So you set up mineral stations with a trail cam to get your inventory. And you know approximate how may does, fawns and bucks live on your property. Our family loves venison and the meat is a big part of why I hunt. So how can I tell how many does I can kill in a given year while keeping it sustainable? Is there some type of formula or guideline out there? What things should I be looking for? I don't think there is going to be one paragraph answer. More or less I would like to get a discussion going on the best ways to decide which deer to shoot and how many deer I can shoot, completely separate from mature buck hunting.
Well my land is 80 acres. Ill have guests here and there for bowhunting. We will also be gun hunting it. The number of guests I have will be determined by number of deer I decide I feel ok with being killed. So in a way the number of hunters will be determined by that. I'm not nessacerily just looking for an answer to my specific situation. Although ill take that answer. I'm really interested in learning about how to make that decision. Posted from my phone so please excuse my brevity.
I would be conservative with your first couple years harvesting does, unless your just overrun with them. It's always easier to kill more the next year.
For me it would depend on a number of variables. The obvious like: -Size of land -deer density of the greater area -kind of land I had -kind of land around me But really, I think I'd take a much more "ecological" approach to looking at it. -how is my land doing? -is there diversity in your plant species? (Obviously, this depends on the natural environment or your area) -can it hold more deer, or are there too many Deer densities in my area are about as low as anywhere in the State, but even still, the deer numbers have a lasting effect on various plants. White cedar for instance. There are no young cedar trees in our area and all of the old trees are browsed to 5 ft. But travel into parts of the BWCA where deer are lacking even more in numbers and you find healthy cedars of all age classes.
I think you will have your answer after hunting it this year and getting a grasp on actual deer numbers on the property.
I generally take about two per year. Meat all tastes the same and that is why I hunt anyway. Whole family likes vesiaon.
You need something more reliable than a mineral station for census taking. I would use your water hole. Everything needs water. Right now I have corn and minerals out and not every deer is showing up at those two sites. I also have a water hole and it gives me more pics of different deer than the other two. If I were you, I'd run at least 6 cameras on 80 acres for a year along with scouting and hunting before making a decision. Take what you need for meat, especially if you think you have enough does, this year and plan on what's best for the herd next season.
Thanks Greg. This is more what I am looking for. I have two cameras up there right now running and I am rotating them every 2-3 weeks. Can't wait to get up there Friday to get the pictures!
Every property is different, BUT, I find it very unlikely that one person (even with guests) on a small property will adveresely affect the sustainability of the deer herd by dhooting a lot of does. deer are very resilient. Unless you are in the North Woods of Maine where deer numbers are already very low, my opinion of shooting does is shoot every one you can. I have been doing this for seven years on my farm. Every season I have taken between five and 9 does off the property....I do see fewer does now, but there are still plenty, but i also see a lot more bucks now, and they cruise more during the rut looking for does....IMO less does=better hunting...up to a point.
im newer to hunting, but from what ive learned so far and what my own general common sense is leading me to believe. if it looks like you have a ton of does and when youre in the stand or around in off season, you see a bunch, id take enough to fill your freezer (given your freezer doesnt hold 25). if it seems light, hunt light. do the deer seem very young or are you seeing mature animals? Do they come by once a month or on a regular schedule? those are things id look at.
Look at the height of the browse line. Low browse line plenty of food and not over populated, high browse line too many deer. We had a bad EHD outbreak a few years ago and the herd is just now getting back to normal. Its a hard call.
You need to harvest does !! So i would just target the older class ones with button buck fawns and by taking them out you also increase the buck population in your area. When there MaMa is no longer alive she can not run them off and the will stay in he core area.
South east Kansas isn't hurting on its deer population. I get 5 Doe tags in my unit and off our ranch I'll shoot 3 this year and as a challenge to myself will try filling the other 2 on public ground. I feel comfortable shooting 3 off our place conservatively because it fills the freezer and leaves plenty of deer left for years to come. On our section of ground I run 3 cams and average 1000 or so pics on each camera over the course of a week. Could I harvest more does on my land and still keep deer numbers high? Probably yes. But I really don't wanna go on a slaughter until I figure out how harvesting 3 a year will affect the herd years down the road.
