I would think prickly pear would lead to a lot of asymmetrical/non-typical sacs. Hard to judge at a glance with all that tumbleweed blocking your view.

.. not in East Tx Posco .. my territory is basically west Louisiana.. a lot of pine and some oak flats mixed in here and there .. so a man could argue that the terrain is ideal for producing symmetry in a bucks’ testes .. but I find it challenging to find the MOST symmetrical pair

.. it’s not for everyone and I understand that

.. if you’re content to take asymmetrical teste’d bucks I’m not here to judge

Yes we just hunt deer for the meat, go out to a couple different places to shoot white tail does.
We can buy leftover tags (4 of them) and general tags we each get one of them.

Freezer is good and full this year also drew a mule deer doe tag for snack meats.

No baits, cameras, or stand's just good ol' hunting.

I may book a hunt down there. I'm not looking for book nuts, just something representative of the area. Do you know of anyone who does lifelike scrotum work?

… I could put you on a government woods +\~ .003” ovality after the drying time for a case of lonestar and a can of Copenhagen… ride on down

A retired NH wildlife biologist....went county by county ,on a map of NH ,listing the deer kill as of Nov 25th . 80% of those county’s the deer kill was off anywhere from 5% -28 %. So everyone had their own ideas why. I typed in my reply ...” there are less hunters in the woods nowadays “ .
The hard core hunting generation is dying off, or to old to drag a 140 lb deer out,without dropping dead....and the younger generation,is not into it. The biologist agreed

i have to use a 4 wheeler or call my son for help

Ain't many gonna be interested in your public land testes.

Public land?

You are correct Nate.

20-30% of the does need to be killed if you want to maintain the herd. Less than 20 to increase the herd and over 30 to decrease.

I was talking to a biologist buddy of mine about that the other day. I knew it was a decent amount, but interesting to get the information.

I think he mentioned not having a fawn harvest over 10% or something also.

For sure bucks roam. Many come and go...never to be seen again. But, therein lies the challenge: take the best buck your property has to offer. I realize that many hunters don't have the time or the patience to single out a mature buck and attempt to take only him. I get that..but the Op was saying there was no excitement in his deer hunting anymore.

This is more a private land challenge..not public land, but find and single out your best buck and hunt ONLY him. If you're able to do it..that'll put the excitement back in your deer hunting....

Depends on the habitat and current population.

In better soil areas such as the midwest and most other agricultural areas, a higher doe harvest is needed/required.

But, in poor soil, acorn & natural browse dependant areas....a more selective doe harvest is needed to keep from over-harvesting does. Deer in these poorer habitats are not as productive, fawn survival is lower, etc.

A few less productive regions that come to mind are: mountainous areas, northern big woods areas, southern piney flatwoods, and most of the state of Florida.

Plenty of coyotes here. Between Saturday night drunks driving 85 on county roads and predators, fawn survival is about right. Deer population is lower now that so many doe tags can be purchased OTC but the population is as stable as any other wild animal population.

I can see that point, it is all dependent on habitat, current health of the herd and population. And perhaps that is why it is a range of a percentage. 20 percent in some places and 30 in others. And, it’s not as if the numbers are absolute. I’m sure there are areas where you need a much lower or higher harvest rate.

One of the reasons each state sets different limits and rules for deer. They are all different. What works in Missourimay not work in Minnesota.

For instance, where I hunt in Delaware I can kill as many does as I want to buy tags for or get crop damage and shoot them for free. In Maryland I can kill 45 does a season and probably have almost no effect on the herd. When I go to Maine and I can kill one buck and have to apply for a doe tag.

That's all I do is just deer hunt, no camera's or food plots. My buddy has the above stuff and I think that's great just not for me.
I've taken 2 deer this year, my buddy 0

It boils down to this I hunt for me and no one else

Me too.

To each his own.

What scratches someone's itch might not scratch mine.

Unfortunately I share that land with other members and lose the freedom of setting up wherever I want to. I could get in a lease close to home with about triple the acreage with less members but just can't monetarily justify having dues on two leases. Now if coon skin coats come back in fashion I could afford both. Been a long wait.....

Took my 10 Y/O grand daughter out this morning. Its so foggy we came home. Too foggy to see if the shot is safe.

That's to bad. Are you taking her tonight and tomorrow? I sure hope and look forward to seeing some pictures of her with her kill soon.