If BSK will jump on here, you'll get a better & more detailed answer.
BHC":21niw4k8 said:
By large I mean 1500 acres or more. Would such a property be over populated? What would the sex ratio look like? Would the age structure be skewed toward mature deer?
Opinions vary greatly, but imo, generally speaking, 1500 acres is not large enough for there to be lots of mature bucks on the property, although you might be skewed towards more mature does. Bucks typically simply roam over thousands of acres during the rut, and, even with 1500 acres, what is happening on that 4,500 acres surrounding you may effect the situation more than that 1500 acres in the center of a 6,000 acre land mass.
During the rut, it is not uncommon for a very identifiable buck to be photographed one day, then be killed by a hunter 2 or more miles away the next day. A typical 1500 acre tract (in TN) is going to be configured something like 3 miles long, but
LESS than 1 mile wide. On a daily basis, the majority of the bucks that "live" on this tract most of the year, they may spend more time off it, during the rut, than on it. Thus, what's happening on the surrounding property has the greater effect, at least on the buck population (or buck herd dynamics).
By the way, if you had a tract 3 miles long x 1 mile wide (about 1,920 acres), draw a 2nd perimeter only an additional 1 mile around your property. That 1-mile perimeter around your property would contain a whopping 5,120 acres! So basically, that 1,920 acres becomes only 27% of that 7,040-acre land mass most of "your" deer would be roaming. Even a deer standing in the very center of your property would only be 0.5 mile from being "off" your property.
All things being equal, the deer population density
SHOULD be a little higher than the surrounding area, but still largely controlled by it. Similar for sex ratio, should be a little closer to "balanced", but since "your" bucks would be getting killed outside that 1500 acre center mass, might not be hugely different than the surrounding area.
But seldom are all things "equal". If your 1500 acres is the best cover mass within say 6,000 acres, generally fewer of "your" bucks should be killed outside your perimeter. If you have most of the food sources
and the cover for that 6,000-acre area within your 1500 acre center, you will fare better. Still, your 1500 acres will likely be effected more by what's happening around it, especially if that's lots of deer hunting. The fact there has been no hunting on this 1500 acres has likely highly benefited the neighbors' hunting.
Another issue: Seasonal range shifting.
Many of the bucks I see during the summer months will "shift" their fall/winter range by over a mile. What am saying is that a buck with a fairly small "core" area of maybe 100 acres, may shift that fairly small "core" area (where he spends the most of his time daily) by over a mile just between July and October. Even with 1500 acres, such a shift
COULD put most of your summer-seen bucks on the adjoining properties for deer season. Similarly, you may gain bucks coming in from the adjoining properties, but they're just not the ones you were so eagerly watching all summer. Of course, there is a lot of overlapping, and all bets are off during the rut.
Lastly, "no hunting"? What has prevented it? (It usually takes more than a lack of permission or some no trespassing signs.) I have looked at numerous tracts over the years that had supposedly had "no hunting" for the past many years. Rarely has that appeared to be the case (at least across much of TN).