The harvest of whitetail deer is serious business on a highly-managed piece of property. As a result, take time to document what’s happening each year to record where your deer management program is heading. Records should be kept to monitor the status of the deer herd and measure the success of management over time.  As a minimum, record keeping should include:

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The buck to doe ratio over much of the United States is probably somewhere around 1 buck per 3 to 6 adult does. This ratio is considered satisfactory for good production and recruitment of white-tailed deer if one is interested in a quick turnover in the herd. Basically, a sex ratio in favor of does can increase the size of the deer herd very quickly. As a result, many young bucks and does of all ages are available for harvest each year. This is good for maximum production, but is not necessarily beneficial for optimal quality production.

Ideas on the ideal buck to doe ratio can be quite varied and controversial in some cases. Depending upon the part of the country you are located, the age of the person you are talking to, and a person’s general management philosophies, you will most likely get different answers from every individual you ask. But you know what, they may all be correct. There is no single correct answer for every property out there. However, there are some good rules of thumb that could help you out.

If you want to harvest a high number of deer each year, then maintaining many more does than bucks will definitely get you there. For example, let’s just say your hunting property is 500 acres. Assuming the proper carrying capacity for this land is roughly 50 deer (1 deer/10 acres) then a buck to doe ratio of 1:4 would mean your deer herd is comprised of 10 bucks and 40 does. If you have an overall fawn crop of 50%, meaning 20 fawns survive through the summer. With this in mind, you must now remove an excess of 20 deer on your property come fall hunting season to keep the overall population size in check with the available habitat. (more…)

With the General Hunting Season in Texas at about the half-way point, many hunters have already filled the freezers and have focused on other activities.  For those hunters that have yet to bag the big one, the recent cold front we received at the first part of December has created excellent hunting weather. For one East Texas hunter, we will refer to as Paul, the last weekend proved to be a dandy. With approximatley 500,000 white-tailed deer harvested each year in Texas, it takes many days in the field to put that many deer on the ground.  Hunting is not only a part of our natural heritage, but a means to keep Texas’ white-tailed deer population in check.  Deer population numbers over much of Texas continue to exceed optimal deer densities.  Keeping deer numbers in check with available habitat means better body conditions, better antler quality, and better fawn crops.

However, harvesting deer and keeping numbers down is not as easy as you think.  It takes time, money, and hard work.  Each year, hunters pump millions of dollars into small town, local economies.  Everything from gas, food, and hunting supplies keep many of these small town businesses up and running.  Hunters help boost local business, help control deer numbers, and take home some good eating at the same time. (more…)