Buck To Doe Ratio?

[Dedduc]

We have a 200 acre farm and with plenty of crops to eat and the neighboring property's are loaded up with crops and deer also. Were trying to figure out how many does we should take in a year? Every year we get a 150 inch plus buck or two on camera for a day or two and then they are gone. We want to keep our does in check to keep the bigger bucks on the farm. Thoughts?

 

[cnelk]

Watch some of Jeff Sturgis videos on YouTube. He has some great stuff to do exactly what you want

 

[dtrkyman]

If you have high deer density you can’t shoot enough!

Typically most of the neighbors aren’t shooting their share. Figure out what they are lacking in the area and provide it, typically it’s bedding!


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[Shortschaf]

200 acres is not enough room to meaningfully contain any specific sex or size of deer unless you have the only cover/bedding area in a 3 mile radius

 

[Agross]

I talked to a guy about this a few weeks ago. He was told you have to shoot 40 percent of the does to make a difference. But yer gonna need to get yer neighbors on board

 

[brancher147]

Why would shooting does keep bucks on the farm? Secure bedding cover will keep bucks on the farm

 

[Skerhunter]

Sounds more like a habitat/pressure

We have a 200 acre farm and with plenty of crops to eat and the neighboring property's are loaded up with crops and deer also. Were trying to figure out how many does we should take in a year? Every year we get a 150 inch plus buck or two on camera for a day or two and then they are gone. We want to keep our does in check to keep the bigger bucks on the farm. Thoughts?

How many doe vs bucks do you have? What is your buck age structure like?

Sounds more like a habitat/pressure issue if you don’t have bucks with your doe during the rut.

 

[Pochuck]

What state / do you have browse lines in your woods?

 

[3855WIN]

We have large ag fields on two sides of our 1300 acres. We get 35 doe tags under DMAP.
Shoot as many as you can.

 

[huntngolf]

Is the 200 acres of crops part of a working farm? If it’s just food plots used for deer hunting I’d seriously consider changing it over to bedding/staging areas if your neighbors also have plenty of crops. Then bucks will be on your property during the day and heading to the neighbors at night to feed.
If it’s a working farm to make money then I don’t really think anything you do will make a difference, deer will just pass through when they pass through

 

[Jstone]

Taking doe always helps, but as said before, would be best to get other neighbors on board to pool information and help form a plan

 

[Long Cut]

Ideally you need to perform a trail camera survey before setting harvest goals. Just look up “Deer Trail Camera Survey” and there will be several articles over how to conduct one.

Once you have an idea of your approximate deer density, then you get a better feel for how many does you want to take out.

While 200 acres isn’t massive, you can absolutely make a difference. Get a couple neighbors involved in a Co-Op and you can easily turn 200 acres into maybe 1,000 etc acres under some form of a DMAP program.
- Georgia offers DMAP assistance with State Biologists. 3 of my farms are managed under DMAP and I’ve learned a lot so far and it costs next to nothing to enroll.

Habitat is the next area to focus on. Thick bedding, CRP, thick swamps should all be encouraged if possible.
If your neighbors have all of the food, I’d just setup 1 large food plot that’s setup downwind of thick bedding and setup for you prevailing Fall wind direction.

Good resources & professors to look into;
- Dr. Craig Harper
- Dr. Grant Woods
- MSU Deer Lab
- UF Deer Lab
- Land & Legacy

 

[Dbecker6415]

Most of the guys shooting many big bucks in my area won’t shoot any does. Just to avoid hunting pressure and hold more deer on the property

We have a 200 acre farm and with plenty of crops to eat and the neighboring property's are loaded up with crops and deer also. Were trying to figure out how many does we should take in a year? Every year we get a 150 inch plus buck or two on camera for a day or two and then they are gone. We want to keep our does in check to keep the bigger bucks on the farm. Thoughts

 

[Wildone]

Impossible question to answer without knowing your deer density per sq mile buck and does seperate. Dig around on your states website sometimes they will have this info broken down to the township or county level. I disagree with not shooting does. It is all about balance and you should try to onboard the sorounding properties after speaking with your wildlife biologist for your area.

 

[Honyock]

Ideally a one-to-one ratio. We kill two does for every buck taken. I honestly don't think you can kill too many does.