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Is it luck or skill?
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<blockquote data-quote="Mike Belt" data-source="post: 4380355" data-attributes="member: 69"><p>There are all kinds of theories said about killing mature bucks. You need lots of acres under a management program is one of them. This can be a bonus but not necessarily true. The same can be done on small parcels. In fact, on some of those smaller properties travel routes, etc. can be easier to pinpoint than on massive properties. Everything is relative: hunting pressure, deer populations, cover, etc. </p><p></p><p>Ames is a good example of a property with a hefty amount of acreage and under a management program. We have hunters that on a fairly consistent basis kill at least a buck every year and sometimes two. None that I know of are regularly killing 4.5 year old or older bucks. Ten years into a buck management program and you wonder why. We have that caliber of buck but not as many as expected. I'll give my opinion why (and I'm biased towards 4.5 year old bucks)... Our minimum legal buck has to score 125" or be at least 4.5 years old. This is to allow more of our bucks the opportunity to reach maturity and give them a chance to express more of their antler potential. It's not a trophy club by any means although there is a remote possibility of killing a buck with really impressive headgear. Over the years I've seen both ends of the spectrum; young bucks that scored our minimum and then some as well as older bucks that just scored or failed to do so. Most of the bucks I've seen in the 2.5-3.5 year old ranges that did score had the potential for adding another 10"-30" or more of antler growth if allowed to reach 4.5 years old. Our club is set up to give hunters an opportunity at a better than average buck. A 125" 2.5-3.5 year old buck is probably better than average statewide and is a reasonable expectation there. Here's the grey area for me and no fault to anyone in particular. 125" is our legal minimum. My way of thinking places that as the bottom line rather than a required shooter. Many of our new members as well as some of the veterans don't see it that way and continue taking out those bucks BEFORE they can express whatever potential they might have had by reaching maturity; the reason for the buck program to begin with. Legal though so I can't really fault the hunter and I can't fault management because raising that minimum would be crossing into unrealistic expectation territory. Sort of a Catch 22.</p><p></p><p>I may be sidetracking the original topic... and maybe not. In a typical hunting scenario you have a mixture of hunter philosophies and goals. Anything from a spike on up may be fair game. That may actually allow for many of those better than average bucks to slip through the seasons. In a buck management hunting scenario those better than average bucks are the ones being targeted and thus killed in higher numbers (a form of high grading) allowing for fewer of them surviving to maturity. Even a skilled hunter can be radically disadvantaged searching for a needle in the haystack.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mike Belt, post: 4380355, member: 69"] There are all kinds of theories said about killing mature bucks. You need lots of acres under a management program is one of them. This can be a bonus but not necessarily true. The same can be done on small parcels. In fact, on some of those smaller properties travel routes, etc. can be easier to pinpoint than on massive properties. Everything is relative: hunting pressure, deer populations, cover, etc. Ames is a good example of a property with a hefty amount of acreage and under a management program. We have hunters that on a fairly consistent basis kill at least a buck every year and sometimes two. None that I know of are regularly killing 4.5 year old or older bucks. Ten years into a buck management program and you wonder why. We have that caliber of buck but not as many as expected. I'll give my opinion why (and I'm biased towards 4.5 year old bucks)... Our minimum legal buck has to score 125" or be at least 4.5 years old. This is to allow more of our bucks the opportunity to reach maturity and give them a chance to express more of their antler potential. It's not a trophy club by any means although there is a remote possibility of killing a buck with really impressive headgear. Over the years I've seen both ends of the spectrum; young bucks that scored our minimum and then some as well as older bucks that just scored or failed to do so. Most of the bucks I've seen in the 2.5-3.5 year old ranges that did score had the potential for adding another 10"-30" or more of antler growth if allowed to reach 4.5 years old. Our club is set up to give hunters an opportunity at a better than average buck. A 125" 2.5-3.5 year old buck is probably better than average statewide and is a reasonable expectation there. Here's the grey area for me and no fault to anyone in particular. 125" is our legal minimum. My way of thinking places that as the bottom line rather than a required shooter. Many of our new members as well as some of the veterans don't see it that way and continue taking out those bucks BEFORE they can express whatever potential they might have had by reaching maturity; the reason for the buck program to begin with. Legal though so I can't really fault the hunter and I can't fault management because raising that minimum would be crossing into unrealistic expectation territory. Sort of a Catch 22. I may be sidetracking the original topic... and maybe not. In a typical hunting scenario you have a mixture of hunter philosophies and goals. Anything from a spike on up may be fair game. That may actually allow for many of those better than average bucks to slip through the seasons. In a buck management hunting scenario those better than average bucks are the ones being targeted and thus killed in higher numbers (a form of high grading) allowing for fewer of them surviving to maturity. Even a skilled hunter can be radically disadvantaged searching for a needle in the haystack. [/QUOTE]
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