QDM guide

[chemdoc]

pretty nice overview for interested...

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publicat ... pb1643.pdf

 

[BSK]

Yup, it's a good one. Dr. Harper at UT has written several excellent deer and habitat management pamphlets that are available on their website.

 

[chemdoc]

BSK, while i have your attention... I have a question about doe harvesting.

The land my father in law hunt on is private and about 400 acres. We are the only two people that hunt that particular acreage and take about 2-3 bucks/year (2 1/2 years old or better). Our goal is to have more mature bucks to hunt. We are boardered by land on all four sides, which people hunt. The owner of the land across the street is a trophy hunter only. I cannot speak to what the others are killing.

My question is... How concerned should we be about doe harvest and herd health with such a low acreage to manage? We haven't taken a doe of the property in so long i can't remember. Our general strategy has been to let all does walk and only take a 2 1/2 year old or better bucks. We provide 2 five acre food plots and there is nice habitat of thickets and white oaks already established on the land. On the eastern boarder is pine company land that is the thickest you could imagine.

Aside from my doe harvest question... This has been family land forever and will continue to be, so we have the time necessary is there any other basic advice for our small acreage?

thanks in advance.

 

[BSK]

Really, with acreage that size, I would consider doe harvesting a "bonus." If you want the opportunity to kill more deer, have at it. And depending on current deer density in relation to habitat quality, it's always a good thing to "do your part" in holding down large deer populations. But if the deer population shows no signs of over-population, killing does isn't absolutely necessary. Your neighbors might be shooting enough does to hold the population in check. Besides, what you kill on your 400 acres alone won't have much impact on the local population. It is what everybody in the local area combined harvests that produces the impact. Basically, what is harvested on the surrounding 8-10 square miles.

 

[TheLBLman]

Your neighbors might be shooting enough does to hold the population in check.

Then again, your neighbors might not be shooting many does at all.

If your neighbors mainly shoot bucks, you may need to shoot a lot more does (than bucks), not only to do your part in preventing too many deer, but also to help maintain a more balanced buck:doe ratio.

In the absense of good data and/or knowing exactly what the neighbors are doing, my "rule of thumb" is to simply harvest at least as many female as male deer.

 

[chemdoc]

thanks guys.

 

[BSK]

It all comes down to how your current herd density is relating to available food sources.

If food sources are showing heavy browsing in late-winter of a poor acorn year, you probably need to shoot a bunch of does.

If food sources are in great shape at the end of an acornless winter, you can shoot or not shoot. You won't shoot them out by any means, but doe harvesting may not be essential either.

However, I RARELY recommend hunters managing a sizeable property NOT shoot does. I usually recommend taking at least as many does as bucks. The few instances where I wouldn't recommend doe harvests is in a situation where deer density is very low and increasing the density is a management goal.