peakrut

I just read something in D&DH on this and will have to get that mag back out and read up on it.

salukipv1

I've heard of some counties here in IL, as bad at 15:1.

I think the entire point or ratios....is say your land can hold 20 deer.....having 10 bucks and 10 does, allows for those bucks to grow....if you have 3 bucks and 17does and take 1 buck now youre down to 2 bucks moving on to next year....the more bucks you can have at every age group allows for now only 1 monster in yoru area, but multiple.

If you did take 1 buck for every 1 doe taken, eventually you would have 1:1, I think trying to swing things the other way, taking 5 does and 1 buck may not be a great idea always, esp if you're unsure what the ratio is, but def taking a buck fore very doe is a good idea, if you think its slightly out of wack, take 2 does per buck taken.

JoeRE

I am curious about this topic as well, mainly as to what time of the year published buck to doe ratios are valid. Through the fall (in many areas of the country) the ratios become more and more out of wack. I spend a lot of time out in the late season, on thousands of acres. Disregarding fawns (due to unknown sex) 'apparent' doe to buck ratios might be as high as 8:1 around here. Of course, if 1 in 3 total deer(likely) are also fawns of a 50/50 sex split then the 'real' ratio is less. Going into the fall and based on personal observation I think our local ratio is around 2:1.

I totally agree though - people who say they have 20:1 or some such thing are likely pushing it. Thats only 5 bucks for every 100 does to think of it in bigger terms.

bloodcrick

I just figured out that i suck at math

bawanajim

I really think if the ratio is that out of balance the only reasonable thing to do is stop killing any bucks at all.
"Savethe rage for a nanny!" Should be your slogan.

If as those of you state killing does is the best thing that can happen to herd health ,then the other mortality that takesthe greatest toll on bucks is man kinds harvest of said bucks .
We can't stop cars,winter storms or the rut,which are the leading causes of buck mortality, but ethics and morals alone should be enough for you herd dynamic folks to call off the buck slaughter for the good of a healthy herd of deer.

Siman08/OH

If you only hunt 1 or 2 peices of property that are close together, and you see 20 does over a week and 2 bucks, how are you to know that your not seeing the same does? Most does that i see look the same, meaning i prolly couldnt tell them apart if i had to seperate them.

early in

All I can say, is that in my specific hunting area WMU 5-D we have roughly a 10 doe to 1 buck ratio. This is WAY out of whack! I base this on first hand sightings, or lack there of. That's whywe have basically unlimited antlerless tags available. Much of this problem exists because there is VERY little public land to hunt, and the private land owners won't allow hunting for various reasons. Liability is probably the main reason, not so much that their anti hunting. Yet the deer continue to reproduce.
This being said, a lot of the problem is most hunters, given the chance, will take the first "legal" buck they see, instead of just taking a doe. Which is what needs to be done. Hence, the bad balance. When I hunt in Alberta, where there is virtually no hunting pressure, I see almost as many buck as doe. And on some days, I've seen more buck than doe. Food for thought, to say the least.Oh yea, forgot to mention, they have much more severe winters up there too.

il coyote

Diesel77

HAHA thats too darn funny!!! Im with you blood. Are there any pictures in this post us 2 can look at so we can keep up?? lol

Rickmur

Peek a boo Jeff. I know you peeked