Attached are trail cam pics of two bucks that are pretty young yet, but have some questionable antler characteristics. I have been contemplating harvesting one of these bucks to "cull" their genes and keep them from reproducing in the area. Is this a good idea or would you let them grow up?
I don't believe in culling bucks. The one in the first pick may turn into a freak as a 3 or 4 plus year old. Who knows. The one in the second pick may have been injured in velvet causing that left side to look funky. Either way it's your tag, good luck.
I would shoot the one in the middle. but not the one on the right or left. Those deer need time to grow. Only time I think it's okay to "cull" is if you haven't seen change from one year to the next and it's on your land where you are trying to "Trophy Manage" Otherwise, let them go.
It seems like cull is thrown around a lot and I hate it. Deer have small antlers because of their age or their diet. Instead of "culling", try planting plots, putting out mineral sights, letting the small bucks go. Providing them with a good diet will increase the antlers over time. Personally, I like the antlers on the first buck. I think If he makes it a couple of years, it would be a cool looking buck. The other one was probably damaged like Parker said. Moniter the deer and keep track of the bucks growth from year to year. In the end its up to you. If you see a big or small buck and you want to shoot it, go ahead. Just please dont use the cull excuse when you do.
cv ... 2 things ... fly your colors - #1 if you would be happy with either, shoot .. me ... I am killing the second one ....
Think about it tony....If there are only two deer, one on the left, one on the right, and I said I wouldn't shoot either of those I would shoot the one in the middle when there obviously isn't one in the middle then all I'm really saying is I wouldn't shoot either of those deer. LOL Put your thinking cap on and read the whole post.
I believe there is no such thing as a cull buck before the age of 4. How many acres do you hunt? If it has less then 300 then i wouldn't cull deer.
And this 300 acre rule is based on what? Personally, if you like it, shoot it. I hate when people say they are culling deer. You can't play god. Give the deer some more respect than that. Me? I'm killing that second buck all day.
I personally wouldn't use my tag to 'cull' a buck. I'd rather spend my time trying to harvest the most mature buck I can on my property. It seems to me that 'culling' before the age of 3.5 or 4.5 is BS anyways. I've seen small 2.5 years olds develop into big 3.5 year olds, so you never know if the buck you're 'culling' will remain small or turn into a monster. Mostly it just seems like an excuse for guys who shoot small bucks year in and year out. I know people who every season say they 'culled' the buck they shot. Really? You've been 'culling' bucks for 5 years now, where are the big boys you're 'culling' for? Moral of the story, shoot whatever makes YOU happy.
It's one of the aspects of "Quality Deer Management" that I disagree with. If a younger buck has an antler configuration that doesn't conform to what you or other mainstream hunters desire, you kill it in order to keep it from reproducing and passing those genes on. I've never quite understood this since if there's one young buck with those genes, chances are there are a lot more, not to mention the old buck with the funky rack that fathered them. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying that I personally don't understand or agree with it. It's quite possible that I would change my position if I actually owned a big tract of land and had a herd of my own to manage. I doubt it, but it's possible. To the OP: That's your call, brother. As has already been said, if you want to kill it, kill it. My take on it is that you're deer hunting and that's a deer. Regardless of your reason for shooting, whether it be meat in the freezer, the joy of the kill or to remove undesirable genes from your herd, you will be successful.
Not from what I heard.. Oh and on the original question and the QDMA slant the thread seems to be on...sorry I can't answer for you. The first deer looks to be maybe 2 1/2 yrs old, but good sized body...but small head gear. The second has a better rack, but the body looks smaller - I can't tell how old it is from the head on angle...but hypothetically lets say it has a big rack, small body and is a bit more mature again, lets say maybe 3 1/2 or 4. Would that change anybody's opinions? Maybe I worked in the consulting business just a tad too long, but I do see 'maturity curve' parallels with the reasons and justifications folks use for their deer hunting. At first its a matter of getting one buck or doe. Then it moves to taking a couple deer in a season, tagging out, then bigger and bigger deer and/or variety of species. But at some point, often a switch is flipped along the way and it becomes more something way bigger about a pride in 'growing' your deer, maintaining the right balance, animal health, etc...in this regard, I can agree with some, maybe most of the QDMA philosophy/principles. Maybe its just about getting old, hiking and working less...
Didn't dr. Kroll (dr. Deer) say he thinks more than 65% of genetic antler make up comes from the doe anyway? So if that is true, culling bucks would be somewhat pointless. Wouldn't it? As far as genetic antler size.
I agree with you, i think there is no such thing as a cull deer especially before the age of 4. The 300 acre rule is because if your going to "cull" you need to have a large amount of acreage to follow the same management plan or else things can get screwed up quickly.
