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Post by pigeonflier on Dec 12, 2022 16:07:31 GMT -5
What is the healthy herd buck to doe ratio?
And what do you think the buck to doe ratio is in your area?
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 12, 2022 16:48:56 GMT -5
1:1 would be ideal.
I have no idea what the "true" buck to doe ratio is where I hunt, but I would guess based solely on my observations while on stand that it's two ANTLERLESS to one antlered buck.
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Post by boonechaser on Dec 12, 2022 16:49:22 GMT -5
From merely a health point of view 1 to 1, but that is very tough to do in a wild herd. I am currently working on inventorying bucks on my properties and just got through looking at pics over last week. Identified 18 different bucks on my home farm this week, from pics of doe's and bucks I would estimate at least 2x's amount of doe's, prolly slightly more, but we had EHD in area also so doe population is down some. As a hunter/landowner/and one that manages hard, as do more neighbor's, I am happy with 1 buck to every 2-3 doe's, IF we can keep it around that number I am very satisfied. We control 450 ish acres between 3 of us, each harvested a mature buck (4.5 to 5.5 ages), biggest killed was a absolute giant 4.5 yr. old non typ. (jawbone was sent off) scored 191"green and will be officially scored in Jan., as well as a 5.5 yr. old 158" typical, and a 4 or 5. year old 154" typical. (Jaw was sent off).
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Post by tynimiller on Dec 12, 2022 16:54:43 GMT -5
What is the healthy herd buck to doe ratio? And what do you think the buck to doe ratio is in your area? Ah the claim many say is 1 : 1 however listen to any reputable deer biologist and you'll get more of a "it depends"...however majority say you don't want more than 2 does for every buck. Observationally, hunters have incredibly different means of declaring what they think their area herd ratio is. I personally feel unless someone is following scientific thought process to camera surveys and strict cataloguing of hunt sightings it is very hard to place a guess with any real confidence. I say this for a few reasons, but one example is I've shared the same exact property with other hunters....you ask each of us privately what the hunting is like, deer population is like, buck to doe ratio is suspected to be....you will get MASSIVELY different opinions shared. Who is right or wrong? Neither is wrong in stating what they are interpreting through their inputs received...but one is dramatically missing what is truly happening perhaps for a multitude of reasons. I hunt mainly two properties for the most part and I'd struggle to predict what I feel the buck to doe ratio is with a confidence rating of above say 7 out of 10. One I'd venture to guess is closer to that 2 does to 1 buck while the other is quite possibly 1 doe to every 1.5 bucks. |
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 12, 2022 18:11:44 GMT -5
We tend to overthink this kind of stuff.
Heck fellers, just go hunt!
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Post by parkerbow on Dec 12, 2022 18:18:46 GMT -5
We tend to overthink this kind of stuff. Heck fellers, just go hunt! Exactly, why does it really matter. I for one just like to see deer when I go hunt. I would think most people that own land just want to have deer on their property and the buck to doe ratio really does not mattter. Just my 2 cents. |
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Post by greghopper on Dec 12, 2022 18:19:25 GMT -5
We tend to overthink this kind of stuff. Heck fellers, just go hunt! Word of wisdom right there ….. “Just Hunt” |
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Post by greghopper on Dec 12, 2022 18:27:42 GMT -5
We tend to overthink this kind of stuff. Heck fellers, just go hunt! Exactly, why does it really matter. I for one just like to see deer when I go hunt. I would think most people that own land just want to have deer on their property and the buck to doe ratio really does not mattter. Just my 2 cents. And the farmer next Door wants to see NONE…. And there is the rub! |
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Post by duff on Dec 12, 2022 18:38:13 GMT -5
On stand I saw 1 doe, 2 fawns, 1 buck and 1 yote.
Killed a fawn, the buck and the yote, in 3 morning hunts.
Camera covering same area had 2 adult does and 4 fawns all summer with 1 1.5 yr old buck. 4 adult bucks occasionally.
During rut same does and maybe triple the buck numbers passing through. Been that way for past 4 years.
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Post by tynimiller on Dec 12, 2022 18:45:18 GMT -5
We tend to overthink this kind of stuff. Heck fellers, just go hunt! Exactly, why does it really matter. I for one just like to see deer when I go hunt. I would think most people that own land just want to have deer on their property and the buck to doe ratio really does not mattter. Just my 2 cents. I never want to see deer like when I started hunting and the first roughly seven to ten years…I thought it was cool then but had zero clue how overpopulated things were then but now I’d be so mad at the things if it got to that for habitat reasons. |
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Post by freedomhunter on Dec 12, 2022 20:12:28 GMT -5
We just kind of packed it in wasn't really seeing many deer except a few Around the house in suburbia. Enough were being killed around my lease so an easy decision for us. Maybe some ehd? Idk but when I'm not seeing many deer we aren't going to kill anything but a nice buck late. A two year old was taken by a friend on my lease and another by a friend on my 8 acres that needed the meat. I'm not real worried about it
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Post by ms660 on Dec 12, 2022 21:40:35 GMT -5
I have seen more spike bucks this year than I have ever. It seems that is all I am seeing
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Post by parkerbow on Dec 18, 2022 9:56:46 GMT -5
Exactly, why does it really matter. I for one just like to see deer when I go hunt. I would think most people that own land just want to have deer on their property and the buck to doe ratio really does not mattter. Just my 2 cents. And the farmer next Door wants to see NONE…. And there is the rub! You are exactly right, but what the farmer does not realize is that racoons and squirresl eat or damage justa as much corn as deer do. Now beans might be different but there too i have seen where groundhogs will eat a half acre of beans down to the nubs and they balme deer for it. I also see a lot of spilled grain in the fields where farmers spill it while loading trucks or I see alot of grain on the side of the road where it spills off the trucks. There is more to blame then the deer. |
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Post by boonechaser on Dec 18, 2022 17:57:53 GMT -5
And the farmer next Door wants to see NONE…. And there is the rub! You are exactly right, but what the farmer does not realize is that racoons and squirresl eat or damage justa as much corn as deer do. Now beans might be different but there too i have seen where groundhogs will eat a half acre of beans down to the nubs and they balme deer for it. I also see a lot of spilled grain in the fields where farmers spill it while loading trucks or I see alot of grain on the side of the road where it spills off the trucks. There is more to blame then the deer. There are no farmers around me, other than hay, and what 2 neighbors and I plant. Closest AG fields are 4-5 miles away at least. |
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Post by esshup on Dec 19, 2022 12:31:54 GMT -5
And the farmer next Door wants to see NONE…. And there is the rub! You are exactly right, but what the farmer does not realize is that racoons and squirresl eat or damage justa as much corn as deer do. Now beans might be different but there too i have seen where groundhogs will eat a half acre of beans down to the nubs and they balme deer for it. I also see a lot of spilled grain in the fields where farmers spill it while loading trucks or I see alot of grain on the side of the road where it spills off the trucks. There is more to blame then the deer. I've seen a bare patch in a cornfield due to beavers coming up out of the creek and cutting the corn stalks down too. |
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