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Posts: 17,548
Rodney,Ohio
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Rodney,Ohio
For buck ratio is about making bucks more vulnerable by making them travel more. Not about making them bigger.

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864735
05/06/20 11:26 AM
05/06/20 11:26 AM
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Rodney,Ohio
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Rodney,Ohio
Originally Posted by jbyrd63
Originally Posted by Providence Farm
I haven't found a way to get the antlers to be edible and bucks tend to taste like they smell. So I prefer to eat doe. It's an interesting topic I need to learn more about. But only having 96 acres management would be difficult.


The property I was hunting was 100 acre. Lay out was the key Open pasture for miles around it . Flat land and little agriculture. Plus this farm had not had a bush hog on it for 14 years. Thick jungle and only paths where cut once a year with a DR trimmer. Deer walked in the trails. Around each field and one swipe across the middle. Too easy really . But why was it easy . MY HARD WORK !!!!. Running that dr trimmer thru head high blackberry briars in 95 degree heat in august is tough.



Sounds like a food wasteland

Re: Lots of does mean bigbucks!! [Re: jbyrd63] #6864774
05/06/20 12:16 PM
05/06/20 12:16 PM
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Posts: 2,213
central Missouri
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central Missouri
I think both theories have merit at different times of rut and different hunting styles or areas . If you are hunting an isolated and defined bedding area . Then the more does that ignore your presence the better , if you are hunting big woods where the deer bed wherever and whenever they want then there is merit to an even ratio causing them to move . The perfect situation is if the neighbors are trying to keep the ratio even and you have a small huntable doe sanctuary.

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