#1865907 - 03/31/10 08:15 PM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: MickThompson]
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Setterman
8 Point
Registered: 12/31/09
Posts: 1783
Loc: Knoxville, TN
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But some of them occur in areas where no matter what that just isn't possible Like where? I'm not saying that all of TN has a 150"er behind every tree, but letting young bucks walk will certainly increase the number of mature bucks available to hunters.
You are preaching to the choir. But managing places like Foothills WMA for trophy potential is laughable. There isn't enough use to make it worthwhile, and the habitat is horrendous at best. It seems the ones with the most potential are managed stricter then the ones with little if any potential.
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#1866137 - 03/31/10 09:33 PM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: Setterman]
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MickThompson
4 Point
Registered: 08/09/06
Posts: 167
Loc: Knoxville, Tennessee
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Okay, you got me on Foothills. What's a trophy? 3 1/2+? 120"?
Or better yet, what about a "Quality" hunting experience (QDM)?
Let's take Chuck Swan.
24,000 acres,deer herd at or below CC, controlled access, mandatory check-in and check-out, active forest management, and food plotting. Don't anyone try and convince me it couldn't happen because of soils, either. AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SOIL QUALITY.
I've spent the last 4 years doing habitat research out there.Every year, they kill one or two nice ones. When your buck harvest is close to 70% yearlings, you aren't going to produce many good deer.
We ATTEMPTED a camera survey out there. Out of 8 cameras and over 1000 pics, we had 6 bucks. we couldn't even use the data for sex ratios, age structure, etc.
TWRA calls it a place to go if you've got no where else to hunt. My opinion fwiw: If I have to get drawn for a hunt, it better be worth getting drawn for. There are 100's of thousands of acres of public land in E TN especially, where someone can go to just kill a deer.
Edited by MickThompson (03/31/10 09:34 PM)
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#1866146 - 03/31/10 09:37 PM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: MickThompson]
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MickThompson
4 Point
Registered: 08/09/06
Posts: 167
Loc: Knoxville, Tennessee
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Oh and as to soils, we grew 5' high soybeans with 30% crude protien, and had native vegetation that we sampled over 20%.
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#1866353 - 04/01/10 12:20 AM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: MickThompson]
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BigGameGuy
TWRA Biologist
12 Point
Registered: 05/14/04
Posts: 6354
Loc: Nashville
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When your buck harvest is close to 70% yearlings, you aren't going to produce many good deer.
We ATTEMPTED a camera survey out there. Out of 8 cameras and over 1000 pics, we had 6 bucks. we couldn't even use the data for sex ratios, age structure, etc.
TWRA calls it a place to go if you've got no where else to hunt. My opinion fwiw: If I have to get drawn for a hunt, it better be worth getting drawn for. There are 100's of thousands of acres of public land in E TN especially, where someone can go to just kill a deer.
Where was your buck harvest 70% yearlings?
According to the Chuck Swan harvest data (aging 200+ bucks), only 41% were yearlings. In fact, 20% were at least 3-1/2+. Looks like a pretty sound harvested age structure given there are no restrictions.
_________________________
If given the choice between education and regulation, I'll choose education every time.
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#1866399 - 04/01/10 05:43 AM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: stik]
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Mike Belt
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/26/99
Posts: 16933
Loc: Lakeland, Tn.
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BSK...Ames is talking about going to a 125" minimum this year. I can live with that but if they do I look for quite a few "mistakes". We take quite a few upper 120's and 130's so I don't think that's an unrealistic move overall. I don't see moving above that.
_________________________
BONE HEAD HUNTER
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#1866547 - 04/01/10 07:49 AM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: budro2]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Have you not been reading what all the experts have previously said " TN does not have the correct soils to grow big antlers"
I've not seen any expert say that.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#1868052 - 04/01/10 10:01 PM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: BSK]
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budro2
Spike
Registered: 02/27/10
Posts: 74
Loc: tn,perry
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Have you not been reading what all the experts have previously said " TN does not have the correct soils to grow big antlers" I've not seen any expert say that.
you are very right, but several have mentioned it in their posts here :)!
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#1868208 - 04/01/10 11:58 PM
Re: Trophy Management Areas
[Re: budro2]
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gator-n-buck
16 Point
Registered: 10/22/08
Posts: 14908
Loc: Knox, TN / Palatka, FL
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I see them on TV every weekend... I wonder how much it cost to shot a deer that someone else scouted all year...?
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Could be the TDN in those beans is just not high enough.
