Rut Sounds

[BSK]

Sorry for going off topic, but what kills me are these clubs that have the most insane harvest criteria based on antler measurements, and their reason for doing so is because they think judging these is easier than field-judging age. WHAT? You really think hunters in a hunting situation having to judge whether a buck has 19" beams, or 5" basal circumference, or a 16" outside spread is easier than looking for the simple characteristics of a 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 year-old? Heck, in a hunting situation I wouldn't even trust myself to make those antler measurement judgements, but I can think of at least 100 users of TNdeer I would trust to make field-judge age estimates.

 

[Ski]

I try to explain to hunters/landowners/clubs why they can't use antler size to set harvest goals or judge age, but I honestly think they don't believe me. Given enough acreage (generally over 1,000 acres) I will find a yearling buck that outscores the lowest scoring mature buck on the property.

The point being, the bell curve for each age-class is so wide, that every age's curve overlaps every other age's curve.

True. It's really pretty astounding the difference you can see from one buck to the next that live on the same dirt in the same conditions.

 

[Ski]

Sorry for going off topic, but what kills me are these clubs that have the most insane harvest criteria based on antler measurements, and their reason for doing so is because they think judging these is easier than field-judging age. WHAT? You really think hunters in a hunting situation having to judge whether a buck has 19" beams, or 5" basal circumference, or a 16" outside spread is easier than looking for the simple characteristics of a 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 year-old? Heck, in a hunting situation I wouldn't even trust myself to make those antler measurement judgements, but I can think of at least 100 users of TNdeer I would trust to make field-judge age estimates.

I agree. I wouldn't be able to live score a deer within the split second I usually have to decide whether to shoot or not. Fortunately most bucks I kill these days are deer I'm specifically hunting because I'm familiar with them via trail cams and/or scouting. I always get a few stranger passer through bucks each season but almost never see them from stand.

The club standards and even some of the state agency standards on certain hunts, as they relate to antler characteristics seem shallow minded to me. It allows bucks like the bruiser in my video to go unscathed his entire life even into geriatric years while young 2.5yr olds with true trophy promise are eliminated from the herd. And like you say, field judging age is way easier to learn. Seems counterintuitive.

 

[Ski]

That's just awesome! Love hearing the sounds but I don't think that first buck has ever heard what my grunt call sounds like. He'd never win a calling contest.

Hahaha I know. Sounds absolutely nothing like the "how to" calling videos or the way TV hunters sound with their grunt tubes. BUT he sounds exactly like the vast majority of bucks I hear grunting while I'm hunting. Most of the time they sound like pigs snorting. It's just like turkey call competitions. They sound nothing like real wild turkeys. That's why I posted the vids. It's real.

 

[BSK]

Hahaha I know. Sounds absolutely nothing like the "how to" calling videos or the way TV hunters sound with their grunt tubes. BUT he sounds exactly like the vast majority of bucks I hear grunting while I'm hunting. Most of the time they sound like pigs snorting. It's just like turkey call competitions. They sound nothing like real wild turkeys. That's why I posted the vids. It's real.

This is how I describe it to those who haven't heard it. Sounds just like pigs rooting for food.

 

[TheLBLman]

At times, the deer woods sound somewhat a cross between a pig farm and an alligator swamp.

 

[Meateater]

Nice!

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Great videos! Thanks for sharing!