Deer Management
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Jay from IA asks:What do you feel is the most important factor for consistently growing large deer on your property?Winke Responds:Jay, In some ways it has just been luck, I think. I have owned this property for a long time (at least parts of it since 2002). When I first bought it there were some really good deer around (I had nothing to do with them being here) and then they disappeared, (too much buck hunting pressure in the general area). For a long time you would struggle to see anything over 150. I am dead serious. The deer numbers dropped, fewer hunters were attracted to the area and slowly the age of the bucks has started to increase. There aren't tons of bucks compared to some areas I have hunted, but the average age is increasing. I can point to food plots and habitat improvement, but really, at the end of the day, I just think it is lucky genetics with a few deer and an increasing age structure. I have a few really good bucks around (not a lot) and the bucks in general are getting older. You can fine-tune the buck growing formula, but age is so very, very important here in the Midwest - by far the most important factor. Happy New Year (12-31-11)
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Chad from GA asks:Hi Bill, love the show and the website. My father and I manage 3,000 acres in central GA mainly for whitetails. What should the maximum population density be, per square mile, provided that there is not a shortage of food or cover. Thanks.Winke Responds:Chad, Without a food shortage and a cover mix of at least 60 to 70% cover to open ground, I would say something in the neighborhood of 75 to 90 deer per square mile will be fine. If you have control of the harvest and age structure on neighboring properties (like a co-op) then you might go even a bit lower to provide more space and better browse. Despite what people think, browse is a very important part of a deer's diet, even in areas with adequate food plots. We are probably roughly in the 75 deer per square mile range on this farm, maybe a bit lower now. I have hunted in areas that were over 150 deer per square mile and that is bad news - too much habitat loss from overbrowsing. Good luck. Merry Christmas. (12-21-11)
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Jared from WI asks:We have a section of land that is about 100 acres. When my dad first started hunting the property about 10 years ago he shot many big bucks, now the biggest buck i got this year on trail camera was a basket rack 7 pointer. I have no place to grow a food plot. Is there anything i can do to get bigger bucks?Winke Responds:Jared, It has to be age. That is the main thing determining size of antlers in your part of the country. My guess is that the hunting pressure is greater now and the bucks just aren't getting as old. A food plot might help you to hold a few deer on the property, but really, it is always going to come down to what your neighbors (and you) are shooting. If everyone shoots young bucks, you will never have old and big bucks. To change things requires a group effort - almost like cooperative. A few informal discussions with your neighbors might get the ball rolling or at least show you what you are up against. Good luck. Merry Christmas (12-20-11)
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Jack from MI asks:Hi, on my grandparent's 80 acre farm, 3 bucks were killed this year the oldest being 3 1/2 years old (my first deer!) Is there a limit to the number of bucks that should be killed on a piece of property this size? Or will more bucks just move in.Winke Responds:Jack, Congrats on a great buck! It really depends on your goals. We try to keep the buck kill fairly low so that more of them live another year to grow old. There isn't an unlimited supply of them on the other side of the fence. If you kill a buck or your neighbor kills one, that is just one less that can get a year older or a year bigger. I would say 3 bucks is a lot for 80 acres. If everyone shot them that hard then that would be a harvest of 24 per square mile. That would have to be almost all the bucks in most sections. I sure wouldn't hit it any harder than that. It is nice to leave a few each year to get bigger. Good luck and congrats. Merry Christmas. (12-21-11)
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Bob from IA asks:I'm curious about what criteria you use for bucks to be killed by the various bowhunters/pro-staff who hunt your farms. I wouldn't think you'd want them targeting any buck younger than 4, or even 5 yrs old, unless they had obvious genetic issues. I think deciding on which deer go in the "management buck" category and which do not, is tricky, especially when you have to multiple hunters and each with different backgrounds and goals. Have you had people shoot up-and-comers by mistake? How did you deal with that?Winke Responds:Bob, I don't have a lot of people that hunt here. Mike Sawyer and his cameraman (both using Mike's judgment) and this year an editor named Frank Miniter hunted here. Greg Clements has hunted a bit, but Greg is very careful about age. We have made a few mistakes over the years, but not that many really. I think Mike tries really hard to make sure the bucks are at least 4 1/2. Frank had a bit of open reign as he has bought a lot of my articles over the years so I didn't impose tight restrictions on him. He waited four years and had just one week to hunt. I don't think we have shot a good up and comer since I shot one in 2006 for Realtree's DVD (Nocked and Loaded). Nick Mundt was here filming (before his Bone Collector days) and the buck showed up fast and Nick kind of talked me into it. I am still not sure how old he was, but I think he was just 3 1/2. Since then I have been pretty careful. I think we will raise the bar on age if I get the feeling that the neighbors aren't knocking them off too fast. If they will let them go to 5 1/2, I will too. That seems to be when things get interesting. I used to think it was 4 1/2 but they still have a lot of growing to do after that. We basically know the age on most of these bucks now because of all the filming and trail cam photos. Without that, I am sure we would make more mistakes. Good luck. (11-26-11)
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Tye from AL asks:Bill, quick question on age with your herd/farm in mind specifically. With the jumps that the DG4 and G5 bucks made from 4.5 to 5.5 (and Daggers likely even though you don't know what he had for sure at 4.5), what are your personal thoughts on no longer shooting 4.5's on your farm? Will you only target 5.5+ from here on it, or are 4.5's still in danger?Winke Responds:Tye, I am serioiusly considering it. The challenge will come in years when I don't have any 5 1/2 and older bucks. Also, we have been getting lucky with some of these bucks being home-bodies. I don't control enough ground to think just because I let some bucks go they will still be here next here. I will have to think about it very seriously though. There is no guarantee that I will always have a good supply of those older bucks to hunt. Like I said, I have been on a lucky run the last few years with the bucks on the farm. I agree with you though. The jumps those bucks made is definitely a big deal. I will see what we have next year, but I am pretty sure if we can keep a steady supply of deer around, I will keep letting some of them grow. I'll make that final decision next year. Good luck. (11-21-11)
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Travis from MO asks:Bill if I'm not mistaken you guys have taken 5 bucks off your property this year, do you have a set limit of mature bucks you all take off the farm or ever worry about next years buck crop? Also is their a list of bucks that are off limits even if they are a mature deer, to see what they may turn into the next year? Love the daily blogs and all the information you all provide, keep it coming, Thanks! TravisWinke Responds:Travis, We have taken more than I would normally like. Most were older deer so that is OK. I think as long as we are taking out fully mature bucks we aren't overharvesting. There is always another year class ready to step in and take their place the next year and it is healthy to take out some of the older bucks anyway to make room in the pecking order for those younger bucks to stay. A person has to be a bit careful not to overharvest bucks, but again, as long as we are killing fully mature bucks I am not too worried. Good luck. (12-6-11)
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Sean from IA asks:Hi Bill, I was talking to a guy a couple days ago that scores a lot of big deer and rubs elbows with some very big names in the industry. He was telling me about more than 1 large land owner/manager/professional that kills nearly every doe they see on their farms year in and year out. Including, very carefully during the antlerless late rifle season. The numbers they kill are very high and they do it year after year with the intention of creating permanent ratio of MORE bucks than does. Obviously, fewer deer equals more food coupled with decreased stress but, is there ever a point in Iowa where one can take it too far? Will bucks begin to permanently move to a more doe rich environment? Thank you!Winke Responds:Sean, That is kind of what we did here. Back about six or seven years ago, we had a lot more deer and we (myself, guests, neighbors) went on a doe killing spree that lasted about four years and really reduced the numbers. I would say we dropped the numbers by nearly 75%. For sure we had more bucks than does for several years. I think it has leveled out now because there are less bucks being born. There is a point where this guy may run into trouble depending on his neighborhood and how much land he controls. It really depends on his starting point, but eventually, there is a point where the population implodes if the neighbors are killing the does too (and bucks). If the landowners in the neighborhood are NOT killing does then his farm becomes the vaccuum that the bucks off those farms disperse into. He becomes a net importer of bucks. I have seen it happen. He can go a long time if that is the case. However, if the neighbors start hammering does too, the program will collapse because it takes does to produce buck fawns, etc. That is what happened on our farm/neighborhood. It can still be good hunting, but the number of deer is way down. If other people in the neighborhood stop shooting young bucks, the program can work, but if they keep shooting them, then he needs a good supply of bucks in that overall area to make sure that after everyone that wants a buck gets a buck there are still plenty of them left to grow older. Every situation is different. If he controls enough ground (I think it honestly takes 5,000 contiguous acres of good habitat in Iowa to fully control a good number of bucks because of their wide ranges) he may be able to keep it going. If not, he really needs to eventually consider the dynamics created by what the neighbors are doing. Interesting situation though. Good luck (11-15-11)
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Drew from IL asks:Is there a such thing as too many bucks on a property? I see probably 2 bucks to every 1 doe. There are a few bucks that are very big but for the most part they are just average in size. If i took a few younger bucks would that help?Winke Responds:Drew, I am sure that once the rut is over those does will resurface and the ratios will look a lot different. I would not shoot younger bucks in the hopes of evening out the ratios unless you just want to shoot them. From a biological standpoint, you will see the ratios change on their own once the rut is over and you head into the late season, trust me on this one. Good luck. (11-20-11)
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Ryan from IA asks:My question is simple, at what age should you harvest a whitetail? I realize that in most of your articles it looks like the key age is 4 1/2 for a whitetail to be considered mature. What are your thoughts on waiting till a buck in 5 1/2, 6 1/2, and beyond. At what age do deer typically grow there biggest set of antlers and is it going to be a big enough difference in antler size to pass a 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 to wait for him to get to 6 1/2, 7 1/2 or even 8 1/2? Thanks.Winke Responds:Ryan, I always say a good trophy for most people is a buck that is one year older than the average age of the bucks shot in that area. It is realistic so that a person in any area or state can apply that concept and have a true "trophy" experience if they want to regardless of their setting. Now, I think we will start trying to wait until 5 1/2 on all the bucks (at least the genetically superior ones) to see what they turn into. The G5 Buck made a believer out of me. He made a big jump from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 and I would like to see if that happens with other bucks too. We keep learning as we go here, but whenever possible, I am going to start letting them get even older. I think the age for the biggest set of antlers depends on the buck, but I am sure that some don't grow that set until they are much older. I wouldn't be surprised if it is 7 1/2 or more. I am going to let the buck we call "Big" go this year to see what he looks like as a 7 1/2 year old. (Assuming he makes it through winter). That should shed some light on this since he really slipped from 5 1/2 to 6 1/2. I expect to see him rebound. It will be fun to see, eiter way. Good luck. (11-17-11)
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Matt from MI asks:How do you know how many deer are on the farm? You have been repeating that you have a low population. Perhaps you could do a segment on the properties site about how to estimate your deer numbers and how many Does you should shoot each year. I'm sure you have fewer deer than many farms in Iowa but it still seems like you have a lot of deer to me.Winke Responds:Matt, It is all relative. The numbers are down a lot from when I bought the land. We did this on purpose (neighbors and I) to make farming more realistic and to make it easier to keep food on the farm for the deer year-round. It is fine, but there are definitely fewer deer. The best way to know exactly what you have is to do a trail camera survey. I have never done one but there is a scientific approach to determine the numbers. I just manage based on what I am seeing. I am out there all the time so I have a good idea where I am at deer number wise. So for me it is non-scientific. Experts say that you need to shoot roughly 30% of the adult members of the herd each year to keep the population from growing (in good ranges). We shoot much less than 30% of the bucks and probably around 30% of the does (roughly). We shot well over 50% of the does for several years (all over the neighborhood) and that is what led to the significant decline. I can dig something up on trail cam surveys, but you can do that too. I think the QDMA has a book out on the subject so consider visiting their website to learn more. Good luck (11-17-11)
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Matt from WI asks:Bill, I love the semi-live format of your show and have really enjoyed the daily video blogs this fall. I own a 40 acre property in western Wisconsin and have been trying to harvest only does and mature bucks. While hunting last weekend, however, I made a mistake and shot a large button buck, thinking that it was a young doe. The neighbors and I would prefer to let all young bucks grow. In your opinion, will taking a button buck by mistake hurt the management on the property? I’ve read a lot of articles that claim the majority of buck fawns will either not survive their first winter or move off of the property where they were born, so killing one occasionally should not affect the number of bucks on the property. Your thoughts?Winke Responds:Matt, You will never notice it. Sure, if you kill a bunch of them it will be a problem, but the odd mistake is not a huge deal. As you mention, they have a high rate of dispersal and mortality anyway. When you kill a nice 2 year old or a nice 3 year old (if you are managing for older deer) that is a bigger deal since that deer has already shown an inclination to live on your ground and you have some time and food invested in him. Try not to shoot button bucks, but the odd mistake will not kill you. Good luck. (11-15-11)
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Randy Rue from MN asks:Bill, Hunting in NW Minnesota and are deer numbers are way down in are zone. You do not see the deer like we use to. Do you think you should still be shooting does?Winke Responds:Randy, No, I wouldnt shoot any until the numbers bounce back. Sorry to hear the numbers are down. Good luck. (11-7-11)
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dale from OH asks:hey man, i love your shows!!! I have seen 34 bucks and 7 does this year. what should i do? is that good or bad? I only have pics of 1 decent 140 class deer. Are the bucks leavn once they get older or what? I'm very careful with entry and exit routes and don't want to shoot any immature deer. What should I do about doe numbers and mature bucks? thanks and remember to always dream BIG!!!! daleWinke Responds:Dale, That seems pretty good to me. Often the does lay low at this time of the year to keep from getting harrassed all the time. You just don't see the older bucks as much as the younger ones until the does start to pop into estrous. Depending on the hunting pressure in the area, either they are there and you aren't seeing them, or they are not there because there aren't many reaching that age. Short of hunting every day to see what comes out, the best way to take an inventory of the property is with a trail camera. That will tell you what is there but moving mostly at night. Dream big yourself! Good luck. (11-13-11)
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Al from ON asks:Have been watching and enjoying your blog very much. I am surprised to hear you comment on how few of deer are on your properties. I do not know much about buck to doe ratios or what you consider when trying to manage your parcels of land. Could you maybe explain what your objectives are when doing doe management and what your ideal buck to doe ratios are? Thanks and congrats on Daggers!Winke Responds:Al, Thanks. Ideal is probably one to one. Biologists often state that. I think mine is around that level. I just try to keep a moderate number because I want to have enough food for the deer to make it all the way through winter without running out so to do that I either need to plant a lot of food or have a moderate deer number. I select the moderate numbers. I may let the population come up slowly, but the bigger risk is that it gets away from you and you have to take extreme measures to bring it back down. When I first bought the properties, I had to shoot a lot of does and my guests and neighbors all had to shoot lots of them too. Now the numbers are back down and I don't want them to climb too fast and have to go through that again. Instead, a slow climb is OK, I still try to shoot about 30 to 40% of the adult does on the farm each year. I may come up a bit short some years, but I think we do a pretty good job of holding the population at the current level. Good luck. (11-5-11)
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Tom from WI asks:Bill, thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions. I was wondering your thoughts on this issue our group has. We hunt in an area that has high deer numbers yet very few of our neighbors will shoot does out of fear they will ruin their trophy property by disturbing it. We have about 400 acres to work with and always thought it was actually to our advantage to shoot many does as this would create space for button bucks to relocate on our farm. Now we are begining to wonder??? Because we are primarily weekend hunters we have to take the majority of these does whenever we get the chance, all season long. Could shooting these does all season long be putting pressure on our local buck population as well and potentially ruining our hunting to some degree. Our neighbors do just fine (although the deer numbers are too high) and it definately seems like we are hurting ourselves by trying to do the right thing? We can't manage the herd correctly all by ourselves can we? WWinke Responds:Tom, You are welcome. It is getting hard to keep up right now. I think you are right in your approach. Kill plenty of does. Yes, you are also right that shooting them will impact your hunting area. What do you do? You have to shoot them. You can't have the impact you want hunting just a few days per week, but if you hunt more often you can literally shoot half the does every season if you take every shot that comes along. I have seen it done (I have done it). After a few years you will see the ratio change dramatically toward bucks. You will need to get some help from the neighbors though or it is probably going to be very frustrating. Have a meeting and ask everyone to help out for a year or two to get things under control. It will actually take about three or four years, to be honest. However, getting them started is the key. You may need to have someone come in from the DNR to talk about the benefits (or have some research of why it helps to keep the numbers reasonable). You can also look for times when the deer are stressed where you can kill them easier on food (late season with a muzzleloader) and not shoot them during the rut. I know many managed farms that run this way. It works too, but you may need to bring in a few friends to make it happen. Good luck. (11-1-11)
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Eric from MN asks:Bill: I know there has been a lot of research on whether or not harvesting "Bully Bucks," as in episode 4 of the 2011 series, has a huge impact on the antler genetics of a deer herd. I am sure it has a slight effect, but is this really the most important factor to evaluate? Doe's hold most of the genetic material for passing on antler size, correct? Do you know how many genes actually control antler size? It seems logical to harvest "management bucks" to better the herds antler size, but how much of an effect does it really have?Winke Responds:Eric, I actually say that removing those bucks has little if any noticeable affect. You are right, the does do carry some of the buck antler genetics. I remove the bully bucks so that there is room on my farm for bucks with bigger antlers to move in and take up dominance. I say, it has no affect on genetics unless you can wipe them all out. But it can have a noticeable affect on the kinds of bucks on your farm because getting those bullies out of there makes room for better bucks to move in. Plus it is a lot fun! Good luck. (10-28-11)
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kyle from AZ asks:dear bill, my brother keeps goin out to see how the bucks are growing and he says that they are not getting very big main beems and that some of there racks are just ugly should we kill these deer of or just let them be?Winke Responds:Kyle, You aren't going to change the genetics of the area much by removing them (probably not at all) but if you enjoy shooting them, then go for it. You might make room on the property for bucks with better antlers. Good luck. (10-28-11)
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Gary from WI asks:Bill, I've written before. Am on my 7th year of owning this 1000 acre farm in SW Wisconsin. I have severely limited harvest of bucks hoping to get that 200 inch deer and now have a farm absolutely full of old bucks. I suspect I have a dozen or so bucks in that 6.5 year or older range. Many in the same exact areas and fields they have frequented for the last 3 or so years. Most of these deer are 140-155 inch deer, none over 160. I'm going into this year with the thought of trying to kill all those bucks and give the farm a new start. I am believing these animals are as good as they will get and in fact probably regressing. Also think they need to go to maybe allow better 3.5 year olds to move in and grow up to the same age. The problem is of course they are much harder to kill at this age until late season when they pile into the food. GaryWinke Responds:Gary, I totally agree with everything you are saying and doing. You need to get them out of there, but they also represent great challenge and great fun. Don't overlook the fun and thrill of shooting one or more of these old monarchs that you have so much history with. You may just find at the end of the day, you have had more fun this year than any season when you went after bigger deer. Antler size is not necessarily the measure of a season - look past that and I think you will really have a ton of fun with these old bucks. Our farm is like that too. We have a few big ones but lots of medium sized mature bucks and I have really come to enjoy hunting them. Good luck.
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Keith from IL asks:How old is a spike and is it wise or foolish to shoot them? I was wondering if a spike buck is always 1.5 yrs or a buck that was born early in the year and has some antler growth in it's first year. It seems like shooting a spike would be a good idea if they are a 1.5 yr old because it has bad potential/genetics. So I guess what I am asking is for some knowledge on antler growth in the first 1.5 yrs of a bucks life and whether or not date of birth affects antler growth.Winke Responds:Keith, Most are 1 1/2 year old - foolish to shoot them. Some are simply born late the year before and haven't caught up yet. They will eventually. If you have bucks that are obviously older than 1 1/2 and they are spikes you should definitely shoot them because they are just taking up room that a different buck with better antlers could occupy. Good luck.
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drew from IL asks:Can you better explain the positive and negative effects of killing does on a propertyWinke Responds:Drew, Positives: 1. you reduce the number of mouths you need to feed so you food plots last longer into the winter. 2. balancing the number of does with the number of bucks will make the bucks cruise more during the rut. They have to look for the does harder. Negatives: 1. you have to disturb your hunting area more to recover and remove the does during the season. 2. if the numbers are not high in your area, you can bring the numbers down fast with aggressive doe harvest. Bottomline: if the deer numbers are high, shoot a lot of does. If the numbers are moderate shoot what you believe to be about 25% to 30% of the does on the property. If the numbers are low, just don't shoot any or one for the freezer.
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Luke from MN asks:Hello Bill. Great show! I'm a very big fan. I have a question regarding buck to doe ratio. What is likely the main reason why there are usually more does than bucks spotted? Are the bucks just that much more elusive? Are there more does born compared to bucks? Is it because many hunters like to hold their tag and wait for a buck? Maybe all of these are reasons but I would just like to know what you think the main reason is. Thanks. -LukeWinke Responds:Luke, Most free ranging herds have more does than bucks. That is because the hunters shoot more bucks than does, in general. I have hunted areas where the ratio of bucks to does is more even (our farm is like that) and we always see many more bucks than does during the rut. The does are holed up and the bucks are cruising. In most areas it is because there are more does than bucks. Bucks do also tend to be more nocturnal than does, adding to the reason somewhat.
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rob from AL asks:Hi Bill Last season you started to question your agressiveness on the amount of does you were shooting off your farm. Are you changing any doe strategy for this season? thanks again RobWinke Responds:Rob, No, there are still enough for sure. I will probably have to stay on them every year. I think the numbers were definitely down last year, but they appear, based on summer sightings, to be up a little bit again this year. If you aren't careful, they can get away from you fast. So, I will need to hit them a bit again this year. I want to be able to grow enough food plots to make it through the winter without breaking the bank. That means I have to keep the deer numbers moderate. Good luck.
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Cody from IN asks:Bill, love the show. My question is with a lot more people practicing qdm and taking more and more does how can the number of does keep up with the number of bucks? I know personally I've seen far more yearling bucks than anything the last few years. I've read that the birth rate is something like 51% buck fawns and 49% doe fawns in natural settings. I see numberous guys shooting multiple does each year and we our a one buck state. I just don't see how numbers can stay 1:1 or higher doe:buck if this is sustained.Winke Responds:Cody, In the first place, not everyone is shooting multiple does or even shooting does at all. So that helps to balance things out. My guess is that your DNR is trying to bring down total deer numbers in that area by liberalizing the doe harvest. It takes more than a few guys shooting lots of does though, to make an impact in a sizeable management area. For sure, the deer numbers will go down if you harvest more than about 30 to 40% of the adult does each year (depending on area of the country). That may be happening in small areas where certain people are very active, but likely your harvest numbers are not much beyond that point (or even below them) across larger areas. It is the job of the DNR to watch the numbers and determine when they have stabilized near their goal and then set up harvest goals accordingly. Most departments have pretty good monitoring tools, but in my experience, they usually overshoot their intended target going up and going down. So if they are trying to bring the numbers down, expect to see at least a year or two of overharvest before they settle in on the right tag alottment. You need to stay on them though. The DNR sometimes gives in to other interests (Farm Bureau, auto insurance companies, etc.) when determining the right number of deer for a certain area. Finally, you can have a good huntable herd in a managed area for a few years even if there are more bucks than does. You just have to realize that eventually the buck numbers will start falling too unless they are coming in from areas nearby with more deer. In other words, it is an inexact science. Every situation is different.
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Joey from TN asks:Mr. Winke I hunt on a small farm in Tennessee with alot of does and every year I think the population of buck to doe ratio will get better but the farm is a haven for does and their fawns. Is there any advice for making the ratio better? Thanks and keep up the great work on MW.Winke Responds:Joey, You have to hunt them very aggressively for about four or five years. That means getting the needed tags and shooting every doe that comes past within range of whatever weapon you are carrying (you and your friends). If you do this, you will have an impact. I have seen it happen. Even one person can make a difference if you are very aggressive in your approach. Plus it is a lot of fun. Good luck.
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josh from OK asks:hey i was just wondering how big is your farm? the land that i hunt is roughly 100acres, do you think it is possible for me to grow and hold some big bucks without the neighbors trying any sort of management program? thanks joshWinke Responds:Josh, We own 1,000 acres. I got lucky and started buying land back in the early 90s when it was very affordable. You are not going to like the answer, but it is probably no. You can certainly attract them with good food and hold them for part of their time, but they will definitely roam off your farm (the bucks at least). To really get the most from your stewardship, you need help from your neighbors. In some neighborhoods the hunting pressure it not heavy so there are good numbers of bucks around - enough for some to reach maturity. In other neighborhoods the pressure is too heavy and the only way to have mature bucks is for the hunters to intentionally let them go. You likely fall into one or the other of these two. Knowing which type of neighborhood you are in will help you set your expectations correctly. There is nothing wrong with hunting and shooting young bucks when that is all that there is around. It is still whitetail hunting and great fun. Don't feel that you have to shoot something big for the sport to be meaingful. Please stay out of that trap. It is all good. Have a great week.
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Jim from OH asks:Bill, I bow hunt a small parcel 22 acres in Ohio, and put feed and mineral licks out. All I see are bucks on my trail cams. This is in a semi rural/urban area. The bucks range from small to nice shooters, I don't see many does, since Ohio is only a one buck state; should I invite some buddies over to shoot some of the small bucks? I mean I have 8-10 different bucks and maybe 2 does! What should I do?Winke Responds:Jim, It is likely that you are just set up right in the area of a bachelor group. I would not assume that what you are seeing is the true buck to doe ratio, but just an event that is biased by some other factor (like the bachelor group). I would go through the hunting season and see what you actually seed during the season before you get too quick to start removing bucks. My guess is that it will even back out after the bucks disperse from their bachelor groups. Good luck.
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Sean from IA asks:Hi Bill, Hope you are having a great weekend and everything is going well for you. In the most recent issue of North American Whitetail Randy Templeton wrote an article featuring a seasoned hunter by the first name of Ron. From what I gather, Ron owns and hunts land in multiple states including Iowa. In this article Ron is quote as saying "My best hunting seemed to be on properties where the buck-to-doe ratio ran around 1:4 so that became my goal..." Unfortuanatly for me it does not go into detail why he prefers that. I was wondering if you could make some assumptions for me and possibly guess why he prefers the ratio to be as such? Thank you very much for your time and I value every second of time you put towards the "Ask Winke" section.Winke Responds:Sean, I don't know. That has not been my finding. I like properties where the buck to doe ratio is one to one or even more bucks than does. Maybe the guy has just never had the chance to hunt such places and thus is going with the best buck to doe he has experienced. As the ratio of bucks versus does goes starts to favor the bucks, they have to travel more during the rut. At one point, all the people in my neighborhood got crazy about shooting does and the ratio skewed way toward bucks. I would say we had three bucks per doe and the rut never had a lull. The bucks cruised all November long, even the old ones. If you go back to the 2008 shows you will see tons of cruising bucks - that was the result of heavy doe killing that took place in 2004-2007. Of course, it was not sustainable and the population plunged and now we see much less activity. However, if the herd is carefully hunted, 1 to 1 is sustainable and would create great hunting. In my experience, most areas in Iowa are about 1 buck to 3 does, much better than the norm in most other states. 1 to 3 or better (as close to 1 to 1 as you can get) is ideal in my mind. We are probably at about 1 to 1 now or 1 to 2 (more does than bucks) and I need to start to shoot does a bit more aggressively again. Not nearly as aggressively as before, but I don't want the numbers to get away again or the local farmers will pay the price. You have to shoot about 30% of the herd every year to keep the status quo. Unfortunately it is not quite that simple because deer jump property line fences. That means if you are going to hold 40 adult deer on your property at a 1 to 1 you have to shoot about 6 or 10 does (you will have to shoot some of your neighbors' does) and probably about 2 or 3 bucks (the neighbors will no doubt help you out when it comes to shooting your bucks). Like I said, this is not simple in a free range setting given the widespread nature of deer movement. Good luck.
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Will from MO asks:Is there such a thing as shooting too many does these days? I go hunting in the early and late season with the intent to bring home as many does as possible and I'll also shoot them during prime time if my buck tag is filled. I am still seeing people on forums talking about the lack of deer numbers here in MO and how the MDC should do away with unlimited doe tags. I'm just not seeing it, I still see just as many deer as ever. Only difference is a bigger percentage are decent sized bucks that are on their feet. Is there a set amount of does you try to take per 100 acres on your farms?Winke Responds:Will, It is never that easy, unfortunately. You have to look at the entire neighborhood. If everyone is shooting a lot of does you don't have to shoot as many, but if few neighbors shoot does, then you will have to shoot more. It is kind of unscientific, but it is the way most of us have to manage deer. When the numbers start to drop, then it is time to cut back. For sure, there is such a thing as shooting too many does. I have seen the deer numbers around our farm drop off dramatically in just the past three years. There are a number of factors causing that, but one of them is definitely aggressive doe harvest. As long as you are still seeing lots of deer, and plenty of does, I would not cut back. In theory, here in the Midwest, you have to shoot about 30 to 40% of your deer to keep the herd at a steady level. So if there are 20 does in the area that frequently range through your property, you would have to shoot at least six per year to keep the numbers from growing too much. I doubt you are holding 20 does, so if your neighbors are hitting them hard, you should probably keep your kill down a bit below that. In some areas the goal is to reduce numbers, then you have to shoot more than 40% of the deer each year. I realize that doesn't offer anything real concrete, but again, there is no simple answer. Every neighborhood is different and you have to manage it differently. Good luck.
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Justin from MT asks:Bill, While everyone is asking about does..... I thought I remember a few years back you wrote an article where you said you try to shoot a doe a week. One reason being it helps to keep your edge for when you get a shot at a buck, as well as it gets rid of the early season jitters. Do you still do that? I personally LOVE to put arrows through does, and always thought that was great advice. (providing you're in an area that you're able to and have enough tags).Winke Responds:Justin, Yes, that sounds like something I probably would have written. I still love shooting them. I really do. I grew up hunting because I loved hunting, but also because I loved shooting stuff. It is tough to go an entire season hoping for just one shot at a mature bucks. The does sure do offer welcome hope each day on stand - the hope of getting to reach full draw that day! I should write a book about doe hunting. I love hunting them.
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Ross from MI asks:I saw in an earlier question and answer you talked about having people shoot does on your land. Is their a certain age doe that you target? Do you look for dominant ones, single ones with no fawns, does with multiple fawns, or an adult doe is an adult doe? Thanks, RossWinke Responds:Ross, We don't discriminate when shooting does. Usually not the doe fawns though. If you get too selective in your doe harvest you will never get anything killed. Typically, the opportunity rate will dictate how many we shoot more than some set number or goal. If there are a lot of does around we shoot a lot. If there aren't many we don't shoot many (but we do still shoot some). I remember Grant Woods's favorite quote, "The best doe to shoot is the one that stands still long enough for you to pull the trigger." Other people may have a more sophisticated selection criteria, but we just shoot them when we can.
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Keith from IL asks:I was recently talking to a local taxidermist here in central Illinois about his business. He said it has been down as far as big bucks go. I know you are a big advocate of shooting lots of does, but he felt like the late antlerless season which has been going on for I think the last 3 years has hurt the deer herd. By his thinking, every doe shot is 3 dead deer and lots of people mistakenly shoot button bucks or bucks that have shed already. I had noticed that the deer poplulation in our area seemed a little smaller this past season. Do you think there is anything to that?Winke Responds:Keith, It was a weird year. I would hesitate to draw too many conclusions from just one bad season. However, there is no doubt that our numbers are down dramatically in my area. If it is possible here, it is also possible there. There is a balance in all this, though. Be careful not to be swayed too hard toward one side or the other. Deer numbers can rebound fast. If our job is to keep them within the social (landowners and motorists) carrying capacity and actual nutritional carrying capacity, we can't just stop shooting does. We may need to scale back to a realistic, sustainable number. Even on our farm where the numbers as way down, we aren't going to stop shooting does. As soon as you stop, they can repopulate very fast. I don't like the late, late antlerless seasons where "antlerless" harvest is made of more shed bucks and button bucks. I think they are a huge mistake. I know some big deer are killed each year (as antlerless deer) after they shed. Just be aware that there is always a balance. Don't push too hard to one extreme or the other or you will get off track. Keep shooting does, just scale back to what fits the current herd numbers. You have to harvest something like 25 to 30% of the does each year just to keep the herd from growing - keep that in mind.
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Chris from ON asks:Hi Bill I've noticed while watching your show, you have friends and family come and hunt your property. I was wondering what kind of ground rules you have when visitors hunt your property. Things like antler restriction or entrance/exit route to/from stands. How many hunters per acre or if you are less strict than that? I am trying to come up with a few ground rules of my own. This past season I couldn't even get my buddies to get their doe permits we had 1 doe tag between 4 hunters and we ended up with one guy shooting a small 5 point buck and not any does, because I was holding back to see if some of the guys that haven't got a deer in a while could get the chance. This year I have told them no doe permits no hunting. The area is grossly unbalanced. We saw close to 40 deer in the 1 week rifle season of which only 3 were bucks and we harvested 1 of them I don't want to become the deer Natzi but I would like to see if we can get better deer hunting experiences. I havWinke Responds:Chris, For the most part, everyone has to shoot does. It is understood that if they don't they won't be able to keep coming back. Fortunately for me, everyone also has to film so I get to see their hunts and I can ask them why they didn't shoot a certain doe. If they don't have a good reason, I put the pressure on them. But for the most part, all those hunting here (not tons of people) really love shooting does so it is not a big trouble getting them to do it. They are actually itching to do it. On bucks, I tell them it has to be mature and we spend time understanding what that means. I think you need a good training session, maybe purchase a video on field aging bucks and watch it with them. Tell them that they have to shoot mature bucks or they can't keep hunting. I have told some people that they couldn't hunt here again because of bucks they have shot. There are only a few people I can trust to make that decision and those are the only ones I let hunt bucks here now. The kids started out by shooting anything, now they have to abide by the same rules. They have shot many deer - they don't need to keep shooting young bucks. Hope that helps. Be lenient on first deer and kids, but then raise the bar as they gain experience and taste success.
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gary from WI asks:Am planning on taking a year or 2 off from whitetail management and hunting. I am feeling signifigant QDM burn out. Can't get that same excitement from seeing or shooting 150-160 inch deer. Feel like I've reached the pinnacle of deer hunting and wonder if you have seen anyone else in such a similar situation. I think the media and magazines have set the goals too high for all of us to not only achieve but maintain. I believe far to many of us have inadvertently become these deer snobs and don't really appreciate that this is the best mother nature does with most mature bucks. Where does a person like myself go from here? I'm stepping away for a time period to see if the flame gets rekindled. I enjoy the conservation aspect of hunting more than I do actually hunting anymore. GaryWinke Responds:Gary, We all go through various stages in deer hunting. I used to worry that I might not shoot a big one. Now I don't really care. I sure try to shoot the biggest deer on the farm each year, but I find that I really enjoy just shooting deer I have some history with, regardless of antler size. I know this sounds cliche, but I honestly don't have to shoot biggest one each year to really enjoy this. Again, I have really taken a lot of satisfaction from simply shooting deer I have known for several years. I suggest you forget totally about antler size for a year or two and just enjoy the quest for mature bucks. My guess is that you will feel much more refreshed and enjoy the sport more. You can take more pleasure in the process rather than just the result. Good luck.
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Angelo from NY asks:Bill; I have another question. For the past 16 years me and my small group of guests have only taken a few deer off my 417 acres of Woodland and rolling hills of farmland. We have only taken about 10 adult Does and about 8 or 9 adult bucks of 6 pointers or larger, and four young Bucks or Does for first time hunters.Over the years We've all passed up younger Bucks. I've seen a few older Bucks around here and there but they are few and far between. There are some road hunters and poachers in the area, but most of my neighbors don't hunt. I haven't taken any more Does in the last 8 seasons, and I have passed up some sixes and eight pointers. Question is, why don't we see older Bucks? We follow strict guidelines and my neighbors don't hunt! I'm somewhat puzzled. What do you think?Winke Responds:Angelo, There are only three things that could be happening. 1. They are still there but you are not seeing them. To rule this out, you will need to run trail cameras. Most mature bucks are primairly nocturnal so you rarely see them. 2. They are dead, killed by hunters in the area that you don't realize are there - maybe a 1/2 mile away, or more. 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 year old bucks will often travel long distances during the rut. 3. They are finding better conditions elsewehere and have moved off. This may occur if there is better sanctuary or better food sources on nearby properties. You will have to go through the options one by one to see which is the most likely. My guess is that you will find it is a combination of all three. Some of them are still around, some are dead and some are living in the same general area, just not on your property. Good luck.
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chris from LA asks:I hunt good ground in Illinois and Kansas. I've taken a 150" with my bow in Kansas. I've missed a 150"+ 8ptr in Illinois. I realize that even when hunting excellent ground, Booners are a very rare breed. My ultimate goal is to harvest a net Booner with a bow. Is this a realistic goal in the Midwest or am I raising the bar too high?Winke Responds:Chris, I think gross booners are realistic, but net booners are very hard to come by because all it takes is one or two stickers and they are cast out. I think it is better to set your score goals on gross and not net. It really takes so much luck for a buck with a big rack not to have the sticker points. So rather than be disappointed, I would focus on gross. Then, I think gross 180 is even realistic if you hunt hard enough and long enough. Good luck.
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Randy from PA asks:You recently mentioned about the increasing coyote population in your area of Iowa. About 10 years or so ago, the PA Game Commission reintroduced the coyote and most hunters believe this along with record deer harvests in the early 2000's have worked to impact the deer population negatively from a hunter's view. What factors increased the coyote population in Iowa? Was the coyote population increased to the detriment the deer population? What is your opinion of the increase in coyote and the effect on deer. This has been a hot topic in PA. Deer hunting for half my life was exciting (55 yrs. old now). Last 10 years I've continued to be successful, but see 90% fewer deer than ever. Many hunters have given up. I hunt hard and lots of hours because I love bowhunting, but I sure would like to see deer like I used to or at least more often. Just interested in what effect the coyote has in a different state. Like to get different perspectives. Great web site and show. KWinke Responds:Randy, I think the numbers just came up naturally. Coyotes are very durable and will grow in population until a natural disease takes them back down. I believe they have to be impacting the deer numbers. There are tons of them now - they have to eat something and we have seen trail cam pictures of them carrying fawn parts. On a different note: Since the coyotes took over I have not seen any bobcats, not sure if that is coincidence or if the coyotes are moving them off.
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Zach from MO asks:Bill, I was wondering if I'm the only one that notices that most of the bucks taken on the outdoor shows today are 3 1/2 year old 130 to 135 class deer. Most of which are your basic 8 point bucks. Do you think that hunting shows are making people beleive that 130 inch 3 1/2 year old is a mature trophy deer? It seems like all the shows today talk about heard managment and taking only mature deer. Don't get me wrong 130 class buck might be a trophy in some peoples eyes and in some areas, but the guys wanting to produce big deer i think would pass these deer up unless they are getting this picture that its a muture trophy.Winke Responds:Zach, I agree completely. I feel that a truly mature buck is one that is at least two years older than what most people are shooting. So in Michigan a 3 1/2 year old buck would in fact be a mature buck. Yes, it would be nice if everyone could let them get to be at least 4 1/2 before shooting them, but it is not realistic in many areas. If guys want to fill tags, they will end up having to shoot younger bucks than that occassionally. Now to the TV guys. For sure they are feeling the pressure to shoot something in order to have a show. Many of them constantly compromise on age in order to fill tags. I think they would all love to shoot older deer, but the time pressures don't allow it. I hunt a good farm (not a great one) but some years (hunting every single day of November and most of the late season) I do well just to shoot one or two fully mature deer. It would be tough to produce a 13 episode hunting show with 2 kills! Fortunately, I have a big pro staff that helsp me out immensely in this regard - taking the pressure off me so I can afford to pass up more bucks. Good luck and Happy New Year!
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Eric from OH asks:Bill thanks for a great hunting show. I was wondering if you think your deer numbers have been reduced to much? I have high doe and buck numbers and see alot of rut activity from pre-rut to post-rut year after year. I also have friends close by with fewer deer that see very little rut activity year after year.Winke Responds:Eric, I think that is part of the problem. The numbers are down significantly, but Iknow many people throughout the Midwest that had a rough rut hunt this year. So I think it is more than just lower deer numbers. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate any thoughts I can get. Have a great day.
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craig from MI asks:How can i manage for big deer??? i live in northern michigan and all the deer yard off my farm. it seems that i get differnt deer coming back each year and my deer are no where to be found, any thoughts??????Winke Responds:Craig, I am not familiar with the the challenges you face in that area. I would suggeest that providing a good summer/fall food source might make a big difference in the return rate of some of the bucks (clover is a good choice). If you have enough open ground you may even be able tokeep them from moving off for the winter if you provide a topnotch winter food source. You can likely grow short season corn there. If not, soybeans and brassicas are a great fall/winter food source. You can never go wrong by controlling the food sources. Good luck.
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Thad from IA asks:Everyone seems to have struggled deer hunting this year, including myself. I believe there was a significant winter kill last winter. I have 10 acres by my house and had 2 dead deer, one in the wood pile, and another back in timber. I have lived there 6 years with no winter kills in the past. If this happened by me, I assume the same thing happened all over the state. I think people have struggled because the deer are dead. What do you think? P.S. Your show is great, keep it up, and God Bless!Winke Responds:Thad, I think there was a good amount of winter kill last year. I know of a big property not too far from me where they found more than 150 dead last spring. You wonder how many they didn't find. So, yes, I would say that the winter took a toll on the deer. I hope this one isn't as rough. After two really hard winters, we need an easy one. Good luck.
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Curtis from IA asks:The last few years I have been keeping a diary of my hunts. The wind direction, temp, where I hunted and what I saw etc... This year I added the Bowhunter Observation Record to my diary. Do you participate in this survey? I am only able to hunt weekends and I don't start hunting until the 3rd weekend in Oct. I hunt 300 acres with 60% being beans and corn and 40% being timber. I hunted 74 hours and saw 36 bucks and 78 does which is a 1 to 2.166 ratio. Was I in my stand enough hours and how is that ratio? We shot 4 does, 1 button buck, and a 3 1/2 yr. old buck. I had some good encounters with some nice bucks but no mature and passed up on the 3 1/2 year old my cousin shot.Winke Responds:Curtis, It is hard to determine buck to doe ratio entirely from sightings especially during the rut when does tend to hide and bucks tend to cover more ground. If you combine that data with trail cam data and sightings at other times of the year (late summer and winter) you will get a good idea of the ratios, but probably they will be fine. Basically 1:1 is ideal but anything 1:3 or better (better being closer to 1:1) is acceptable. The only thing I would say is that those 3 1/2 year old bucks are the ones you really need to protect as they are one year from really showing their potential. That would be the only thing that jumps out about your season. If you aren't worried about growing bigger deer, then don't worry about my advice (passing up 3 1/2 year old bucks is not for everyone). Good luck and it sounds like the spot has good potential.
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Bobby from AL asks:Bill, First of all, great web site! I can honestly say that I have been able to gather more information from your site than from any other site out there on deer hunting in the midwest. I live and hunt in Alabama, but also hunt on a farm in calhoun county Illinois just one mile south of Pike County. We seem to have tons of bucks in the 130" range and we see them while hunting,scouting, and on camera every year. Some of them have huge bodies of up to 300 pounds, but we just are not seeing/getting pictures of the 160+ deer that should be there. Do you think that the bucks in our area just have genetics that has them peaking out in the 150" range? We just figured by now we would have lots of bucks getting toward the 170" mark that we would be harvesting. Especially considering how many good 130's we have seen. Thoughts? Thanks, keep up the good work!Winke Responds:Bobby, I don't think it is genetics. My guess is that too many people in your area are shooting the best young bucks each year. That often occurs in areas where deer are "managed". Everyone wants a trophy and the easiest trophy to kill is the genetically superior young buck. They look good and cruise non-stop. Unless people start passing them up based on age rather than antler size you will always overharvest your best bucks. That leaves you with average bucks reaching maturity rather than your best ones.
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Aaron from IA asks:Bill, Thanks for a fantastic website! It's an awesome combination of entrepreneurship and woodsmanship. I am wondering if there is an accurate way to assess the buck:doe ratio on any given piece of property. Trailcams and observations from the stand seem like they might be biased because of the different movement habits of bucks and does. How do you assess your farm's herd?Winke Responds:Aaron, I appreciate it. I do it by putting my finger to the wind - I just get a feel for the dynamics. I don't have a hard fast number, but I have a rough feel for it. I don't need a hard fast number to make management decisions as long as my "feel" is good enough. I gain the feel by observation, primarily. The best times to get a true feel are during the late summer and late season. Summer will skew slightly toward bucks and the late season will skew slightly toward does. The rut will skew heavily toward bucks so don't rely on rut sightings to help you determine sex ratios. Cameras help and I am sure there is a scientific way to sort this out. QDMA has a new book out about the subject that might help you in that regard. I have just never felt the need to know exact numbers when making decisions on our farm. Good luck.
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Shane from WI asks:Hey Bill congrats on a great buck. I was just wondering what your thoughts are about the earn a buck program here in wisconsin. DO you think it is a good program ?Winke Responds:Shane, I think it serves a purpose of reducing the numbers and balancing the sex ratio, but once those target numbers are exceeded, the restrictions need to be eased. For sure, we should be shooting a doe for every buck to keep things balanced, but in areas where the herd is well below the carrying capacity (habitat and social) it is time to lift the restriction in that area and let the numbers come back up a bit. We always shoot at least as many does as bucks on this farm (usually a lot more does than bucks), but now that the numbers are down here we are shooting fewer does (but still at least as many as the number of bucks we shoot). So in principle, Earn A Buck makes sense, but when guys hammer the does too hard, it is time to pull back.
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Matt from WI asks:I have recently started to be a little more selective in the bucks I am willing to take with the stick and string due to the quality of animals in my area as well as potential. This year I passed up on a nice 140 class 8 pointer hoping that next year maybe he would be bigger. This decision had me a little torn and frustrated when I found out this deer was shot on the opening day of gun season. How do you deal with the issue of "passing the buck?"Winke Responds:Matt, It is a very tough one. There is only way to think about it: If you pass him he may get shot on a bordering farm and be dead, but if you shoot him you know he will be dead. It comes down to how badly you want to see bigger bucks. You have to start a diplomatic campaign to bring the hunters bordering you into the same mindset. It will take a long time and will get discouraging, but otherwise, you have little choice but to sell and find a better neighborhood. I deal with it every year. It is just part of the game - not a fun part, but still part of the game. The other thing you can do is look at the personality of the buck himself. If he is daylight roamer who you see often, you can bet he will be an easy target for neighbors and may be one you should shoot. If he is very cagey and stays most of the time in one area (on your farm) he is a better candidate to pass. Good luck.
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Dan from MO asks:I was curious to know how big is the area you hunt? Do you have several hundred of several thousand acres. Giving that most bucks with travel quite a large area. Seeing the kind of deer you are and getting all the history with them with cameras, videos and sightings. I was just wondering how big of a piece of ground you would have to have to actually hold a fair number of mature bucks on it.Winke Responds:Dan, I don't actually hunt very many acres. We manage a fair amount, but much of it is sanctuary that I don't hunt. I basically hunt just the fringes and a few very select spots within the center of my hunting area. The bucks we are getting the history with tend to have fairly small home ranges. I would say the ones we have profiled have home ranges of less than 200 acres and probably closer to 120 acres. They don't move far. That is probably how they got as old as they did, by being mostly nocturnal in a small area. To hold a fair number of mature bucks you will need thousands of acres. To hold a few, it all depends on the personality of the bucks themselves. Some are roamers and some aren't. I would say that you can get it done on just a few hundred acres if you have a good mix of thick cover and good food sources. The roamers will leave and get shot, but you will hold a few homebodies on that much ground. To attempt to hold bucks to maturity on less than 300 acres, you are probably kidding yourself. That is not to say that you can't have good hunting on smaller parcels, but you will need for the neighbors to pass them up too (or border a sanctuary) to grown any huntable number of bucks to maturity. Good luck.
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Bernie from NY asks:I think you have the same problem as I do. Several years ago the State opened up Doe Seasons, Gave everyone doe licences, coyotes moved in, young bucks were shot off and now we have a small herd of deer where I hunt. I lease some land but can't stop the hunters on the joining land from shooting the little "Billy Bucks" 1 and a half year olds. They laugh at me and say they can't eat the horns. How do I change the thinking here. Its been going on forever here. Should I join the club and kill them too? At least I'd enjoy some deer meat.Winke Responds:Bernie, It takes a generation to change that kind of thinking. If the majority of the neighbors are older, it can happen sooner when their kids start to make the decisions. The thought of letting bucks grow older doesn't sit well with some of the old school deer hunters. You can only keep trying - talk about what is possible, ideally show them some trail cam photos of video of older bucks on the area you hunt and tell them it is possible that all the bucks can look like this. But be realistic, they may not care if they shoot bigger bucks even if it is possible. If it appears you are not going to gain any ground, there is no point in letting it ruin your deer hunting. You may as well join them until you can find an area to hunt that fits into your philosophy of management. Good luck.
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Acie from MO asks:What is a good buck to doe ratio?Winke Responds:Acie, A good buck to doe ratio is about 1 to 1, that is the way they fall from the womb. However, anything between there and 3 does to 1 buck seems to produce a good rut and a healthy herd dynamic. Good luck.
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Blake from SD asks:Bill, Again, love the show and thank you for the advise this season. I hope you get a chance at a mature buck this season. I am starting some management techniques and have had several encounters with a 3 1/2 year old buck. He has good body size but his rack is well within his ears, weak, and near non-typical. I have witnessed him breeding some does and was wondering if I should take him this year to stop his genetic spread. I also haven't seen much mature movement and am getting and itchy finger. What do you think? Thanks!Winke Responds:Blake, If he trips your trigger, go ahead, but it is hard to make a big impact on the genetics with the removal of just a few bucks. You almost need to wipe them all out and start over with bucks having the desired lineage to really make a difference. In other words, genetics are so diverse and variable that they can skip generations and a bow with a small rack can actually produce big racked off-spring. It is not so simple as just removing all the small racked bucks to improve the genetics. It is much more diverse than that. So shooting him won't necessarily make the herd better, but it may allow you to enjoy the sport more and that is worth something too. Good luck.
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gary from WI asks:Do you ever feel like giving up this endeavor? I lost the 4 largest bucks from the farm in just a matter of 2 weeks. An adjoining neighbor shot a 6.5 year old buck just across the fence that had spent all his life on my farm. Have years of photos and footage. Nice deer, scored 170 with 48 inches of mass. Lost a 15 point 4.5 year old just across the fence on the other side of the farm, scored 174. Several days later my younger brother shot the farms largest buck 188 inch 10 pointer with a drop tine. All died in a 2 week time span. Really sucks the life out of me again. Spend 10k yearly in food plots and the deer hang around for most of their life on this 1000 acres and then wander the edges with the rut and get shot on 30-40 acre parcels with no management what so ever. Where is the justice to keep the faith and keep this going? Seems to keep being the story of my life every year. I sense you are feeling the same from your last video. GaryWinke Responds:Gary, I know the story only too well. You are singing my song. I think you have to either accept this potential outcome as part of the project or break the farm up and sell it and look for land in a perfect neighborhood. I know of a few perfect neighborhoods, but the land never comes up for public sale as the guys who live there snap it up for themselves or their buddies. The bucks are still going to jump the fence even in those areas, but at least you will feel like you are getting some big ones in off the neighbors' farms too - not only exporting them. Of course, you can high fence those neighbors - about $12,000 per linear mile if you do it yourself. I have considered every option and don't really want to drive long distances to hunt or to move the family simply to shoot a bigger deer. I just want to have fun doing this and not turn it into an obsession that causes me to lose sleep. The problem is the potential. I know what is possible in a perfect world, but this is not a perfect world and you are always going to have some bucks get shot on the fringes. If you had shot one of them, we wouldn't be having this discussion, maybe things will be better next year. The easier option is to just accept it. I plan to cut my food plot budget way back, however. I am planting more clover because it only needs to be planted every three years, going with beans instead of corn in most plots in the future and setting my goals more toward simply shooting mature bucks and putting less emphasis on the biggest ones. When the pursuit for those giant deer takes the fun out of bowhunting, it is time to reset the priorities. I realize it is easier said than done, but that is the hard lesson in all this - deer jump fences. You will need at least 5,000 acres of good habitat before you contain enough home ranges to control your own destiny. We either accept it, take our success in just growing them (occassionally shooting them) or we quit managing.
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Drew from MO asks:hi, i live in Missouri i have about 100 acres here its about 60-40 of fields and timber. i think that most bucks here dont actually live here. but my question is how can i get more does to stay here. it seems that bucks pass through but there arnt enough does to get them to stay a little longer. all the fields here a farm fields so they get harvested early and then theres not much food left. i tryed putting in a small food plot in the woods but havnt got the knots worked out with that. so i need a few tips in trying to get these does to stay here and try and get a few more bucks to stick around. btw if it helps i think the buck to doe ratio is around 4-1. thanks!Winke Responds:Drew, You just have to give them everything they want: food, water, security and cover. If you do that - and stay out of their core sanctuary areas, they will be there. You need that food plot. In fact, you need a couple of them on a farm that size. I would shoot for five total acres - two acres of clover and three acres of beans. That will get it done for holding deer all year and will make a huge difference in your hunting. I have had good results with out sponsor (Frigid Forage) clover.
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Max from IA asks:Can not havesting female deer on a farm make female deer smaller in size?Winke Responds:Max, If the numbers of deer is so high that the deer aren't getting maximum nutrition, then yes, they will suffer in overall health and body size. Keeping the numbers low enough that all the deer have enough to eat all year is the key to seeing them reach their maximum health.
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Eli from WV asks:Hey Bill I have a long term lease on a great 750 acre farm in Mercer County Missouri.The farm is about 50/50 crops and timber and a little pasture. After getting a good inventory of the bucks on the farm I believe we legitamately have several shooters on the farm between 130" to 165" solid 3 and 4 year olds.How many bucks do you think we could safely harvest and still have good deer for next year? How many does is a good number on a farm this size? Last year we harvested 7 bucks 4 4yr olds and 3 3 yr olds and about 5 does. this year there seems to be more bucks and bigger ones than last. Thanks Eli (we only hunt 3 bow hunters for a week) and 5 rifel for a week thats it!)Winke Responds:Eli, Every farm is different, so it is hard to make a blanket assessment of those numbers. However, you can never go wrong targeting 4 year old bucks. You don't have to protect 4 year old bucks. They are plenty good at doing that themselves. However, up until that age, they are vulnerable. 3 1/2 year old bucks are much easier to kill than 4 1/2 year old bucks. It is just the phisiology of the animal. At 4 1/2 they travel less and are more cautious. However, if you plan to harvest 3 1/2 year old bucks, I would not take more than 2 or 3 off a farm that size. I know it doesn't sound like many, but bucks at that age are just one year away from reaching their potential and I like to see people who have the right situation start learning to pass them up. The number of does you shoot depends on the neighborhood - the overall deer density in the area, the amount of food, the amount of crop damage, etc. I would say you are seriously underharvesting the does at this time. I would shoot for at least as many does as bucks and probably as much as twice as many. If there are a lot of deer and the crops are getting mauled, you may want to take one year where you really take out a bunch of does just to get ahead of them a bit.
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Paul from WI asks:Bill, Awesome show. We can't help ourselves but to be a bit envious of the big deer you have on and/or near your property so we are curious...how many acres do you strictly control to develop these big bucks, how many hunters hunt your property and what are some of your basic rules that all must abide by including shooting does, holding off on younger bucks, fines, etc? We're looking for ideas as we try to implement reasonable rules to improve the quality of bucks for a mix of bow and gun hunters (8-10 of us) within our family that own and hunt 400 acres in NW WI.Winke Responds:Paul, First off, we usually don't have this many nice bucks on the farm. We always have some mature bucks, but often they are not high scoring deer. My wife and I own about 1,000 acres. We kill about five or six bucks a year off it, between the kids, myself and a few friends. We focus on mature deer so that we have plenty of younger bucks still coming up through the ranks to become a year older. The key is not shooting the genetically superior deer when they are young. If you let the young big-antlered bucks get old, they reach their true potential and that is where the giants come from. Most hunters are too quick to shoot bucks based on antler size and not based on age when managing and thus end up shooting the young genetically superior deer too soon. Set up a rule that allows you to manage by age instead of antler size and you will see more big bucks in the future. Let the young trophies walk. I hope that helps.
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Tom from MI asks:Over the past several years we have been shooting only 8pt or better. We have been shooting does to try to get the numbers close between does and bucks. We are seeing some decent bucks, but in the last 3 years the number of yearling buck have been spikes and rag horn 3, 4 pts. It seems like the only bucks left to breed are the immature bucks, is this why we are getting more spikes, raghorns or is it just mother nature trying to help us shoot mature deer since we will not shoot nothing less than an 8 pt. Thanks....TomWinke Responds:Tom, No, genetics are not that easy to alter in a free ranging whitetail deer population. I would say it is more a matter of coincidence, you are just seeing the smaller ones or possibly a hard winter or a few late dropped fawns. These things will all play into that. We see spikes and dinky bucks here on my farm too and it is not because we don't have any mature bucks to breed. It is just the way they fall some years. I wouldn't read too much into this. Your plan sounds like a good one. Good luck.
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Dalton from KS asks:Thanks for all the advice. I just got permission the hunt a piece of land that has 80 acres of crops in the middle of the land. On the front and back of the property are oak, plum, and cedar trees. Plus some hedge and other types. On the sides are very thick cedar and CPR grounds. I went out there last night and i saw 11 big does and 1 very wide-antlered buck. He didn't have a lot of mass but was definitely a shooter!! Should I eliminate some of the does to control the deer heard? ThanksWinke Responds:Dalton, I am an advocate of shooting at least as many does as bucks, and more in areas where the deer numbers are affecting farm crop yields. If the numbers are within the tolerance of the local farmers, there is probably no need to shoot a bunch of does. I guess I would just ask the landowner if he/she feels he/she has too many deer and go from there. Good luck.
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Dan from WI asks:Bill, I live in a CWD earn-a-buck area in WI. We must harvest a doe or nubbin buck prior to killing a racked buck. Here is my question: If you had a choice between killing the mother doe or one of her yearlings which would you choose if you had the choice on stand?Winke Responds:Dan, I would shoot the older doe for three reasons: 1. more meat for my freezer, 2. I want her out of there because it is just a matter of time before she busts me, 3. it is healty to rotate the genetics of any herd and you do that most quickly by shooting mature deer. That last reason is very minor compared to the first two. I just like the challenge of shooting mature does. They can be really tough and very rewarding to shoot. Good luck.
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Mike from IL asks:I have a question in regards to deer culling. One property I hunt borders a 1100 acre sanctuary that there is no hunting on. There is a deer overpopulation and is near residential properties and people are complaining of all the deer. They estimate there to be roughly 140 deer in this sanctuary according to aerial counts. They are planning to cull 60-70 does to get closer to the number of 20-30 deer per square mile that everyone preaches as ideal. If this happens all the bucks will still be there and there will only be a handful of does. How do you think this would affect the overall hunting here. Obviously, the bucks will have to cruise more looking for does, but I'm wondering if they are taking too many out. They believe there is a 1:1 ratio now and it will be 2 or 3 to 1 bucks to does after this cull. Thanks.Winke Responds:Mike, I think it will make it better. We went on a doe reduction campaign here on my farm a few years back and actually reversed the buck to doe ratio quite severely. We have let off on the harvest slightl, but we still maintain more bucks than does. The reason, of course, has to do with the local farmers complaining and my own desire to be able to have food on the place all year long, not just up until December and then nothing until March. To do that, you need to keep the numbers in check. Anyway, back to your question. I saw improved buck movement throughout the rut as a result. I didn't notice that the bucks were all leaving, but I did notice that they moved more than I had seen when hunting properties with larger numbers of does. I don't mean just the young bucks either. I saw (and continue to see) mature bucks on their feet cruising during the rut. I almost never saw that when hunting farms with large doe numbers. That is what I would expect - better buck movement.
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Cody from ND asks:Bill, as a wildlife biologist I really appreciate your writing and videos and continually learn from your material. I have a question that has stumped me for 4 years. I hunt 40 private acres and always get many 1 and 2 yr old bucks on my cameras. Bucks disappear fast once mid-late November rolls around. Obviously they winter (for the most part) elsewhere. My question is, why in 4 years of cameras, have I never gotten a picture of any 3+yr old bucks when we don't shoot that many 2's and we know the neighbors don't either because we know them personally. Will I ever get over the hump and see how much these 3yr olds blossom up compared to 2yr olds? Best, Cody.Winke Responds:Cody, Something sounds odd there. If you aren't shooting the 2 year olds and your neighbors aren't shooting them, they should be there and if they are there, you should be catching them on the cameras. I suppose it is possible that there is other pressure around the area that you are not aware of. If not, then you have me stumped. I am not up on the camera/baiting laws in ND, but if it is legal, consider baiting your camera site for about ten days before you put the camera there. I have never had a problem getting most of the mature bucks on my cameras, but some guys tell me that they do better when they bait the site first. I try to keep them closer to feeding areas so I don't have to intrude on the deer to set and check cameras. Beyond that, all I can offer is that there must not be very many of them around. That suggests hunting pressure. You stumped me with that one.
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mohammad ali from MI asks:hey bill in my area there is a lot of bucks and does but the problem is how come i never see bucks during daylight in the off-season but i always see does, any suggestions?Winke Responds:Mohammad, It is because of two reasons. First, the herd in many areas has many more does than bucks because people target the bucks more aggressively. Also, bucks tend to be more reclusive and nocturnal as a whole. It is their nature. Put both of those factors together and you see why it is hard to spot a buck and why hunting for them is such a strategy match. Good luck.
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Travis from AL asks:What type of growth feed for the deer would be best to have the best results in antler pointage?Winke Responds:Travis, There are special formulas for deer. I am not into that sidd of the sport so I don't know what is really in that, but I am sure it is high protien and some minerals. If you are buying it, soybeans would probably be a decent choice. Purina makes a blend I know and I think that a few others do as well. Check the webs for "nutritional supplements for whitetail deer" or a similar search. Good luck.
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Gary from AL asks:Bill, the bucks sure seem to be off to a phenomenal start this year, great winter, lots of food. I was comparing pics from last year until now and the bucks all seem to be 3-4 weeks ahead of last years deer. Could be because the deer are better age classed but wondering if you are seeing the same thing? GaryWinke Responds:Gary, I have not seen a big difference here. It is possible that you are seeing something resulting from the winter or else you are looking at older age bucks that will naturally put on bigger antlers at each stage of development. Good luck shooting one of those whoppers this fall!
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brian from WI asks:Bill, our spring up in WCentral WI is about 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. Is there ever any correlation between an early green up and more developed antlers? I know a lot of the old timers will say that an early wet spring can lead to bigger antlers but I didn't know if that was a wives tale. ThanksWinke Responds:Brian, I am not buying it unless it translates into more and better nutrition. I have also heard people say that sunny days produce better antler growth - like the ultra-violet is an antler stimulant. I don't know anything about that, but it seems a bit far-fetched to me. For now, I will keep an open mind on that. Antler growth is related to nutrition in a direct way, so if the weather promotes better food sources then it is possible it will also contribute to bigger antlers. This is not as noticeable in Wisconsin as it might be in a dry area like Texas, where the animals are more nutrition limited. Where you hunt, I don't their is any problem for the deer to find good food during most of the year.
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c.j. from OH asks:hey there i wanted to no what minerals u would use for , for better antler growth. thanksWinke Responds:CJ, I ran into the guys at Lucky Buck at the Iowa Deer Classic and that seems to be a very good mineral mix. Also, Dr. Grant Woods is a big fan of Trophy Rock. I trust Grant so that is also one to consider. My friend Scott Prucha found a recipe for deer mineral somewhere and posted it in a guest blog on this site last year. Go into the Winke's Blog archives and look for a blog on trail cameras and minerals and you will find a reference to his recipe there. Good luck.
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jordan from IN asks:winke i recently saw a young deer i hadnt seen since last year when he was a very small spike horn(the spikes were both easily under 2 inches) he was 1 1/2 last time i saw him. Now hes 2 1/2 with a 10 point rack that would score near around 100 inches. Do you think he'll continue to jump scores or level out soon?Winke Responds:Jordan, Usually, if they have great genetics, they will carry bigger than average antlers for their age throughout their life, so that means he is not likely to level out. He will continue to be noticeably bigger than other bucks in his age class his entire life. Hopefully, he will get enough years to really show that potential. Good luck.
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Tim from MN asks:First of all i love the show! i just recently started watchin and am still watchin the 2008 season but lookin forward to catchin up for the 2010 season. you guys do a great job. I recently bought a small peice of land (20 acres)in central MN earlier this winter and would like to follow a well thought out manangment plan. Where would you start? i have been feeding the deer corn and have got a good collection of trail camera photos and know there are plenty of deer in the area. what would be your starting point in making a managment plan? is there something i can do this time of year besides look for sheds? or am i just a little to antsy a little to early? any advice would be appreciated. thanks again.Winke Responds:Tim, You need maximize every aspect of the property to create an ideal world for the deer. You need to make sure they have everything they need right there, food, cover and water. If you don't have water, consider a small pond. If your cover is open or thin, consider all the steps (there are many) to improve it. If you lack high quality food during the entire year (I try never to run out of what they like best) you need to add food plots. That means you need both the important summer foods such as beans and clover but the important fall/winter foods too such as beans again and corn. You can get creative and add turnips (or other brassicas) but be sure you have enough food for the deer at all times. Maximize everything. Really, it is the same formula someone with much larger holdings should also do. Micro-manage to be sure to have food cover and water available in every small block to reduce the size of home ranges, reduce overlap by bucks and (at least theoretically) hold more mature bucks. Now is a good time to start looking for sheds but we have been stymied by the snow - near record amounts. If you are able, it is time to start walking. Good luck.
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Bill from WI asks:Hello Bill, first off, great season finale, I found sheds from a buck last year and just yesterday i found one side of his rack from this past season, he grew considerably from 1.5 to 2.5 years old, can i expect the same amount of growth for next year, if so he'll be a dandy 3.5 year old buckWinke Responds:Yes, for sure. If they are superstars when they are young, they usually remain superstars all their lives. Sounds like a buck with the best genetics. Good luck.
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Luke from MN asks:Hello bill, Happy New Years. Say you are hunting a buck that you have been studying for a few years and you have a perfect weather and stand setup but at the same time you have a high doe to buck ratio and would like to even it out. A mature doe walks by your stand and gives a great shot opportunity but at the same time you want to wait to see if that buck comes by. Will taking the doe affect the chances of you seeing the buck that hunt?Winke Responds:Luke, Happy New Year to you too. I don't think it will if she is the only deer on the field and you can get her to fall relatively quickly. However, when there are other deer they will clear the field and run back into the cover and that will surely grab the attention of any bucks lurking there waiting to come out. So the situation will dictate the damage. I used to shoot them all the time regardless, but with this show we are trying harder to get nice buck footage so I have not been as aggressive. I will have to change gears next year to keep the herd from getting away from me. Maybe 2010 will be the year of the doe on Midwest Whitetail!
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JOSH from PA asks:Hi Bill, I am a big fan of your web site and articles. I have a question about deer management. We have about 350 acres that a group of us hunt and try to manage in Northwest Pennsylvania. We experience quite a bit of hunting pressure all around us and as a result the overall deer population suffers. Our acreage has exceptional habitat for supporting a high deer density and we have still have a decent population because we have watched the number of does we have shot. I feel that the doe population in the surrounding areas is so depleted that having an abundance of does not only keeps the native bucks in our area, but also draws bucks in from other areas. i guess my question is if this is a good strategy because of the poor deer density, and will the quality of the bucks be adversely affected if we continue to go this route. I would say the doe to buck ratio is about 3-1. thanks, joshWinke Responds:Josh, I would say that if you have enough hunting on your boundaries to keep the population from growing on your farm, you are probably OK with this strategy. If you see the population climbing, (more crop damage, more browse lines, etc.) you probably need to take a few does yourself. I would say shooting roughly 10% of your does every year is not a bad thing and might even be good for your herd to keep things turning over a little. Plus, shooting does is a lot of fun. A 3:1 ratio is very good though, in your setting.
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Greg from MO asks:Hey bill love your show,I own 200 acres in nw missouri how many does should be taken off the property too help the buck to doe ratio.Winke Responds:Greg, Thanks for the support. Every situation is different. It is much more common to shoot too few than too many, but you still need to weigh the overall neighborhood and the availablility of food, the damage to the habitat and the current sex ratio. Without knowing more about the situation, I would hate to guess. However, again, it is easier to let the numbers bounce back by not shooting them after a couple of years of aggressive harvest than to try to deal with knocking them back if you wait too long to start shooting them. From what I know of average hunting ground in NW Missouri, I would say shooting five to eight would probably be a reasonable start, then assess again next year. Good luck.
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gary from WI asks:Like shows. Shows the realistic hunting world, not the Lee and Tiffany world that all hunters have come to expect. Do you ever evaluate a property to help with little things like placing stands and or tweaking sets? I have written before about my property in sw wisconsin and all the habitat work done and the hopeful expectation that I can find a 200 inch buck 1 of these days. Do you recommend anyone for property evaluation and analysis to find that missing link which might get me there a little quicker. GaryWinke Responds:Gary, I appreciate the support. I can do what you are looking for. Let me give this some more thought before I open that part of my business back up. I did that for a time and got swamped wtih requests, so I shut it down. It is time consuming and mentally taxing, but it is a pretty cool service. I have tons of practical experience with our land on every facet of the management from timber harvest, habitat improvement, food plots, stand placement, etc. I will probably fire this back up because it is such a perfect fit for what I enjoy doing that it makes total sense. I just need to balance the time committment first and make sure I can do it. If I do, I'll announce it in the blog and have a place in the shopping cart where I can sell the service. Thanks for the interest. Have a Merry Christmas.
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Josh from OH asks:Bill, I saw on episode 17 of the Ohio show that Justin Mullins shot a small buck that was messed up. Did he do the right thing management wise to get it out of the herd?Winke Responds:Josh, I think their situation was more about the joy of family time and hunting together given Justin's limited time. Purely from a management standpoint, that wasn't the best thing to do. The buck was too young to really know what he might turn into. It is very hard to make "culling" decisions prior to a buck reaching 3 1/2 or better yet, 4 1/2 years of age. But sometimes management takes a back seat to other aspects of the hunt. I commend them for shooting the buck and building a memory. Sometimes we need to set management aside and just enjoy the thrill of hunting.
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Jarred from OH asks:Mr. Winke, I live and hunt on my family farm in Central Ohio. Over the past few seasons I have committed myself to harvesting only fully mature deer. I have friends, family, and neighboors that hunt the farm with me that don't understand my reasons for this. Some of them say they are after meat but continually pass up does. How can I politely explain to them my "let em' go let em' grow" management plan? Thank you for your time and keep up with the outstanding work you're doing.Winke Responds:Jarred, You have hit the nail on the head - polite. Remember, they love their deer hunting as much as you do and they like doing it their way. Generally, what happens is you beat your head on the wall and a few seeds get planted that sprout. You take some abuse from the hard-core "brown it's down" hunters and eventually, after a decade real change occurs. It won't happen fast, so forget about that. I would just call a meeting, grill up some burgers and invite a local expert on deer management to come and present the information about why a balanced sex ratio is good for the herd. Shy away from hard-core trophy production stuff at first because that will turn some people off bad. Stick with the benefits of quality deer management but don't dwell on antler size. Age and balanced sex ratio. They will listen, ask questions and some will change. Good luck.
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bill from MI asks:How many years does it take for a buck to develop the max ammount of points he ends up withWinke Responds:Bill, It depends on the deer. It is a genetic thing. Some bucks may only have eight points and have all eight of them their second fall (1 1/2 years old). Others may add a few sticker points later in life and not have their maximum number until right before they die of old age. Those tend to be the gnarly points around the bases and sometimes a few splits here and there. It really is a matter of genetics and that changes from buck to buck.
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Scott from MI asks:Finally after 6 years I was granted access to hunt a piece of property here in SW Michigan. The owner was obviously somewhat reluctant about allowing hunting access. It really is a sanctuary for deer. My problem now that I have been hunting it; I realize there are way too many deer, not to mention the ratio is 6 does to every 1 buck, approx. It’s possible to see 80-100 deer feeding in the fields, I’ve never seen anything like this almost like hunting in a Disney movie. How do I convince the owner there needs to be some additional conservation attempts without coming across as ungrateful. There is no browse line, the habitat is decimated. Tact along with fact is what is needed but I’m afraid my argument of “it’s just bad thing” might seem somewhat self serving to promote additional hunting on his property. Any tips advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, ScottWinke Responds:Scott, The Quality Deer Management organization puts out a good book called Quality Whitetails that might be a good starting point. Likely, the landowner probably never considered quality before. Quality is not just antler size, but overall body health and herd health. After taking a look at the book, he may ask a few questions and you can gently lead him down the road of better deer management. Good luck.
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Mike from MN asks:I have been collecting antlers from a single deer for many years. I can guarantee it is the same deer at 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5 years of age. But I also have one antler that may be from the same deer at 2.5 years of age. One minute I convince myself it is him, and then next minute I notice something that tells me it is not him. Is there any way to test for DNA and find out if it is the same deer? Thanks, MikeWinke Responds:Mike, Yes it can be done. The antlers carry the deer's DNA. The first step is probably to contact a local police officer or game warden and find out if there are any testing labs near you. You might even be able to do a Google search for DNA testing labs. I have no idea how much that will cost. I would be interested in knowing, though. Good luck.
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Ben from IA asks:Great show, entertaining and educational which is what we need so thanks. On our land we have a 1 buck to 4 doe ratio so we plan to harvest many does this season. Other than availability of food and cycling genetics what other reasons are there for keeping that buck/doe ratio balanced? What is an "ideal" ratio? Again, great show to all involved and keep up the good work. Happy hunting.Winke Responds:Ben, Ideal is as close to 1 to 1 as you can get it. The advantages are less stress on the bucks during the rut as they don't have to breed as many does - that translates into better condition going into winter. The younger bucks are suppressed and don't participate much at all - again contributing to better condition for winter. The reduced doe numbers requires the bucks to look a bit harder to find does so they travel more during the rut and keeping the numbers in check is simply good politics in farm country. Keeps the neighbors happy! Good luck.
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Dale from OH asks:Most of my hunting group believes in and follows QDM. It is up to each individual, and harvesting what you are happy with is what we really go by. One of our biggest QDM preachers recently took a spike horn with the rationalization that a 1.5 year old spike is inferior and needs to be removed. I don't by this at all but thats not my question. Based on the body size of this deer and the fact that the spikes were only 4.25 inches long I don't think the deer was 1.5 years old. Is it possible that a 5 or 6 month old male fawn could have 4 inch spikes instead of being a button buck? If it is, it should would be a lesson on why to let small spikes walk.Winke Responds:Dale, I think I have seen some half-year-old bucks with spikes. They were very short spikes and the deer were very small. My guess is that they were born early to does that bred in October. There are always a very few does that breed in mid-October, and there is no reason their fawns couldn't grow small spikes. The other possibility is that they were really late born bucks from the year before. I am only guessing here. I need to ask someone who really knows on this one.
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Lee Schwass from MI asks:Bill, I was wondering if a buck knows what his antlers look like. Obviously he doesn't get up in the morning and check his antlers in the bathroom mirror. Can he sense their size and shape during summer growth. Or does he know by rubbing the basic configuration of his antlers. When two bucks are posturing before a fight do you think they have the ability to compare antler size of each other, not that this is only factor that relates to dominance. Does a big non-typical know he is a big non-typical. Essentially does each individual buck know the size and shape of his rack and how it compares to other bucks' antlers. I am curious to hear your thoughts. Like the show keep up the good work. Thanks, LeeWinke Responds:Lee, I doubt they have the ability to make those kinds of comparisons. My experience is that a buck's dominance is related to his attitude, body size and often his age. I have seen some very small antlered bucks run off bucks with much bigger antlers. I think they compare body size more than anything. That might explain why they puff up their hair when they are posturing before a rumble - they are trying to look as big as possible.
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Justin from VT asks:Hey Bill. I've been having a tough season over here in VT; high temps and the beginning of nocturnal movement have really been a pain! My question is about shooting does that have fawns with them. I normally wouldn't shoot a doe with a fawn and I passed up a nice doe the other night because she had a fawn (which was not easy considering the tough conditions). Do you do this too, or do you shoot does with fawns? Is it okay to shoot a doe with fawns this time of year? I have always thought that it would be a terrible thing to do and that the fawns would die, but I've heard some stuff that makes me think otherwise. I've heard that if the fawn has stopped nursing it doesn't need its mother anymore. Do other does watch over them, or can they be totally independent? I would never want to kill a doe and in the process sign a death warrant for one or more fawns. Thanks and good luck.Winke Responds:Justin, You would be fine shooting does with fawns. They are weaned by now. For sure they will wander around without as much guidance and may be a bit more vulnerable to hunting pressure without a doe to warn them. But, there are also some studies that suggest they do just fine without the doe. In fact, some research shows that by shooting the doe the buck fawn is more likely to stick around in that area and his mortality rate actually goes down because he doesn't disperse to a new range and experience dangers from travel and from unfamiliar turf. No problems with shoooting a doe with fawns at this time. The fawns can do just fine on their own now. I shoot does in early October all the time.
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Rob from IA asks:Bill, first off i would like to say i`ve met you a few times a few times,i was delivering your propane ( 5 years ago) and then recently i was helping a friend deliver his fed ex packages (he was on weight restriction per his doctor),anyway i feel very honored to meet you even though i didn`t get to talk to you about hunting, but i do read all of your articles in Petersons Bowhunting. Anyway my question is when is the best time too do population control on does ? before or after the rut, this is a ongoing topic with my friends and i.Winke Responds:Rob, Good to hear from you again. The best time to do population control is before the rut. That way you shoot the does before they are bred, reducing the need for the bucks to increase activity level (stress) to breed more does and also aids in assuring that any mature dominant buck will pass along his genes. It is possible that you would shoot does that the biggest buck in the woods has bred. Of course, there is also the argument that you could shoot the does the smallest buck in the woods bred. However, I would rather take my chances with letting dominance determine who does the breeding. Having said this, it is more important to shoot the correct number of does than to shoot fewer of them at the "right" time. Even if you have to shoot some during or after the rut, it is still most important that you keep the herd numbers in check.
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Jared from OH asks:I'm Arron todds brother in law ...Prostaff of ohio.. Now that kid can hunt and his dads even better...lol I also hunt around 600 acres in southeast ohio... The bucks i watch are heavily pressured and hard. I've hunted here for 15 years and i believe my particular area has smarter "old bucks " because when i hunt other areas it seems easier. Is this possible or just in my head ? The main thing i wanted to ask you was about doe managment... Do you believe that harvesting does in a particular area can reduce the fullness of the rut ?Winke Responds:Jared, There is definitely a difference in how deer act in areas with high hunting pressure versus areas with limited hunting pressure. Mostly it has to do with daylight activity. When bucks move during the day, you can kill them. When they don't it is really tough. In areas with heavy hunting pressure they tend to be more nocturnal. However, that being said, all mature bucks even in areas with limited hunting pressure tend to be more nocturnal than younger bucks. They are never easy, but definitely harder in areas with high hunting pressure. On the doe issue. No I don't think it will weaken the rut. We have shot them hard over the years and we have found that the movement by mature bucks actually improved when the number of does dropped. It makes sense because the bucks have to search more to find a doe. However, you don't want to hammer does everywhere without first considering the big picture. In some areas, the deer population is not beyond the carrying capacity (social or nutritional) and there is no reason to bring the numbers down significantly. I always want to make sure you know that what works in one area or one situation won't automatically work in all of them.
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Mike from MN asks:I have been hunting a giant buck for the past few years. I first discovered him in the spring of 2007 when I found his matched 2006 antlers as well as one from 2005. Since then I have found 3 more of his antlers. Each year he meets or exceeds 190 inches. I have several trail camera pictures of him and I have had him under me 3 times while in the stand, but it was too late, too early, and too far. I estimate he is 8.5 years old (estimate based on: he was a 175 inch main frame 10 in 2005 and over 190 each year since). In your opinion, how many more years can I hunt this deer before he dies of old age? I live just outside of St. Paul, MN so the winters are not harsh. I also would really appreciate your advice on how to kill this deer! Thanks, MikeWinke Responds:Mike, There is no telling. I would say that you are already living on borrowed time with this buck. There are natural mortality issues that affect a certain perentage of mature bucks each year from auto collisions to diseases like EHD. I have a couple of bucks that are that old that I am hunting this year too. I don't expect to see them again after this year, so I am going to pull out the stops and hunt them a bit more aggressively (without being stupid) than I might otherwise. They don't live forever and that one is likely to be gone very soon. Good luck. I can't wait to see the photos when you get him.:)
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gary from WI asks:Bill, how do you know when a buck is ready to harvest. Have a 1000 acre farm in southwest wisconsin that I have managed for 5 years with 50 acres of food plots and great timber. Now have some 2-3 year history with many of these bucks. I have been an advocate of cull buck hunting to let the better deer get to be the best they can. We shoot 8 pointers or less, small brow tined bucks and bucks that haven't really proven they are growing over a 1-2 year period. I haven't let anyone shoot trophy bucks for the last 2 seasons which I consider deer greater than 160" but I notice that several of them seem to have actually maybe lost some antler this year compared to last. Should we consider trying to harvest those deer. We shot 2 8 pointers opening weekend, 1 scored 145 and the other 152 and both were over 215# field dressed with 25 plus inch beams. Both deer actually were slightly smaller than last year so they were the uglies that needed to go to make room for the other bucks. GWinke Responds:Gary, I agree with your plan completely. I wouldn't change it. I feel that any buck has pretty much shown his potential by 4 1/2 years. If he is still an eight pointer, he will likely never have much for G4s no matter how long he lives - may as well shoot him to make room for up and comers. We try to get all the bucks that our adult hunters shoot to age 4 1/2. Some get much older and that is where it gets interesting. Sometimes we have seen bucks make a big jump late in life - not very often, but occassionally. We had one do that last year. He was at least 7 1/2 and all of a sudden he jumped nearly 30 gross inches. The world record Lovstuen buck, that was shot in 2003, jumped about 100 gross inches the year they shot him and he was already very old. I think it has to do with changes in nutrition and lifestyle. If they decreased their breeding activity the year before, they will get bigger simply because they went into the winter in better shape. This may happen with some older bucks. Also, it may be genetic. I think we still have a lot to learn about stuff like that. So it is hard to make generalities. Every buck is different not only in his behavior (wandering versus homebody) but also in their antler growth characteristics. If they go down hill a little bit they may still rebound the next year or they may not. Every buck is different.
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Troy from MO asks:Earlier this summer, i had a couple nice bucks regularly coming to my mineral block. But since the later part of August, they have hardly ever been back to the block. Why is this?Winke Responds:Troy, This is to be expected. When the bucks stop growing their antlers they stop looking for mineral. I am not sure if this is phisiological or if it a coincidence, but it is obvious they don't need it any more. It happens every year at this time. They stop coming to mineral at about the time they lose their velvet.
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Wayne Larcombe from AL asks:Awesome shows...can you tell me what mineral lick your team was pouring on the ground during your recent videos? What works the best? What brand was it? I couldn't read the bag. Keep the vid's coming! Your show rocks! WayneWinke Responds:Wayne, Thanks for your support. There are some home brews that we use for mineral mixes. Take a look at back issues (archive) of "Winke's Blog" to see one about mineral mixes. The ones you saw on the show were either from Antler King or Deer Cane. Both worked great. Good luck.
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Jordan from IA asks:Bill, I talked to you a few days ago about not being able to hunt this season because of shoulder surgery. It's possible I will be able to shoot a gun come late muzzy season but I wanted your take on this. I know that some of your pro staffers took some does late season last year but what is your personal take on this being that most of the does will be carrying offspring by that time?Winke Responds:I suppose that is a touchy one, but technically, they are carrying offspring by late November for that matter. I don't like the late, late seasons, but I shoot lots of does in December and early January. So that is my position by default. In many areas you have no choice but to shoot them when you can. It is unrealistic to think we can manage doe populations only in the early seasons. So I say shoot them when you can if you are hunting an area with too many deer.
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Wes from IN asks:Bill,your the man, and i appreciate you bringing the show back for 2009. I know that there are areas of timber that are best left to be a sanctuary for the deer, but I wanted to know if you inspect these sanctuaries at all during the summer time as far as the types of food sources in the timber, shed hunting, and deer sign in the area. How do you determine whether an area should be left as a sanctuary? And I also wanted to know, if you know of a place that is a sure bedding area for the deer is it good to set up a stand at that location or better to find a possible travel route. ThanksWinke Responds:Wes, I have areas of the farm that we don't hunt simply because those areas are very hard to hunt without alerting deer. So these are my default sanctuaries. I bet at least 50% (if not more) of the farm falls into this category. I only hunt the spots I can hunt effectively and without alerting any deer and leave the rest totally alone. We do shed hunt everything and I do have some food sources in these areas that I don't hunt, but I stay out of them during the season. Also, it is actually more important to have good sanctuaries on smaller properties than larger properties - just the opposite of what most people would think. The small properties are more sensitive to hunting pressure so you need to keep impact to zero in certain parts to keep the deer from leaving or becoming nocturnal. Try to give the deer everything they need in the sanctuary: food, water and security cover. It is hard for me to tell someone how much to leave as a sanctuary without knowing a lot about their situation: number of hunters, number of acres, type of cover, amount of cover versus open ground, deer density, goals, etc. You will figure it out. Good luck.
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Ken Fox from OH asks:After checking out the blog on Mineral Lick Stations, I went to my local Co-Op and they didn't have the Red loose trace mineral salt, and recommended another trace mineral (yellowish) nor did they have the di-calcium phosphate, and recommended the Biofos 21% (bi-calcium phosphate I think).....Any difference in the change? And or why wouldn't a cattle feed 2:1 trace mineral supplement (22.50 40# bag) with all or more the ingredients be as good or better. I mixed it up and put it out in a high (Known for BIG deer)traffic area, curious to see how hard it's hit! Thanks, Keep up the great show!! Gotta get some MW Whiteail garm too!!!!Winke Responds:Ken, I am sure that there are many possible substitutes. I think that formula came from a deer farmer, or a deer biologist. However, I used to use a cattle mix called "Sweet Phos" when I was buying from the co-op. You are getting to the very end of mineral cycle now. The bucks go to it most heavily during the spring and summer and not much during the fall and winter. Don't be surprised if it doesn't get hit hard until next spring.
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Adam from WI asks:Mr Winke, I'd like to begin by saying I've enjoyed your articles in Petersen's Bowhunting for years. You offer great insight into the world of whitetails. I also discovered Midwest Whitetail last month while on the Realtree website and am very impressed with both its format and content. I own property and hunt in Trempealeau Co. WI near the town of Arcadia. My neighbor and I have noticed two bucks this summer that have areas of white velvet on their racks. I've never noticed this before and was wondering if you would know what causes this. I've seen albino deer in the area before, but neither of these deer have any areas of discoloration anywhere else on their bodies. Keep up the good work!Winke Responds:Adam, I appreciate the kind words and encouragement and appreciate your support of the site. To answer your question, that is genetic. We see it here too. If you watch our preview video you will see some bucks with really dark velvet and some with really light velvet. Those are all healthy deer. You are mentioning that they are just areas of white. I don't know about that. I guess it is possible that there is some kind of fungus or something infecting the velvet. I would have to ask a biologist about that. I am still going to guess it is genetic. I'll let you know if I learn otherwise. Have a great day.
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Shane from TN asks:Bill , how many does is too many to take in a year. I sent you a message on facebook about our 1400 acre lease. My brother and I were going to shoot for 10 each before November. We have lots of does . Some places we have our cameras ,we haven't got any buck pictures and we have them over mineral sights. You think 10 each is too many?Winke Responds:Shane, I think ten each is not enough. Every situation is different and to give a really good answer, I would have to know a lot more about the neighborhood, what other people are shooting, natural mortality and the buck to doe ratio. But it definitely sounds like on 1,400 acres with a lot of does, you could shoot dozens of them and barely make a dent. We have been very aggressive at times with the doe harvest. The nice thing about deer, unless you are hunting in a very low deer density area with high mortality, they bounce back really fast. So if you make a mistake and shoot too many does (very hard to do) you can always just slack off for a year and they will recover quickly. Again, there are places with high natural mortality where it doesn't make sense to hammer them, but it doesn't sound like that is your situation. I would not worry about shooting too many for the next couple of years, no matter how many you shoot. The two of you will have a very hard time (maybe impossible) knocking them down hard enough by yourselves to do long-term damage.
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Chad from VA asks:Shoot Little or Big Does? Bill, I haven't had a hero since the Duke boys. At 35, I"m proud to say your my new hero! What fantastic role model you are. Totaly addicted to your site. To show my support, I went and bought a Hoyt Alphamax 35. I hear big does can have healthier fawns. Little ones are easier to carry but the risk of shooting a nubby buck is greater. Big ones can have more fawns but will die of old age sooner. Big does are much sharper at picking me in my tree stands in fact I have seen the same old doe look up that same tree each time she goes by it. A large, medium, and small doe shows up at the same distance and angle, for a hunter trying to manage his deer heard what one should I shoot? I look forward to seeing the new pro staff especially the women. I have 3 daughters and really want to get them in to hunting.Winke Responds:Chad, I appreciate it and am humbled that you feel that way. By the way, I want to be Luke Duke. He was the big blonde one right? Thanks for your support. We don't try to get too specific on which does we shoot. When we are in the doe shooting mode, we shoot them all. Like Dr. Grant Woods always says, "The best doe to shoot is the one that stands still long enough for you to pull the trigger." Having said that, I really like to kill the ones that discover me in the stand. Usually they will see or smell you, run a short distance and look back. While they are running, I am drawing and when they stop to look back, I shoot. It helps to keep the number of educated deer to a minimum. Shoot all the witnesses! Tongue in cheek of course. Given a choice I always shoot the big ones because there is more meat. Also, in theory, shooting the older ones helps to cycle your genetics faster. I wouldn't worry too much about which ones you shoot.
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Craig from IN asks:I hunted my next door neighbor woods last fall and saw a pretty decient size buck he was an medium 8 pointer i am guessing he was around 11/2 to 21/2 years old. My question is to you is what would he have scored last year.Winke Responds:Craig, That is tough to know without seeing the photos. But in general, if he was a 2 1/2 year old, he likely would have scored from 85 to maybe 110 inches as an eight pointer. A 1 1/2 year old eight pointer would look very small and would probably score under 60 inches. I hope you can get him this year. Good luck.
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Carl from IA asks:Bill, What mineral would you recommend to put in front of your camera to attract bucks? So you can get good pictures.Winke Responds:Carl, Scott Prucha wrote a good Guest Blog for me on that subject. Rather than try to recreate that here, please go to the "Winke's Blog" entry in the Blog menu on the top of the home page and you will see it in the list of past blogs.
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Scott from WI asks:Besides spring and summer,Do bucks still need mineral blocks or supplements in the Fall and Winter ?Winke Responds:Scott, I'm guessing they don't need them because they don't use the licks in the fall or winter. If they needed them, they would use them. Generally, they will all but give up on them at roughly the time they shed their velvet - early September timeframe. By October 1 for sure.
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Chad from VA asks:Hi, Bill I look forward to seeing your shows twice a week this fall. More addicting than any tv show I've seen. I was wanting to know when the best time of year to supplement feed would be. I have 14 food plots. Most are white clover/chicory and orchard grass with 3 corn fields on 400 acres. I have two large outback protein feeders I use from January - September. Protein feed is costing me $350-$400 every month. Since I do have food plots already in place and want to cut back on amount of feed I'm buying what months do you think would be the most important to provide supplemental feeding? ThanksWinke Responds:Chad, Thanks for the support. For sure you want to cover the stress periods. Most biologists I have read state that worst stress occurs in late winter and mid summer. I think the summer stress period wouldn't apply to you because your clover plots will remain highly palatable. So, make sure to keep the clover mowed about now to fresh growth for summer. I would feed from roughly mid-December through Mid-March to late March in my area. (I don't feed, but that is when I would do it if was inclined). I remember that Mark Drury used to feed all year long here in Iowa and in talking with him, I don't think he saw a major improvement in antler size. Deer are designed to withstand some stretches with minimal food, but not three months of it. So take care of them in the winter and you should be just fine. Good luck. Bill
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gary from WI asks:Bill, how does a person regain a realistic expectation of a trophy deer? I have come to believe that I want to see a buck exceed the 200 inch barrier here in southwest Wi. I have a 900 acre farm and have done everything over the last 5 years including planting 40 acres of food plots yearly, have done 660 acres of TSI work, planted high quality CRP grasses and let the deer age. We shoot 2-3 older deer in that 150-165 range each year and kill alot of does but my hunters tell me my goals of finding a 200 inch buck are unrealistic, even though websites and Iowa seem to be filled with these bucks. Have a friend Ron Skoronski who continues to kill 190-200 plus inch deer every year in Iowa on his farm. They continue to find sheds of 200 plus inches every year on his Iowa farm. Is my dream unrealistic? GaryWinke Responds:Gary, That is a good question. I have a similar situation to you. We don't see 200 inch deer. I have seen two in my lifetime of deer hunting Iowa. Both came on our farm, but to my knowledge, they are the only two that have lived here in the seven years I have hunted it. One disappeared, the neighbors found the other one dead. I think it is realistic for you to produce 200 inch deer, but not every year. I think Ron's situation is different because of the neighborhood in which he owns land. In a typical neighborhood, people won't pass up 150, 160 or 170 inch three year olds, let alone the 170+ type that must make it through in order to bloom into 200 inch plus bucks. Ron owns enough land and has good enough neighbors that these genetically superior 3 year olds aren't getting whacked. His situation there may be the very best setup in North America for producing world class bucks. So it is not realistic to compare to that. Remember, a 3 year old buck covers a lot of ground and you can't protect him. He will leave your farm and might be shot by the neighbor. In areas where few hunt or where they intentionally pass up great 3 year old bucks, it is more likely that a 200 incher will appear. So you have to be realistic. Yes, you will produce a few that get lucky enough to slip through the net, just not every year. A better goal is to produce those older deer and enjoy hunting them for what they are. If you get too caught up in the score it will soon sour deer hunting because you will be disappointed most years. Remember, this is still supposed to be fun. Hunt the oldest bucks you have and you will get a great thrill and will occassionally shoot some real bombers.
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Jake from IN asks:Hey Bill I love your program - avid watcher, reader. I was thinking of putting out some corn/mollases during the summer months or a mineral block. I was wandering if you had a certain mixture or brand that works well for you that you could turn me on to. Thanks JakeWinke Responds:Jake, I would definitely go with the mineral. I bet if you go to your local ag co-op they will have bagged mineral that will work fine. I used to use a mixture called Sweet Phos. It was designed for cattle but had the same recipe as some of the popular deer minerals. I am sure that a mineral mix designed just for deer would have a few more trace minerals than a livestock mix, but they cost a lot more too. I would start to put that out right now because the bucks utilize it heaviest when they are growing their antlers. Good luck.
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Jason from WI asks:Hi bill this is jason again from wisconsin and i have a question that may seem a little far fetched to some, but I was wondering how do you think people would react if I start talking to people about managing the public property i hunt on? I was thinking about making signs up that asks if people are interested in managing the public land if they could spread the word if they are interested in it, i would list the benefits of managing the property, and just see how people react to it. Granted i know not everybody will participate in it but the people that do will help out in the long run. Thanks for your time and answering the last question of mine.Winke Responds:I think that is a great idea. I would love to hear what you learn. I bet a certain percentage of people would agree with you, but it will be interesting if they will actually pass up young bucks if they think that others might shoot them. It would be a very interesting experiment. Thanks for bringing the idea here. Please let us know how it turns out.
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chris from MN asks:Hello Bill I have a couple questions , one me and a couple friends are starting to apply for IA bow tags. We are going for zone 9 and I was wondering approxamatly how long before we get a tag and if it hurts applying as a group vs alone. The other question was if you know why the whitetail hunting has been getting worse in MN from the liberal seasons or the date of the gun season. I have read many of your articles and just found the web page and love it! I would like to meet someday and would love to be a prostaffer someday. I am passonate for bowhuntig Whitetails "Big Whitetails". Good luck hunting and with the new websiteWinke Responds:Chris, I grew up in Zone 9. I think you will enjoy that hunt, but it is probably going to take you three years (two unsuccessful years) to draw the tag. I don't think it matters if you apply alone or as a group. I don't want to pretend to be an authority on MN so I won't try to guess as to the exact cause. However, the formula is not overly complex. The bucks you are hunting aren't getting enough age. There are many reasons why that may be happening, but it always boils down to one thing, hunting pressure and the way it is applied. Either there are more hunters now or there are fewer bucks. Fewer bucks will cause a younger herd because there aren't as many left over after the season to get a year older. Not sure which is the problem, but it has to be one of the two. Also, I have seen that as hunters become more "trophy" oriented they tend to shoot the very best 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old bucks each year because they are fairly easy to kill and have big racks. Those are the very bucks that would blossom into monster. So even a change toward "trophy" hunting in your area could be hurting you. Deer management is not an exact science so there are likely numerous factors contributing. In order for me to offer a really valuable answer I would have to be part of the landscape for a while. Good luck. I appreciate your support. Bill
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Jon from AL asks:Hi Bill. The property that I manage and neighboring properties has high deer densities. Throughout the season but especially during the January antlerless season we have been harvesting a high number of does. I believe our property needs a population reduction but I have some concerns. My concern is that aggressive annual doe harvest will limit buck reproduction and some genetic lines risked being lost. I'm convinced that the benefits of an aggressive doe harvest outweigh the negatives. I believe there will be less button buck dispersal from our property and more dispersal to our property. I know that you are an advocate of harvesting does. I would like your thoughts on doe harvest to help me with my management plan. Can you discuss your thoughts on the loss of buck reproduction and genetics with an aggressive annual doe harvest? Thank you. Jon TharpWinke Responds:Jon, I don't see that there would be a loss of buck reproduction because the dominant bucks are still going to do the majority of breeding. There are many moving parts here. Genetics are not stationary. They change all the time in nature and can skip generations, etc. The last thing I ever worry about when I shoot a doe is genetics. I guess my focus is on my ability to produce winter food. If I can't supply adequate food throughout the winter I either have too many deer or not enough food. If I can't afford to leave more food, I need to shoot more does. That is my most basic reasoning. Also, I believe there are several other benefits from this, but every situation is different so I won't get into my thinking beyond this point as it most likely only applies to my farm. However, the goal of providing winter food is a valid one and a good way to set you deer numbers. I hope that helps. If not, please ask more as I enjoy this subject. Best regards. Bill
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Ryan from IL asks:Bill, My immdeiate family and I were fortunate enough to purchase 170 acres recently in Central Illinois with a mix of 91% hardwoods and the remaining in tillable acres. We inherited a healthy deer herd with only problem, from stand observations and trail cameras I have deduced the doe/buck ratio is around 7:1. I have become passionate about year round management and it seems I spend every spare moment at the farm. Im hoping to maximize my farms potential. I have always read that a proper herd balance should be 1:1, and began promoting this idea to my father and brother and surrounding landowners. I was wondering why you thought this was so important. Our nutrition is excellent with all the tillable acres left in corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and clover/chicory, and the hardwoods are riddled with acorns. We seem to see good rutting activity, and a decent response to rattling. Just hoping to get some bullet points to use when I promote herd managment to my family and neighbors.Winke Responds:Ryan, Possibly your ratio is better than you think. I reduced my doe numbers because I was not able to farm our land effectively and not able to get food plots through winter without being wiped out. If you are not worried about those things, and your neighbors are not hounding you because "your" deer are eating their crops, then maybe you can get by with higher deer numbers. Most studies I have read suggest that keeping the herd well below the carrying capacity of the land is good because it assures more natural browse and vegetation. Too many deer permanently wipes out some forms of undergrowth. Plus, I just like shooting does. If that doesn't answer your question please ask me more. Thanks. Bill
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heath from GA asks:we have 320 arce probably 75 percent is hard woods.this 08-09 season was sucessfull we kill a 151 inche monster.we want to go big mangment deer. i was wondering what the most important thing on growing big deer.Winke Responds:Congratulations Heath. For sure the most important thing is to have the food plots that will draw and hold them and then keeping your hunting pressure light enough to keep them from leaving your property. Also, I have learned that having thick cover helps to increase the number of mature bucks a farm can hold and also makes it easier to get to and from your stands without being seen. That makes your farm hunt bigger and keeps the bucks moving naturally. Good food, low pressure and thick cover is the recipe. Good luck. Bill
