"Culling Doesn't Work in Wild Populations"

[cbd10pt]

I disagree with this research.
We had 1100 ac to ourselves in blanco county.
Me and my brother hunted exclusively for 3 years shooting no brow 3 year olds and 2 year old spikes.
4th year we had some great bucks showing up - way better than when we started.
Unfortunately my dad allowed his best friend to join us and wiped out the good deer in about 3 months of gun hunting.

Point is it works- if you have good #s pop the 3 year old no brow 6pt standing next to the 3 year old 10pt. You will have better deer with time

[breederbuck33]

I disagree with this research.
We had 1100 ac to ourselves in blanco county.
Me and my brother hunted exclusively for 3 years shooting no brow 3 year olds and 2 year old spikes.
4th year we had some great bucks showing up - way better than when we started.
Unfortunately my dad allowed his best friend to join us and wiped out the good deer in about 3 months of gun hunting.

Point is it works- if you have good #s pop the 3 year old no brow 6pt standing next to the 3 year old 10pt. You will have better deer with time

You are still not doing anything to genetics of the place. I do agree with you to a certain degree though. Taking out the low end deer will make room, and clear up resources for your better deer. You shot the low end deer and let the bigger ones get older so of course your heard improved in 3 years.

The research shows that this should not be a "genetics" debate. You are NOT going to manipulate genetics in a native environment. That doesn't mean you can't have good smart management practices that allow you eliminate the inferior bucks and allow your better deer to age and get larger.

When you're on an MLD place that gives you a bunch of buck tags, you have to focus on the management/cull deer to fill those tags. It is not an attempt to manipulate the genetics. It is an attempt to keep the appropriate amount of deer per acre for the environment they live in. The focus should be on age and nutrition, not genetics on a low fence native property.

[Mexico]

I disagree with this research.
We had 1100 ac to ourselves in blanco county.
Me and my brother hunted exclusively for 3 years shooting no brow 3 year olds and 2 year old spikes.
4th year we had some great bucks showing up - way better than when we started.
Unfortunately my dad allowed his best friend to join us and wiped out the good deer in about 3 months of gun hunting.

Point is it works- if you have good #s pop the 3 year old no brow 6pt standing next to the 3 year old 10pt. You will have better deer with time

So 100's of thousands of dollars of research, a few dozen guys with Masters and PHD 's in Wildlife Biology and you kill a few spikes one year and see a couple of bigger deer the next year so they're wrong? Gotcha

[Encinal]

So 100's of thousands of dollars of research, a few dozen guys with Masters and PHD 's in Wildlife Biology and you kill a few spikes one year and see a couple of bigger deer the next year so they're wrong? Gotcha

Heh... Millions...

[Tylerbost33]

Just to be fair, does carry half the genetics in your herd. How do you cull them ?

glad someone brought this up.. I've read studies, and even in some of my wildlife management classes at TSU we talked about this, that said most of the antler genetics actually come from the mother. Making some deer you see and think oh that's so and so's son, actually is probably his brother.

there's just so many studies and different opinions out there, who really knows what's going on?

[Mexico]

glad someone brought this up.. I've read studies, and even in some of my wildlife management classes at TSU we talked about this, that said most of the antler genetics actually come from the mother. Making some deer you see and think oh that's so and so's son, actually is probably his brother.

there's just so many studies and different opinions out there, who really knows what's going on?

True statement, but you can't see her genetics unless she has a pedigree, and Does in wild populations do not. You can only control what you can see and do the best you can

[kyle1974]

Easy. You kill the snorting B’s first.

[Mexico]

Easy. You kill the snorting B’s first.

N da face!

[Aggie PhD]

Easy. You kill the snorting B’s first.

All. Day. Long.

[bmac]

I wonder if there is truth to this and that TPWD is now allowing MLD conservation land to shoot any buck regardless of antler restrictions.


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[PondPopper]

It really ain't rocket science like some studies have us believe.. That's just job security for the ones conducting said studies.....
In any environment, controlled or uncontrolled, unless you can tell the exact genetic make up of your doe herd, its a crap shoot at best in most cases....
Control the variables than you can like feed, numbers, undesirable antler traits etc.. and roll with it and pray for rain(another CRITICAL uncontrollable)..
Just maybe luck will smile down on you from time to time and you grow a few bigguns.....

I do believe that the natural mortality rate of mature bucks is A LOT higher than some really think it is..

[PondPopper]

I wonder if there is truth to this and that TPWD is now allowing MLD conservation land to shoot any buck regardless of antler restrictions.


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Yes that is the truth.. Has been..

[PondPopper]

I disagree with this research.
We had 1100 ac to ourselves in blanco county.
Me and my brother hunted exclusively for 3 years shooting no brow 3 year olds and 2 year old spikes.
4th year we had some great bucks showing up - way better than when we started.
Unfortunately my dad allowed his best friend to join us and wiped out the good deer in about 3 months of gun hunting.

Point is it works- if you have good #s pop the 3 year old no brow 6pt standing next to the 3 year old 10pt. You will have better deer with time

Dang!!!! How many did said "friend" kill?????

[Shinesintx]

glad someone brought this up.. I've read studies, and even in some of my wildlife management classes at TSU we talked about this, that said most of the antler genetics actually come from the mother. Making some deer you see and think oh that's so and so's son, actually is probably his brother.

there's just so many studies and different opinions out there, who really knows what's going on?

This got my attention. When I’ve seen similar antlered deer, I’ve always thought it was son/father.

[jason86]

It really ain't rocket science like some studies have us believe.. That's just job security for the ones conducting said studies.....
In any environment, controlled or uncontrolled, unless you can tell the exact genetic make up of your doe herd, its a crap shoot at best in most cases....
Control the variables than you can like feed, numbers, undesirable antler traits etc.. and roll with it and pray for rain(another CRITICAL uncontrollable)..
Just maybe luck will smile down on you from time to time and you grow a few bigguns.....

I do believe that the natural mortality rate of mature bucks is A LOT higher than some really think it is..

I don’t think you can control undesirable antler characteristics, that would be controlling genetics. Everything else I pretty much agree on.

I also believe believe folks underestimate mortality rates. If you had say 100 buck fawns born on a property how many would reach maturity? What percentage? I guess a lot would have to do with rainfall, predators, and supplemental feeding.