RE: Why to take does....and does it affect buck sightings?
If you ask a game biologist he will tell you to take your does early, not in December...They should be taken before the rut, this eliminates competition for food later in the season, keeps the bucks from wasting energy breeding does that will be killed later and also makes the bucks chase the does that are left...
If you have too many does its easy for the bucks to breed and inferior bucks will also pass on their genes.....
20 years ago, I would see 30-50 deer feeding in our fields down east....The vast majority would be does and small racked bucks....Now we see 10-12 does and have killed some nice bucks coming into the fields chasing does....
You can not reduce the herd by taking bucks...If you want to have a healthy herd and reduce the inbreeding you need to take does as well...