My husband and I have just bought a piece of land in Illinois for hunting, we have hunted it prior and know this land well. It is mostly wooded with some crops and has always been a good spot that has netted us very good seasons...Unfortunately last year one of the neighbors found multiple dead bucks on his acreage, seems we were hit by EHD...needless to say we did not see many deer there last year so we mostly hunted last year and left that piece of land alone. Our trail cams show a definite improvement in doe and buck population this year so here is the question...what is the best way to manage this? Should we leave the does alone until after the rut? Do we hunt the does and leave the bucks alone? We have had several discussions about this and decided we would like some other input...we want to do the best thing for our deer and still enjoy our new land!!! Thanks for any input/advice you may have.... Steve and Lori
I'd do a trail camera survey so I could define what the sex ratios are, what the estimated deer population is, etc... Without that info, you're really just going on gut instinct to make any management decisions. As land owners with boots on the ground, you'd have a better feel for the situation to make those decisions based on a gut feeling than most people on the internet. My opinion and methodology is if does need to be taken, I do it pre-rut. I prefer to take unbred does if possible, I don't favor the thought of having my best bucks breed does only to end up killing those does. The dominant bucks I want breeding can dominate the ranks and breed the does that are remaining in the pool post thinning but if you take them out, post bred, then one is hurting the chances of success for the better bucks to successfully throw their genetics into viable offspring.
Reported EHD loss in Illinois during 2014 was a non-event. If memory serves, there was something like a dozen deer from 9 counties which were reported as probable EHD related deaths -- no lab tests confirmed EHD last year. We did have heavy losses in both 2012 and 2013, however. 2012 had the most reports, from the most counties (87 of 102) and highest number of deer involved at 2968, statewide. Take the first deer that will make you happy and enjoy hunting your new property!
