GMMAT

I live in an area that has too many does......or is it just too many deer? What nature doing to counteract this problem? I have a theory.

I contend that although the majority of the breeding here is being done by juvenile bucks (they are forced into this role)....they are only mathematically able to tend (______) does in a given rut. Let's look at this intelligently. Let's say the average mating pair is together for 48-72 hrs. How many does CAN a buck breed in the short window of time he has? Now I know nature also counteracts this problem by perpetuating the reproduction.......when does that don't get bred during the heat of the rut come back into estrous, later. But....how many CAN they breed (bucks)? I don't think it's mathematically possible for them all to get bred, here.

Is this nature's way of maintaining a healthy(er) carrying capacity?

I see many does, here, that seemingly weren't bred the season before. I've witnessed as many as 4-5 alone (which I KNOW doesn't mean they didn't get bred) well after the fawns should be up and moving around.

So I ask.....is nature taking care of the problem (or, trying to)? Or....am I witnessing a high mortality rate in "inferior" deer.....due to their density? Combination of both?

huntingson

I don't think nature is taking care of the problem. Just because they aren't all bredding doesn't mean that too many aren't breeding (I hope that makes any sense). You may have a higher fawn mortality due to poor nutrition, but because of your temperate climate, the deer will not have near the mortality rates they would say in MN, so they will continue to live and continue to be smaller than they otherwise would. I am speaking of body size here not rack size. I bet if you could some how whack 50% of your doe population, you would see a sizeable increase in average body mass over the following couple of years.

Or you could kill all but a buck or two, but I would try the other option first

Germ

www.qdma.com

They have a forum also with guys who know way more than me.
Also Jeff for mere 30.00 dollars you can become a member.

Quality whitetails mag is a great read

What did the deer bioligist tell you when you spoke to him?

GMMAT

I think this is true, too. I'm honestly thinking of NOT taking a buck for a couple of years....at all. BUT.....I can't kill enough does. I simply can not do it.

I could throw caution to the wind (no pun intended) and hutn hard....all the time....and probably kill 12 does a year. I'd be sacrificing a chance at a buck if I did this (likely). But I still don't think I could make the difference you're speaking of. I physically can't kill that many does.

GMMAT

Probably the same thing he tells everyone in my situation in NC. KILL DOES. He thinks I need to kill way more than I CAN.

Hunting is supposed to be "Fun".

huntingson

Is there an echo in here?

huntingson

How many do you think you would need to kill?

SevenMag

so far we've had a fairly unproductive year on our land... the deer were rarely out early morns (other than a couple yearlings), and mostly were out after shooting hours... only 3 bucks taken on our land this year and only about 10 does... typically its more like 20-25 does per year and everyone usually takes 1 buck each (usually tallies up about 5 bucks per season)... now its not because of lack of deer o nthe property, when we sit out after hours with a twilight scope we can see a ton of deer, and some really nice ones, but never until about an hour after shooting hours... next season we are gonna make a concerted effort to rid us of some does, we've got WAY to many on our property... estimates from what we see are around 12-14 does per buck, we need to knock that back to about 6-7 per... next season i think there will be very few bucks taken and a ton of does...

Germ

Told ya[8D]
Have you thought about starting a COOP with the folks around you? Sounds like you already with some.

QDMA Cooperative are great.
I am starting one here, we are going to have monthly meetings and it brings neighbors together. Set goals for are local deer herd and work together, well all but one neighbor That is ok.

Do you have a QDMA branch in your area? My guess is they would have great local knowledge.

Doing it yourself SUCKS, been there, done that. Getting folks in your area involved may help. Yes some will not buy into it. So what If the COOP works they will be apart of it. They just won't know

The gentleman who got me involved in QDM owns a mere 22 acers in MI. He haswork hard to start the COOP and now has over 2000 acers of land in the COOP. They are turning a lot of heads with what they are doing.

Between him and his neighbor they shot 15 does.

GMMAT

Huntingson.....I think we could kill 40 or more this year....and start seeing some results. I KNOW of 30 out of the herd between '06 and '07 (does).

Germ....I want to do that....but the poachers are the monkey wrench.