How Many Deer to Kill on 200 Acres

[JonBoy]

I manage my tiny 16 acres as I would manage any other big lease I was on. I shoot does for meat, kill 2 to 3 does for every cull buck, and trophy bucks have to be 5.5 or older. That being said between myself and my family we take about 6 a year (the deer numbers up there are ridiculous). We'll go several years without shooting a fork horned buck...mainly does and the occasional spike. I just wish my neighbors would do the same thing. They say they are management minded, but all they seem to manage is to shoot 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 year old 8 points every year and no does

[Rick]

It does not really matter on 200 acres

[dgilbert]

Your not going to control anything on a 200ac low fence, so don't worry about it.

[TB80]

Really appreciate all the replies guys. Kind of interesting to hear the mixed advice but I am reading it all and taking it into consideration.

Historically (before kids got to hunting age) we would go years with killing no bucks or only one buck (if it was mature) and then shooting does only. This is over about a 20 year period. The quality of the deer really didn’t change. A “trophy” was an 8 point 18” wide deer with average mass. Ironically enough, we’ve seen better deer the past three or four years, even with the kids shooting some of the younger bucks. This is the best year for bucks on our place and last year one trophy was killed and two young bucks for the kids.


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[Barrett]

You don't have to have 1000+ acres to have a QDM program.

Our biologist certainly doesn't think QDM on less than 200 acers is a waste of time but you can't make decisions about harvest without knowledge of how many bucks, does and fawns are utilizing the property.

You can still conduct a census and figure out approximately how many unique does and bucks are utilizing your property, the density, sex ratio and fawn recruitment.
If you are feeding heavy and drawing lots of deer from your neighbors your density will be high. You may be calculating densities like 5 acers per deer or less. These deer come and go but they are still utilizing the resources available on your property on a regular basis.
A good rule of thumb is to harvest 20-25 percent of your does every year. If you count 30 unique does , shoot 6. Identify those bucks 5.5 or older and focus on hunting them.

This is what our bio told us with our two 200 acre ranches. Thats why Ihave procured 2 other ranches that neighbor us to hunt on as well. So now I have about 1000 acres around our place to do more of a management program.

[Deerguy]

A lot of the above information is wrong, assuming you want to try and make things a little better. Just because you only have access to 200 acres doesn't mean you should continue to do the wrong thing when when making at least some effort in managing the deer herd. Thats why the deer herd over much of the area sucks. If the age structure of the buck herd is lower than you'd like, minimize buck harvest to increase it. Granted deer are being killed all around you, but, if you shoot too many or the wrong (immature) deer, you just contribute to a worsening problem. The higher the age structure (the percentage of bucks estimated to be 4.5 or older), the larger the deer you will have. Just decide on what quality of buck you want to harvest and go from there. Until you have a developed age structure in place, I'd harvest no more than 1 buck off the place, and that deer most likely will be a cull in most years. If a 'big' one walks out that you're happy with, take it instead of a cull. The biggest problem you will always have is does. While you want to be restrictive on bucks, there is no danger at all in overharvesting does on 200 acres in Junction. There are just too many. Keep shooting them as long as you have people that are willing to do so. A good maximum deer density for that area is 10 acres per deer (should actually be closer to 15, but most dont want to go that low). You have too many deer now, so you need to shoot more deer (does), than the number of fawns coming into the population each year. And remember, the deer that you are 'seeing' is not the only deer you have (you have more than you think you do). Once the density is good, and the sex ratio is good, along with doing what you can to increase the age structure, you will be doing what you can to improve the deer herd and the habitat, rather than just thinkin =g you can't improve anything.

[Sika]

Deer management on a small LF property isn’t about control. Trust me, we realize we have zero control over where deer go and what the neighbors kill. For us, it’s just about being good stewards of the land.
As a bonus we get to increase hunter opportunity by letting guests take does or a management type buck or two.

Practice good management and take mature bucks and a few does.

Your goal should be to keep things at or under the capacity the land can support. Your deer will be healthier and that’s the best we can do as stewards of the land.
The challenge on small properties is balancing appropriate harvest with minimal disruption.


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[LouisianaExpat]

Ask yourself what are your goals. If trophy bucks are the priority, you have to protect young bucks. However, letting the kids shoot spikes, then 4pts, then 6pts, then 8pts is a great way to get kids excited about hunting. I’d rather let my kids shoot every spike and like hunting than restrict them early and they get bored with it. If you have a management mindset, your kids will pick up on it.

If everyone killed a doe plus kids shot a buck every year, eventually you will have problems. I hunt 300 acres in Louisiana and we don’t feed at all. We have shot 6-8 does and 2-3 bucks every year for two decades. Large landowners around us barely shoot. With 200 acres, your neighbors control your fortunes.

[Texas452]

No more than 2 mature bucks no young bucks and a few doe as needed to control numbers

[wtr2019]

We've got a similar setup, and luckily, the surrounding property owners have game management in mind as well. We let young bucks age, knowing that we may or may not end up being the ones who stick them. Outside of that, not really management per se, we get a few doe for the freezer and gifts, and shoot spikes