Different Feeling this Year

[Winchester]

Well said BSK, older bucks most times go unkilled for the most part. If you have an area that your not photographing any older bucks, even with some hunting pressure, you likely aren't in a very good area. Older bucks are hard enough to kill in their own right, mix in the fact that very few if any exist in a given area and you have a recipe for disaster if older bucks are your target! That said with things the way they are in TN right now, he shouldn't have to move very far to remedy this situation.

 

[BSK]

That said with things the way they are in TN right now, he shouldn't have to move very far to remedy this situation.

Agreed. I think areas that see so much buck harvest pressure that few yearlings survive hunting season still do exist in TN, but they are becoming few and far between. In my opinion, the majority, if not the vast majority, of TN now has a huntable population of bucks older than yearlings.

 

[Hunter 257W]

One disadvantage to my land is the lack of cover available for deer. To try to quantify that statement, I went to the TN tax Assessors website and looked at my area. If I stand in the center of my property and draw a circle of about a 1 mile radius, there is no more than 15% of the total land in �cover�. The rest is row crop land. In the Summer, it's deer heaven but when the combines roll through, there is a lot of wide open space. Fortunately I do own a significant portion of the total cover that is available � probably about 80 acres in all out of my total 235 acres.

As far as hunting pressure, I haven't seen/heard any indication of a heavy harvest since the 2011 deer season. Before that, we had a ton of shooting all deer season. I think one neighbor invited everybody he knew to hunt. A morning never went by without a rifle shot or two or three in the early hours of the morning. That can't happen anymore as I now own the land where that was happening. Since I bought the land in 2011, I�ve only shot one buck. I know of another that was shot but not recovered � don�t know if it died or not as it supposedly was trailed over a mile without finding it.

Moving to a different hunting spot is not an option. I've invested too much money and emotion in this land - it is my home also and part of it is 3rd generation owned - this is where I'm going to hunt. I�ll do the best I can with what is there. My main project to compensate for the lack of cover has been getting another 8+ acres of new trees and wild grass going. I specifically chose tree species based on their fruit drop dates and several varieties of oaks. The area around these is turning into a true deer thicket so good things should be coming in that spot.

I know part of my "problems" - if I do have one - is in comparing "my" bucks to what I see here on TNDeer rather than being happy with what I have. If I didn't see the 120+ inch bucks on here, I'd be thrilled to death with the decent 8 point 2 and 3 year olds that I do have a few of. Guess I just needed a reminder that deer hunting shouldn't turn into a competitive sport.

 

[BSK]

Hunter 257W,

I'm sure you've seen me post about this topic a hundred times before, but when it comes to managing a small piece of property in a high hunting pressure area, the most important piece of the habitat puzzle is sanctuary cover. If good cover, and especially cover left alone as a sanctuary for deer, is in limited supply, bucks will flock to it during gun season like it was the only hot doe in the county.

I could go on and on giving examples of what I've seen when smaller properties focused on creating sanctuary cover. It truly is the key for successfully managing small properties for older bucks.

But I also greatly appreciate your comment:

"I know part of my "problems" - if I do have one - is in comparing "my" bucks to what I see here on TNDeer rather than being happy with what I have. If I didn't see the 120+ inch bucks on here, I'd be thrilled to death with the decent 8 point 2 and 3 year olds that I do have a few of."

That is a fantastic and honest assessment of the situation. Even though many on this site think I have a great property with lots of big bucks, if 120+" deer were the goal, I would have to consider my management a complete failure. In the 27 years I've owned and hunted it, and the 20 years of somewhat intensive management, the 5-7 hunters who hunt it each year have only killed five bucks that topped 120. Again, that's just 5 bucks spread between 5-7 hunters over 20 years of management. I don't consider that much of a success.

However, I have realized what the low-quality habitat and soils of my area WILL produce in great abundance: a ton of 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year-old bucks that score between 90 and 110. We can grow so many of those that every hunter can have the realistic opportunity to kill one each year without harming the herd dynamics of the area over the long-term. Because of this situation, the hunters of the property have decided we would much rather just have fun hunting and shooting "decent" bucks every year rather than waiting on the rare "trophy" buck that just satisfies one hunter every couple of years.

 

[Mike Belt]

If I had to make a list of the things needed to aid in successful deer hunting (any deer) the number 1 item would be cover. Food definitely draws deer but since deer are such nocturnal creatures they may only show up at or around food sources at night; particularly in areas of high hunter pressure and in particular with no supporting cover. I've hunted such a property. We held 90% of the surrounding agriculture but only about 10% of the thicker cover. We had many deer feeding on us at night but they'd move off of us prior to daylight.

 

[benellivol]

Well said BSK, older bucks most times go unkilled for the most part. If you have an area that your not photographing any older bucks, even with some hunting pressure, you likely aren't in a very good area. Older bucks are hard enough to kill in their own right, mix in the fact that very few if any exist in a given area and you have a recipe for disaster if older bucks are your target! That said with things the way they are in TN right now, he shouldn't have to move very far to remedy this situation.

I'm very fortunate to be able to hunt right at 500 acres with one other person. The landowner's family hunts it a few times a year and I have someone on the neighboring property that likes to hunt right on the property line, but for the most part, it's pretty much me and the one other guy.

I've got 2 bucks that are at least 5 1/2 years old that are consistently on the property. I've hunted both pretty hard the past two years. I've killed a few other bucks that migrated on to the property, but these 2 keep managing to outsmart me. I know those 2 are roaming and that makes it really easy to get excited.

 

[BSK]

Those 5 1/2+ bucks are a hard nut to crack. On my place we generally have 1 or 2 of those age bucks each year, and have had this for a decade. Yet actually seeing or killing one of them is like winning the lottery. We've done it a grand total of 2 times in the last 10 years.

 

[southernhunter]

Those 5 1/2+ bucks are a hard nut to crack. On my place we generally have 1 or 2 of those age bucks each year, and have had this for a decade. Yet actually seeing or killing one of them is like winning the lottery. We've done it a grand total of 2 times in the last 10 years.

but hey make it look so easy on tv "lol".I have killed a 5.5 year old buck in TN.id bet it will be hard earned if I do it again yet I am amazed at looking back how many bucks the unmanaged 230 acre family farm in lincoln county has produced in the last 10 years. id say in total the farm has produced 50 1.5 to 2.5 year old deer with a few being older.makes me wonder what could have been but with that being said a lot of those young deer made for some good times and memorys.though id like to consider myself a 3.5 or older deer hunter now days. I still took a 2.5 old 8 point last year with my bow because its the biggest buck I have had in bow range in my 8 year bow hunting career.i was tickled pink with him.