As for how many does a buck breeds, on average it is less than 1 per year. Many bucks do no breeding at all.

I guess we are different here in NE TN or on our farm we hunt. Seems to us the same old bucks but just one year older. Now we get some new comers now and then but we seem to keep our bucks around. We also leave the camera's up year round. I know I've got this one buck who is 6 years old, he has a special mark on him...Smart deer too...at least smarter than me....

Yea these areas I speak of are very very small. 15-20 acres of urban type hunting. Many small tracts of woods that interconnect. So these bucks could just be around the corner, they just don't seem to invade my nanny does territory until it is time to court her. It really is a terrific situation as far as window of opportunity. Not giants, just solid buck here and there.

. . . . . removing bucks for no other reason than antler size often has a detrimental affect long-term. All you are doing is removing future mature bucks that would have had a positive influence on the herd, regardless of their antler size.

SO..................if one mature buck with great genetics does most of the breeding, HIS gene pool will get dispersed all over the county and even into other counties since some bucks may move many many miles away before settling down.....

did I make any sense there at all?????

And what about all these hunting outfitters that allow clients to kill so called "management" bucks. It might appear that that is nothing more than a ploy to get more money.

Dispersal tells me that very few bucks born in your area will ever live and/or breed there.....

SO..................if one mature buck with great genetics does most of the breeding, HIS gene pool will get dispersed all over the county and even into other counties since some bucks may move many many miles away before settling down.....

SO..............selective harvest does nothing to increase the "big buck" gene pool in your area....thusly unless you can keep the deer in your area, which is very unlikely, it is mainly luck that ANOTHER buck with great genes moves into your area when one of YOUR young bucks moves out.....

did I make any sense there at all?????

. . . . . selling "management buck" hunts is simply a way of selling hunts for small-antlered bucks! What brilliant marketing!

Any time a buck is killed (regardless of his antlers), it reduces the buck:doe ratio and reduces the ongoing buck age structure.

Take a deep breath Wes and repeat after me.

"It okay to kill a buck...It is okay to kill a buck...It is okay to kill a buck"

Take a deep breath Wes and repeat after me.

"It okay to kill a buck...It is okay to kill a buck...It is okay to kill a buck"

Hey, I agree, it's OK to kill a buck, maybe even TWO (2)!

Hey, I agree, it's OK to kill a buck, maybe even TWO (2)!

I think I was watching Deer City USA the other day and they had a QDMA min. There was someone from that org on there and he stated that selective harvest did not effect the genetic pool of a deer herd. He went on to say that any given buck will only breed on average 3 deer a season based on the hot period of a doe. So in theory...if you had 3 mature bucks and 7 small bucks then most of the does in an area would breed with smaller bucks who may or may not be carring those genes everyone is looking for. So I got to thinking does this reverse everything that I have been thinking for the last few years? Does my focus need to switch to.. Why not cull the small bucks and let the big boys live? And what about all these hunting outfitters that allow clients to kill so called "management" bucks. It might appear that that is nothing more than a ploy to get more money. WOW got a lot to think about now...

If a 1.5 year old buck, that has super antler growing genes,
happens to impregnate a doe, will it be the same result as if
the same buck breed that doe when he was 5.5?

I guess we are different here in NE TN or on our farm we hunt. Seems to us the same old bucks but just one year older. Now we get some new comers now and then but we seem to keep our bucks around. We also leave the camera's up year round. I know I've got this one buck who is 6 years old, he has a special mark on him...Smart deer too...at least smarter than me....

There no reason to cull in open range hunting. If you see a buck and want the buck then shoot the buck . . its your tag. I'm selective . . . . .

If a 1.5 year old buck, that has super antler growing genes,
happens to impregnate a doe, will it be the same result as if
the same buck breed that doe when he was 5.5?

Do you think hunters are generally LESS selective (on bucks, i.e., more likely to shoot ANY particular buck) when they have multiple buck tags, say two (2) vs. one (1)?

Now with the change in the upcoming reg for my area I can take 7 doe's and 3 Bucks . . . . . . I might not take any bucks this season . . . . . I have doe's for the freezer now . . .

I've been saying for years that one of the best ways to see more bucks get a year older is to allow the harvest of "a" deer, instead of just ANY buck.

Agree...

I've been saying for years that one of the best ways to see more bucks get a year older is to allow the harvest of "a" deer, instead of just ANY buck.

That's what I'm saying cause in my area I got 3 more doe tags.....
Thank you TWRA........

Wes,
I think you missed my point I agree with you but now I can be selective and take a doe instead of a buck.

Good chance I missed your point.

In your county, say a guy just wants to go deer hunting, say on opening weekend or Thanksgiving, goes out, buys his deer hunting license, wants to spend as little as possible just to go deer hunting with his family and/or friends.

What is this fellow allowed to "harvest" in your county?

I asked the TWRA that same question on how many doe's can I take this season and infoman said 7 doe's for Johnson Co. with a Sportman lic. A total of 7 doe's for the season...

Based on the info I got that fellow will only have the 4 tags...

Where are you going with this, if I may ask?

Now you know why I buy a Sportsman Lic....

My point was the fellow has zero (0) doe tags.
And it doesn't matter to him how many YOU have.
He has none. And he may be the "average" deer hunter in your county.

By comparison, if this same "average" one or two-weekend a year deer hunter were doing it in Kentucky, he would be issued a basic deer hunting license which would generally entitle him to take 1 antlerless deer and 1 antlered deer. We should call the basic TN deer hunting license a buck hunting license.