proof managing bucks on small properties can work

[Nathansdad]

Here are some photos of a dandy buck living on my 93 acres. We used to shoot anything we saw until 4 years ago. We never saw a respectable buck. Since then we have taken 2 bucks in the 140's, missed a 150 class buck and have seen several other good 2 1/2- 3 1/2 with good potential. I'd love to see what this one would look like next year but not sure I could take the pass.

GET A NET!!!!

Jeff S

[clayton08]

nice deer there i agree we have lots of people were i live take anything its pretty sad u aint gonna get nice deer unless u let them get mature

[jwmiller33]

thats a nice deer!

[tracker x-2]

Great post its always nice to see that your hard work on passing on iffy shooters is paying off.

[Jameson]

but 93 acres isn't a small piece of land.....get back to us when you and everyone around you is hunting 10 acre chunks.........

[alwaysonthemove]

yup nice deer I noted the times he is on camera early mornings.

we too have managed 80 acres with very good results. Sometimes when you manage your own stand you will eventually get results. If that is what you are after.

Nathan good luck on that deer looks like he might be a nocturnal one.

[96trigger]

Quote:

but 93 acres isn't a small piece of land.....get back to us when you and everyone around you is hunting 10 acre chunks.........

Jameson, are you trying to pass on the little ones? Have you passed on all the small ones the last 4 years? If so, than I am sorry, that sucks. But, if not, try it, talk to your adjoining neighbors, tell them you are going to even if they don't. See what happens. What do you have to lose?

Funny, I manage bucks on state land, how crazy is that? Also funny that at least two if not 3 (I can't tell on one) made it through to this fall and they are all nice deer. 93 acres is not that large a chunk of land comparitively speaking. Just pass on a few and see what happens. More and more people are down here passing on the little guys and getting their neighbors to do it also, it's a great thing to see.

[mrklean]

nice job on the managing

[InTheNorthwoods]

Your neighbors must be letting the little ones walk as well to help the cause. Its amazing what a little discretion will do in the way of mature bucks showing up in just a couple short years, even on small properties.

NOTE: 93 Acres IS DEFINITELY a SMALL property. Deer have a home range that is much greater than 93 acres in almost all cases. On the other hand "10 acre chunks" are buildable lots, not hunting properties. That doesn't mean you can't hunt them or improve their appeal to deer, but there is no way of managing 10 acres without a 10' high fence surrounding the property.

[96trigger]

I guess it really depends on where the ten acres are . IF its attached to 400 acres, then I would still let them go (as I do). if it was a 40-100 acre chunk of land that is unattached and shared by 4 to 10 different parties, that would be tougher. I hunt a very small portion of private land attached to a very large portion of public land. I know that some of the bucks I see all fall get shot, but I also know that some of them make it. It can be done on any size chunk of land. A lot of deer get shot at and missed, they don't automatically get shot as soon as they cross into the neighbors property. Last year I missed a deer because it completely caught me off gaurd, I haven't missed a deer in years, but it still happens. Maybe it will happen to that little guy if you let him walk. Maybe he catches the neighbor sleeping, and gets by.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

I believe in selective harvest but I also think it has more to do with a Deer roaming miles and miles in a night, chasing does when the rut is going and moving into and area that doesnt have a dominate buck hanging around. Unless its a decent 8ptr or more my party will not shoot it. There are a lot of 8pt deer it seems for whatever reason. Shot a 15ptr a few yrs ago but for the most part its just bunch of ok 8pts. Hopefully this year brings in the big daddy

[InTheNorthwoods]

I guess it really depends on where the ten acres are . IF its attached to 400 acres, then I would still let them go (as I do). if it was a 40-100 acre chunk of land that is unattached and shared by 4 to 10 different parties, that would be tougher. I hunt a very small portion of private land attached to a very large portion of public land. I know that some of the bucks I see all fall get shot, but I also know that some of them make it. It can be done on any size chunk of land. A lot of deer get shot at and missed, they don't automatically get shot as soon as they cross into the neighbors property. Last year I missed a deer because it completely caught me off gaurd, I haven't missed a deer in years, but it still happens. Maybe it will happen to that little guy if you let him walk. Maybe he catches the neighbor sleeping, and gets by.

I don't know if it matters, or if you read into my post too much maybe because I didn't touch on it, but my personal belief is to never shoot a small buck or immature buck no matter what size property I am hunting. Dead deer don't get bigger (except when someone tells the story). I would rather take the chance someone else will shoot the small buck on the small odds that he might grow into a big one than shoot it as a youngster because the neighbor might shoot him (which is very flawed logic if you are interested in shooting a big deer).

My point was simply that when you only have 10 acres you will be at the mercy of the landowners around you at least to some extent no matter what you do to make that area a safe haven or deer eden.

[Bear55]

I believe management can work on any level if someone is willing to put in some work and stick to a plan. You are limited somewhat by your surroundings but if you are patient and scout and hunt hard I belive you can overcome those surroundings from time to time. It is clearly the harder road to take but the rewards can far outweight the drawbacks. Even if you are not able to harvest a mature buck yourself, just seeing how excited everyone gets when someone gets a nice buck it is a great feeling.

In the imediate area I hunt there are probably 40-50 hunters, most will shoots anything but 4-5 of us have stuck to our guns and pass several bucks every year. Sure the odds are not great that those bucks we pass make it to the next year but some alwasy slip through the cracks. I also feel that 4-5 of us have a much greater chance to connect on a mature buck because we are more dedicated then the other hunters in the area and we are willing to make sacrifices others won't. Every time I have connected with a mature buck I have passed on a small buck earlier in the same hunt, now I can't help but wonder what could have been had I not shot everything I saw many years ago.

[96trigger]

Nwds, I wasn't commenting directly to you, it was more of a blanket statement. you are completing supporting my opinion that the not all the bucks you let walk are going to get shot. Some might actually live, thats why we have at least some large bucks in this state.

[Musky Buck]

Thankfully the people in my main area let em go, I couldn't imagine having 9 rifle days and 16 muzzy days what impact that would have if we were shooting any buck. 25 days with a gun would wipe them out pretty good. My hope is letting them walk by they will remember being there and may return the next year or two. I think many of us if we shot the first legal buck we saw our hunting season with a gun might last only a couple hours and years I have got a mature buck it certainly isn't the first buck that I could've taken, sometimes it's the 8th 0r 9th or whatever. 93 acres isn't a ton, it's likely only a 1/4 mile wide which is I think 440 yards, put a stand in the middle and you have 220 on each side of you. It's letting them shed a rack or two, quite a few can't let em go so the pattern continues, small 1st year bucks dominate the area.

[Musky Buck]

Hunting 3 properties, 1 has trophy possibilities every year because all of us let the squirts go, what a fun place where at least the chance exists. Property #2 has barely a chance, there is barely a chance at a mature buck since most 1 1/2 year olds if seen are shot. Property #3 and adjoining land has a every so often a mature buck or two are taken and that seems to follow like last year standing corn all over until January 1st, many bucks survived the hunt and the bachelor herds antlers this summer reflected that with better bucks in the bunch than usual. I will spend my time on # 3 and # 1. My dad exclusively hunts #2 why I don't know, close to home, but he hasn't even seen a mature buck there since the 80's and hasn't harvested a deer since 1989.

[Jameson]

...it really depends on where the ten acres are . IF its attached to 400 acres, then I would still let them go (as I do). if it was a 40-100 acre chunk of land that is unattached and shared by 4 to 10 different parties, that would be tougher. ...

I guess that is what I was trying to get at. Getting many, many neighbors to year after year to pass on certain deer is nearly impossible. Another thing to add is if their is a large tract of land, say 400+ acres, near by that receives little or no hunting pressure it will really influence the results of "managing" the small parcel of land.

I use to whine about a couple of my neighbors not hunting their land. Now, when I think about it, the place I hunt would be likely near void of deer if ALL the neighbors did hunt. So I could maybe see a big buck on the 26 acres I manage and say it was a success story for small acreage management, but really the success lies in adding that 26 with one neighbors 20+ acre cattail sanctuary with another neighbors 80 acre hayfield/swamp sanctuary, and some credit should go to the several hundred (thousand?) city acres that doesn't get hunted 1.5 miles down the road.

[Nathansdad]

As posted above 93 acres is small when you consider a deers home range. This is why I posted this. I hear a lot of people say they can not pass up a deer because the neighbors will shoot it. Believe me, I have passed on my share of deer only to hear the neighbors shoot a short time later. However not all of the deer I pass on get shot. Thus the improvement we have seen in the age structure of our bucks. I believe a hunter should be able to shoot any deer they choose but I was a doubter once too and if I kill a small buck it will NEVER have a chance to become a trophy, I have learned that first hand. My neighbors are not selective in what they take yet it's amazing to see the difference in a few short years of one hunting party on 93 acres has achieved. I actually feel like I have a chance to take a trophy class animal nearly every year on that 93 acres.