Harvest Management | Buck Manager

Texas Deer Hunters Have One Last Shot

The General Deer Hunting Season has ended across much of Texas, but whitetail hunters still have an opportunity to take some deer during the Special Late General Season for spike bucks and antlerless deer. Although deer are very wary right now after a full season of being hunted, the late season gives deer managers one last chance to harvest the few remaining deer needed to achieve their deer harvest goals. Now, not all Texas counties have a Late Season in place for white-tailed deer, but most 5 deer counties do have the special season that runs from January 5-18. Make sure to review your county’s deer hunting regulations before heading out into the field.

As valuable as Texas’ Late Season may be for some hunters, it’s not the only option for harvesting white-tailed deer outside the General Season. For deer managers looking for some additional flexibility, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has the Managed Lands Deer Program (MLDP) that not only allows for an early start in some cases, for the early harvests of does, spikes, and other undesirable bucks, but for an extended season that runs until the end of February. I would recommend that any landowner interested in sound deer harvest and habitat management look into the specifics of the MLDP program. The winter weather is cold as I write, so deer are moving. Get out there and take advantage of Texas’ late season — and pray for rain!

Harvest Does Early In The Season

Deer hunting season takes place in the fall for one primary reason — to remove excess animals from the landscape prior to winter. When it comes to the deer carrying capacity, winter is THE limiting factor. As a result, proper harvest is essential for the deer herd found on your property, their habitat, and your overall deer management program. With the the onset of winter just around the corner, do not forget to harvest deer, especially does, as early as possible.

I mention this now because as the end of the year approaches, the time that many hunters have to head to the field decreases. The Christmas and New Year’s holidays can take away from your days in the field. It’s hard to harvest deer and reach harvest quotas if hunters can not make it out to the ranch.

With winter officially kicking off on December 21, time is running out to get the deer population on your property down to its winter carrying capacity. If you are not sure what the proper deer carrying capacity for your ranch is, then you first need to contact a wildlife biologist in your area. Carrying capacity refers to the number of deer that a property can over-winter.

Proper Doe Harvest - Remove Does Early In The Season

It varies by ecological region, habitat type, and ranch, but it is the first piece of information you need to properly manage any deer herd. If the proper density for a ranch is 1 deer for every 10 acres, then a 1,000 acre ranch can over-winter 100 white-tailed deer. Excess animals, if they exists, must be removed annually to ensure the health of the remaining deer.

With much of the deer season already gone, why should you always aim to harvest deer as early as possible in the season? Below I have listed three good reasons why early doe harvest is important for your deer management program.

Food — This is the primary reason you need to harvest deer early. Natural food sources will decrease throughout winter. If deer surveys estimate that 20 animals need to be removed from the ranch, why let those animals consume limited food resources for an additional month or two prior to harvesting them? Removing them early leaves the natural foods those “dead deer walking” would have consumed for the remaining animals, which keeps your deer herd healthy and strong. If a supplemental feeding program is in place, the same concept applies and you save money.

Buck to Doe Ratio — Bucks will continue to rut and breed does until all does are covered. If a large number of does must be removed, it is best to remove them early. If most of the does are bred early in the season, then bucks can save valuable energy and body mass. In addition, whitetail bucks become more visible because there are fewer does available in the woods. Maintain your buck to doe ratio and the overall health of your herd.

Fawning Dates — As mentioned above, harvesting excess does early in the season allows bucks to cover the remaining does much quicker. Fewer does per buck results in more does being bred on their first cycle. This, in turn, means more fawns are born earlier in the year. These early-born fawns will be larger before the other stress period for white-tailed deer sets in, summer. Early-born fawns means more food for lactating does, resulting in increased fawn production.

Impact of Pre-Rut Buck Harvest on Genetics

Early season deer hunting can be very effective because white-tailed bucks are more easily patterned prior to the rut. Novice deer managers may think that removing a high quality buck prior to the rut is a bad idea because it limits the buck’s ability to pass on his genes. Yes, harvesting a buck prior to the rut does limit his ability to pass on his genes, but it does not limit the ability of his offspring. When it comes to deer management we must manage the deer herd, not individual animals. If you manage the herd as a whole then good things will happen.

The most important aspect of managing the buck segment of the deer population on your property should be maintaing good quality bucks in each age class. If you are interested in improving antler quality of bucks then inferior bucks in each age class should be removed. Bucks that are deemed inferior (by your standards) in the yearling, 2 1/2, 3 1/2, 4 1/2 year old age classes should be removed each year. By doing this you ensure that only the best quality bucks remain each year, pass on their genes, and once mature are ready for harvest. Continue reading “Impact of Pre-Rut Buck Harvest on Genetics”

Managing White-tailed Deer on Fragmented Land

In general, white-tailed deer generally live within a home range of approximately one square mile. However, this range can increase during the breeding season, especially for bucks. Unless your property is high-fenced, a deer’s daily movements within that home range throughout the year often results in movements into habitat found on more than one adjoining landowner.

As a result, it is important to understand that landowners share individual animals. For this reason, the potential for successful white-tailed deer harvest management diminishes as landownership size decreases. It makes sense that as the size of individual ranches continues to decrease throughout an area, effective and meaningful management can be a challenge.

Fragmentation of habitat often results when changing land uses occur on adjoining tracts of land that were once uniform rangelands or woodlands. The increasing cost of land and the desire for folks to have just a small “piece of heaven” only increases fragmentation issues. Continue reading “Managing White-tailed Deer on Fragmented Land”

The Question of Harvest Rates for White-tailed Deer

The question of how many deer to harvest and in what proportion is asked in developing all deer management plans, but seldom is answered in an objective manner. Ideally, a deer manager would know exactly how many deer of the proper age and sex should be present to best meet the management goals for a particular ranch or tract of land.

With accurate information on herd size, the buck to doe ratio and fawn survival, and with considerations for rainfall, habitat conditions, and hunting on neighboring property, the manager could then prescribe the percentage of the herd that should be harvested to optimize management objectives. Situations such as this where all pertinent information is availalbe are, of course, very rare in deer management. Continue reading “The Question of Harvest Rates for White-tailed Deer”