Habitat is the cornerstone of white-tailed deer management. Plant communities, an important component of habitat, are composed of forbs, grasses, and woody plants (browse). Healthy, diverse habitat sustains native wildlife populations and almost always represent healthy deer herds. However, browsing of woody plants by white-tailed deer and domestic livestock may have negative impacts on perinneal shrubs, trees and the overall habitat.

Excessive browsing may lead to decreased plant vigor, increased susceptibility to disease, or decreased reproduction and seeding establishment. Stresses such as these could potentially cause the disappearance of some plant species important for quality deer habitat. Consequently, deer biologist typically quantify the most palatable browse plants in an area in an attempt to monitor browsing pressure by the local deer herd. Sound deer management decisions can be made by recording browse plant use by white-tailed deer. (more…)

The proper harvest of animals is a critical component of white-tailed deer management. Although most conversations concerning the harvest of deer are centered around bucks, the harvest of does is just as important. After all, thinning the doe population, when warranted, will improve the buck to doe ratio, slow population growth, and keep white-tailed deer numbers at the proper carrying capacity for the habitat. The management benefits of necessary doe harvest are well documented. 

But when it comes to shooting does, which ones do you shoot first? With bucks, hunters typically use antler characteristics combined with the age of the deer to identify potential cull bucks and other shooter deer. Hunters have varying opinions when it comes to buck harvest, but it’s even less straight forward when it comes to shooting does. Interestingly enough, I recently had a fellow tell me that he spares the largest does and shoots the smallest. At first I thought he was just taking a stab at becoming an “armchair” biologist, but then I started to think his theory may have some merit. (more…)

White-tailed deer management and the culling of bucks go hand-in-hand. To improve the buck segment of any deer herd, some type of culling must take place on an annual basis. Each fall, hunters email me photos and ask, “Is this deer a cull buck?” It’s a simple enough question, but the answer depends on the quality of the whitetail bucks found on the ranch. After all, culling is relative to the buck population in question. In addition, the reasons for culling bucks are also closely tied to the landowner’s objectives.

A cull buck on one ranch may be a trophy on another. Landowner objectives, habitat condition, food availability, and the genes found in the local deer population (for antler growth) all determine what a cull buck on a particular property will look like. Bucks found on a property must be judged against other bucks on the ranch. It would be unfair to compare deer from South Texas with deer from Alabama or Indiana. Although reasons for culling bucks may vary from hunter to hunter and between ranches, there are some physical measures by which all bucks are measured. Below are seven potential reasons to cull healthy whitetail bucks: (more…)

Let’s face it, most landowners want to see plentiful groups of white-tailed deer running around on their property. However, those interested in improving their herd through deer management practices should want to see healthy individual animals. Why is this, you ask? That is because healthy animals are an indicator of good deer habitat and animals in good condition make for healthy white-tailed deer herds. If individuals within a population are in poor condition, then the overall population itself is in poor shape. So although we may want to sustain as many deer as possible on a ranch, what is the ideal number or the target number? The quick answer is that carrying capacity is based on habitat and environmental conditions.

In short, it’s all related to soils and precipitation, which in turn determines the plant species that grow in a particular area. But even with that said, we all know that the quality of deer habitat can vary based on a variety of factors, even within a single county or even just a mile or two down the road. The previous few sentences probably did not help anyone develop a population goal for their property, but hopefully it did help in understanding that the carrying capacity for a particular piece of property can vary widely between regions, counties, and individual ranches. To help you get a handle on how many deer you should or could have, I have outlined three measurable factors that landowners and hunters can use to monitor the health of a deer herd. (more…)

Deer management is about herd improvement coupled with habitat enhancement. Although many hunters doubt the antler potential for native whitetail bucks in their area, in every area where white-tailed deer exists bucks exceeding 170 Boone and Crockett inches can be produced. In fact, I have seen native 190+ inch bucks come from every region in Texas. Of course, in free-ranging deer populations the majority of bucks will have their antlers max-out anywhere from 120 to 150 inches at maturity (5 1/2+ years old).

With that said, most deer hunters have never harvested a whitetail buck exceeding 130 inches. Why? For starters, most hunters are hard-pressed to find well-nourished bucks. Often times, habitat is in poor condition from livestock operations or there is simply a lack of deer habitat. This is often the case in farming communities where the only available habitat is low-lying land, untillable areas where woodlots have developed, or along creeks and rivers. Deer can forage on most row crops, but only during certain stages of growth or at maturity. The remainder of the time the crops are not consumed or the alleged “habitat” is plowed dirt. Well-nourished bucks need good habitat throughout the year.  (more…)

Have years of heavy hunting pressure impacted deer body condition and antler quality in your area? It may be difficult to say with any certainty, but it seems plausible that deer hunters, which serve as predators, could alter the gene pool of certain game species. Last month, a popular article presented research that found hunting had a profound impact on wildlife, driving an evolutionary process that makes animals become smaller and reproduce earlier. The study, which looked at both hunting and fishing, examined 29 different species and found, that under human pressure, creatures on average become 20% smaller.

Article: “The human tendency to seek large ‘trophies’ appears to drive evolution much faster than hunting by other predators, which pick off the small and the weak.

Researchers reported, ‘It’s an ideal recipe for rapid trait change.’ In virtually all cases, human-targeted species got smaller and smaller and started reproducing at younger ages — making populations more vulnerable.

Hunters are instructed not to take smaller animals or those with smaller horns. This is counter to patterns of natural predation, and now we’re seeing the consequences of this management.”

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There has been an ongoing debate in deer management over the culling young white-tailed bucks based on antler characteristics ever since the first research on the subject concluded. The subject at the very heart of this debate still remains the harvest of spike antlered bucks. Though many deer managers cull bucks in an attempt to improve the antler quality of their deer herd, does it really work?

DADH: “Conflicting penned deer research findings have fueled the age-old culling controversy. Study results on captive deer have produced recommendations ranging from removing all spike-antlered (presumably genetically inferior) yearlings, to complete protection of all yearling bucks regardless of their antler traits. Those favoring selective removal of small-antlered young bucks claim such a practice will remove small-antlered genes from the herd and improve antler quality.”

Texas has lead the way in terms of antler research. Research conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suggests that breeding better-antlered white-tailed bucks improved the antler quality of bucks sired, but then researchers at Texas A&M University concluded that a doe’s “nurturing ability” was the most important factor. The latter study suggests that the genetics of individual deer are not important at all? (more…)

The hunting season may have have ended for majority of white-tailed deer hunters, but there is no better time to reflect back over the past season than while it’s all fresh in your mind. If you had to opportunity to spend many days in the field, then you should have a good picture of the overall deer herd in your area. Better yet, if you recorded deer observations while hunting, then you have the hard data to support what is happening under your ranch’s current deer management program. These field observations, in addition to game camera photos, will allow you to track individual bucks from one year to the next. I strongly recommend keeping both photo and stand observations since some bucks always seem to avoid getting caught on camera.

With regards to antlered deer, one issue that always seems to come up is the lack of brow tines on individual white-tailed bucks. Hunters often have questioned why some middle-aged and older bucks simply lack brow tines. And yes, antler characteristics are genetically linked and highly heritable. To back up this claim, I will cite some long-term data collected from the Texas’ Kerr Wildlife Management Area.        

From 1974 to 1997, this research facility was involved in a number of studies designed to determine the role of nutrition and genetics in white-tailed deer antler development. During each of various studies that took place over that time, researchers recorded antler information for individual bucks throughout that 23 year period. This wealth of data allowed biologists to back-track 217 bucks from yearlings (1 1/2) to 3 1/2 years of age and 168 bucks until they were 4 1/2 years old. So what did they find? (more…)