Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer Breeders Pissed--Walk Out of TP&W Commission Meeting

Oh don't doubt I loose deer every year. Typically on the 100 acres of ours, we have up to 15-20 "legal" bucks by Aug/Sept. By end of Sept, sometimes just before bow, the biggest disappear. Sometimes I see them at times again. Sometimes never again that I"m aware of.

Last year we kept 4 bucks, 10 points each, lowest scoring around 125, best around 140, and they stayed around all year. A friend hunts half a mile away would see some of them now and then, but for the most part we would see them almost every day.

I totally agree with him on size needed to manage, but I can say this, we've seen what happens when any buck is legal around here. And I've seen what happens with the 13 inch rule in effect plus a little education.

probably does not hurt that I have at times up to 8 food plots, and have protein out almost year around and some feeders stashed in spots year round.

I can promise that we have not wasted our time here. OTOH we very well may not have netted the largest that "we" have produced either... and I'm fine with that. As long as the few folks that hunt, are not killing promising bucks, and are killing culls, who gets the biggest one matters not to me.

The funny thing that my cameras show almost every year, that its much more common to find a 4-6 year old pure trash buck show up for 2-3 days or a week, and play hell realizing he is around quick enough to kill him. Its almost unseen, to see a mucho buck show up for a day or three or a week.

Hence I'm still and generally alwyas have been, much more concerned with killing the trash, and let the rest of the chips fall where they may.

Having shot a buck of almost 160 inches in 130 inch hill country region last fall, sometimes it works. I was not hunting that buck. Had not seen him in 2 years. Was just trying to kill 2 culls every fall and some does. And just be patient. I was lucky, but it worked.

High fences, I don't give a flip what anyone says, I'd be MUCH more into a high fence to keep trash out, than to keep the best in. Trash can ruin an effort really really quickly IMHO. If I loose one of my best bucks, thats not so bad as I have other good genetics to breed.

We had a bad gene in Llano once... yeah, land of the dinks.... it was no brow tines.... nice bucks for the area with nothing. It took us about 5 years of shooting every one we saw on the spot, and then another few years, before we then went almost 4 years IIRC before shooting another. But let one get into the pile, breed a few does, and have to get his offspring old enough to realize they are the same, and cull, they too likely have had a chance to breed and off we go again.

No matter what anyone says, letting the big ones go and even die of old age, while shooting trash, ain't going to hurt anything, and there is NO way it can't help. No matter what years of college might say.

No substitute for age, that's for sure. As far as your years of college comment. This particular biologist helped coin the term "the golden triangle" along with Horace Gore, the godfather's of TX deer management. He had spiral notebooks that would stack to the ceiling several times over of his in the field documented data. That, and his college education, have given him more knowledge than you and I put together 100 times over will ever hope to have. When you hear the term "he's forgotten more than most people combined will ever know"......that's him. Everyone who knows him acknowledges that as well, especially his peers.

U R right miles. I have USED my buck tags to 'cull' trash. It is a shame they make NO provision for 'adult' spikes, forked horns etc. Game Wardens have said, "they're lucky".

Yes, but it hurts the quality. "They say" they're trying to improve the quality of the herd but NOT like that.

The 'better' / 'mature' bucks will do the breeding IF they are around but when they are locked down with a hot doe, the better bucks are NOT around.

Jerry

Its nice to know that some keep on and move forward, college is to teach you more of how to learn in life the rest of your life.

But for someone to say that its worthless to do the best you can, I think that is a total dis service to the community. Will you end up with a perfect herd and 180s behind each bush? No way, hell you might not even have the genetics or nutrition to do that regardless, but regardless just flat ignoring whats going on takes us right back to what we used to have. 120 inch deer was amazing. Like a 160 now. So in a way you have growth of 40 inches due to regs and management....

I'd say thats a positive move regardless.

Just watched an 8 in velvet come by the house while ago that was a 2.5 year old buck at about 110 inches already... Years back he'd have died at 1.5..

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Think about trying to get that plan to work in an area where the properties run from as little as 15-20 acres to mybe 200. It would take convincing at least 50 landowners to get 4000 acres where we hunt. As to deer breeders, it all comes down to what you want . I come from a time where if you responded to what did you kill and you said 8 pt everyone said wow and never cared if it scored 120 or 180. It was an 8 pointer. I kind of miss the simplicity. The deer breeders to me have sort of make a mockery of B&C and other trophy registers as well as trophy hunting in general. Like so much if you have a fat wallet you can buy what you want.

I know I'll be taken to task... but shooting larger scoring deer means you are shooting bucks past their breeding prime.

Which IMHO is much healthier in the end. The best ones breed and are harvested later.

Not shot when they were just an 8 point...

We manage our ponds too, taking what needs to be taken when it does.

Not managing would be like letting your cattle herd just do whatever, and dad breeds daughters and so on... but if you don't or haven't run cattle, then some of this may not make so much sense.

Stewardship of the land means getting the best out of it. And not simply by harvest, the hardiest fish/animals etc.. that are much more resistant to disease, drought etc.....

You let a runt cull like me breed, the whole thing would be messed up. LOL.