Southeastern hunters

[stanginthe11s]

as bucks get old, they actually shrink their home. they search in the younger years and settle down where they have everything they need. it's likely either the mature bucks have a spot you don't know on your lease, or they settled on someone else's. or someone else got them. as for atv's, on my property the deer don't even flinch when we're riding but if I bring out the SxS they are gone before I get there. must be something about the sound it makes, I don't know.

 

[FLATHEAD]

They'll often have different ranges depending on season.
Often far apart.

 

[Swamp Fox]

10-4. What’s the neighbors’ management/hunting style? It could be that the older bucks get shot.

Every place is different and you have to manage accordingly. Without a site visit, nobody is gonna be able to truly answer your question.

We quit shooting does about a decade ago. Best thing we ever did. We see a ton of deer now and the rut is better than it has ever been.

Good luck.

Why do you think letting does walk helped? Was it letting them walk that helped, or was it reducing general pressure because the rule was "bucks only"?

What area are you in?

 

[N2TRKYS]

Why do you think letting does walk helped? Was it letting them walk that helped, or was it reducing general pressure because the rule was "bucks only"?

What area are you in?

We learned that older bucks don’t live on our place year around, but does love to raise their young and live there.

When the doe days turn into season long doe days, things got slim. We decided that we weren’t gonna take part in the on slaught of does. Slowly, but surely, the population started to increase. With this increase, we noticed that we were pulling bucks from everywhere during the rut.

Sometimes, a shooter will show up during bow season. Over the years when that happens, they don’t seem to make it to gun season.

I killed a buck a couple of years ago during the rut that a guy was getting pics of during bow season about 4 miles away.

Anyhow, you just have to figure out what works best for your area and manage accordingly.

More often than not, it’s not a one size fits all kinda thing.

 

[Estrn_hntr]

Deer don’t grow old by dealing with pressure. That would be my first problem to correct. Hard to get everyone on the board when it comes to multiple members. Seems like there will always be ones that know everything when it comes to changing the ways things have been done for years.
Good Luck!


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[Southern Heritage]

When I bought my farm in the black belt No one had been on the property legally for 10 years or so. Our first two Years we had mature bucks regularly. Then I realized if was going to keep the family happy it had to be a year around fun place. I have 17 acres no one is allowed on and the 220 acre that’s road every weekend. 3 of the last 4 mature deer where killed on that 17 acres.

 

[MSElkHunter]

What do the neighbors do? It makes a HUGE difference if the neighbors are on the same page. Conversely, if they are not on the same page you can be severely limited in your hat you can do. I am in Mississippi and have some places where the neighbors shoot everything and other places where they let deer mature. In the places where the neighbors don’t shoot every 15” buck I see numerous mature bucks every year.


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[CHGray]

What do the neighbors do? It makes a HUGE difference if the neighbors are on the same page. Conversely, if they are not on the same page you can be severely limited in your hat you can do. I am in Mississippi and have some places where the neighbors shoot everything and other places where they let deer mature. In the places where the neighbors don’t shoot every 15” buck I see numerous mature bucks every year.


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I’m new to the club, 2nd year. It’s my understanding the neighbors are letting them grow up and take it pretty seriously. I think we’re pushing them onto their land.

 

[CHGray]

We learned that older bucks don’t live on our place year around, but does love to raise their young and live there.

When the doe days turn into season long doe days, things got slim. We decided that we weren’t gonna take part in the on slaught of does. Slowly, but surely, the population started to increase. With this increase, we noticed that we were pulling bucks from everywhere during the rut.

Sometimes, a shooter will show up during bow season. Over the years when that happens, they don’t seem to make it to gun season.

I killed a buck a couple of years ago during the rut that a guy was getting pics of during bow season about 4 miles away.

Anyhow, you just have to figure out what works best for your area and manage accordingly.

More often than not, it’s not a one size fits all kinda thing.

We have a lot of does with yearlings every year and always have some new bucks show up in the rut.

 

[N2TRKYS]

We have a lot of does with yearlings every year and always have some new bucks show up in the rut.

Do y’all not kill any bucks over 3.5 y/o? There’re mature bucks that get killed every year that no one has on camera. I have a pile of cameras out that have the area covered pretty well and every year I see and/or kill deer that I don’t have on camera.

 

[Southern Heritage]

I’m new to the club, 2nd year. It’s my understanding the neighbors are letting them grow up and take it pretty seriously. I think we’re pushing them onto their land.

My property neighbor leases 2600 acre just for his family. He sends me pics of bruisers regularly. He is A deer hunting nut. Leases 2600 acre for his family only. He never touches the land from February through august. Then during the season he only uses a Jeep. No four wheelers unless recovering a deer.

 

[CHGray]

Do y’all not kill any bucks over 3.5 y/o? There’re mature bucks that get killed every year that no one has on camera. I have a pile of cameras out that have the area covered pretty well and every year I see and/or kill deer that I don’t have on camera.

Maybe 2-3 a year during the rut. Did have one nice deer get taken during the bow opener.

 

[rolltide05]

I have a lease in Butler and Wilcox Co. I keep pressure as close to zero as possible until after MLK week. Both leases have yet to have had any hunting pressure this season. Last year less than a total 10 hunts were made. Starting in July, each lease gets visited no more than once per month to top off feeders, change batteries, general maintenance etc. No other trips are made to the property. I have groups of bucks and does in all my fields each morning and evening.

With this practice I am able to have an opportunity at at least one true good buck each year during the short timeframe that I hunt them.

 

[Long Cut]

That 4 month long rifle season and 5 month long deer (Archery/ML/Firearm) doesn’t do anyone favors.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Yeah, I could do without those 10 days in February.

 

[Forestryguy]

Mature does kick bucks away from areas they are raising young. Numbers are just too high and bucks don't need to roam to breed. Good being cover is taken up by does.

 

[Boarmaster]

I’m in a lease in AL. We are on timber company land so during the off season we get some Timber Harvest and management activity that is mostly clear cutting, thinning or burning. There is no hunter activity there from Feb 10th thru October 15th other than one guy that turkey hunts a few times in the spring. During the season there is big time pressure and activity at times. Atvs running all over. We have tried to preach to the 10 members to try and get their spots picked and ready prior to the opener but thats like hurding chickens.
We kill big bucks every year. We do see a lot of does and younger bucks. Its
not easy to kill older bucks even though we get them on cams At night. Very few big bucks are killed on the food plots. I hunted on food plots the first three years we had this lease without seeing a big buck. I finally got hunting in the woods on shoots and drains between beds and feeding areas and then I started seeing older bucks. If you got does , you got mature bucks. Hunt the woods.

 

[Mike Islander]

We made two changes a few years ago that have exploded our bigger buck population.

1. No shooting bucks under 8 points.

2. No vehicles in the woods except to retrieve dead deer. That's a year round rule.

 

[hicountry1]

We have 10 guys on 2k acres, but recently cut over, and rough rugged terrain