Nice buck
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Where do you hunt? Are you in East Central MS? We have a lot of deer that look like that in Smith County. Not very good spreads, but they can get good height and mass.
And as for what fishwater said, I used to think the same thing, but I recently talked to some guys at Wildlife Fisheries and Parks about getting rid of deer that seem to have poor genetics. They told me that I should NOT do that, only because they said it may be the does that have the poor gene, so it may do no good. They said instead just focus on keeping mineral licks year round and plenty of variety in food throughout the year in plots, and just give these deer time to grow older. They said a lot of deer that start out looking like this, can develop into really nice deer and develop more of a spread by the time they're 5.5 to 6.5 years old.
I'm really trying to learn to manage the deer herd on the new family land I'm hunting, so I've been asking tons of questions. Good luck getting him if you go after him though.
CD, I'm in Lamar County, AL , just over the state line and just northeast of Columbus. I was talking to my "new" neighbor who's been here for about 20 years and owns 200 of the approx. 400 acres that surround me. My little old plot is kinda in the center / west side of the whole section.. hills, and planted pine trees, interspersed with hardwood bottoms.. anyway, he says that he's seen this guy on his cam too. Then he shows me a pic of a monster ten point that is roaming around out here too. I think I saw this deer on the side of the road about a month or so ago less than a mile from the house.. The guy tells me that all of the local land owners have a gentleman's agreement that we won't shoot anything that isn't at least a 12" x 12" rack. He says there were not any good bucks about five years ago, and now there are four confirmed 3-5 year old trophies running around out here... (pretty good for ax. 500 acres) There are a bunch of does, so they are open season freezer queens, and if you get a lucky shot at one of these bad boys, have at it, but these guys move a lot at night. (a lot of my cam shots are usually midnight til 4)
That's awesome man. I'm going to approach my neighbors with a similar gentlemens agreement. Based on the lack of good bucks, I'm thinking they are shooting anything with horns.
By the way, I got your pm, but I'm traveling today so I'll have to look at it tonight. Sounds like you have some good potential. Did you just move there? Are you interested in managing it? Maybe we could share tips that are working well over the next few seasons if so.
!0-4.. just moved here the end of August
Bucks activity just started ramping up in central Monroe county. Seen a few spikes and small 4's chasing does this past weekend. Had a decent 7 chasing a doe all day Monday and needed up taking him Tuesday morning. Still have a couple diffent larger bucks on camera at night in the area, but no day sightings. Hopefully they will make some day appearances in the next week
Speaking of "Management Tips"... I have just a few...
1) a "slot" for does... we try to spare those that are most likely to bare twins... whack doe fawns and any doe >4.5... if the buck/doe ratio is still off, remove the slot.
2) kill all inured, sick or otherwise genetically inferior deer.
3) try limit buck kills to deer >3.5 years, with antlers outside ears (>16")... even better, don't shoot one unless you are going to put it on the wall.
footnotes:
1) this will obviously vary on location.
2) kids and chicks get "passes"... esp if it's a first deer or you are a masochist that wants your wife/gf to get into hunting....
3) all bets are off, if you're drunk and hungry for more backstrap....