Here's the deal. My uncle has ran a club for nearly 15 yrs. 2200 acres, great genetics on the bucks, great camp w/ no bs!! I was in the club w/ my pops yrs ago and just recently got back in last yr. The problem is he has been 4 pt or better as long as I can remember. He says u need 5000+ acres to manage mature bucks and yet I see some of the same bucks from the yr before on trail cams. Some nice 130'-140' bucks taken here & there but could be much better. What can I do??
You can't do much of anything if its run like a dictatorship. How many members? What type of habitat?
There is a good article in Bowhunting Magazine about mature bucks and thier typical range that contradicts this type of mentality that you need massive amounts of land to manage a deer herd. Try to find some good literature on the issue and show it to him, this article I mentioned in particular was done by putting tracking collars on several bucks in different regions to track thier movement over the course of a year. Look for that magazine, it might be in a different magazine(I'm not positive and it is out in my truck) but it has the picture of a guy in full camo shooting a Hoyt bow on the cover. I had a similar issue on our land with an older uncle who swore bucks had a range of 25 plus miles, and in some regions maybe, but not in most. His mentality was to not pass any buck, even the little 4 pt got shot. Luckily he wasn't in any decision making position. But, these guys that have that mentality are hard to persuade and very set in thier ways, so you will have to do your research and present them with some undeniable facts with regards to the benefits of a good management plan.
Thanks 4 the input!! Yea he is def set on this but maybe the right article or piece of literature can influence otherwise. Its just frustrating to see some of the young bucks dropped every yr knowing what they could b in a yr or so.
fact of the matter is if it aint fenced you will have cruising bucks that you may never see again. come from five miles out in one day just to check your area for a estrous doe. its not always the trophy deer your managing but your neighboring land owners as well . you can only do so much with what you have. you need to get your neighbors on the same program as you. then you can truely maintain a trophy management area.
my suggestion is simple, get to know the land better than anybody else on the property. even better than your uncle. mature bucks are almost always around. they are seldom seen. scout more than anybody you know. learn to recognize sign. use trail cams if possible to verify what you are seeing as far as rubs, scrapes and tracks. once you know he's there, then, knowing the land, you'll be able to put together a suitable plan of attack. once you start putting horns on the wall, your fellow camp members will want to beat your score and set their bars a little higher. even getting a couple guys involved to aim higher will help. remember the main reason we go out there each year is to relax and enjoy ourselves. to escape from the daily grind. good luck and have fun.
