Another deer range question.

[130woodman]

All this talk about a buck"™s home range got me thinking. If the DNR"™s figures are correct 83 deer per sq mile. That means I should have 33 deer on the 250 acres I hunt. With a doe to buck ratio of 3 to 1 I should have at any given time 8.25 bucks on my place.

In the original sq. mile there should be 21 bucks. If the home area of a deer is roughly 1000 acres that"™s just over 1 ½ sq. miles. I should have 30 different bucks on my place through out the course of a year.

My question is do any of you think that it is possible to have 30 different bucks in such a small area.
I attached a pic to show roughly what kind of area we are talking about. My place is in the middle of the mile sq.

P.S. If I made a math mistake please point it out.

[rybohunter]

I"™ve counted 20+ different identified bucks in a single season, on ~100 acres of land. My deer densities are thru the roof.

[GMMAT]

If the DNR"™s figures are correct 83 deer per sq mile.

Are you kidding? That's a LOT of deer.

That means I should have 33 deer on the 250 acres I hunt.

On paper....Yeah. But I can tell you the adjacent properties to the ones I hunt don't have NEAR the deer density the ones I hunt do. Not even close. So you might or you might not have that many deer on your property. Total assumption. If your staggering figures are correct (RE: deer density)....the guy next door could have 120 and you have 40, total.....if his habitat will support them and they have MORE of what they need than what you can provide them.

I can tell you from hunting an area with a deer density LESS than what you proport.........Having that many does is a DETRIMENT to buck hunting. They will disperse to other, less inhabited lands.

I did count 13 different 1.5 yr olds in the '06 season....and two 2.5 yr olds, that year. I saw two 3.5 yr olds, that season, as well.

The reason I sad what I did about dispersement, though.....I saw NO BUCKS over 1.5 yrs, last year....except the one I shot. Not one. I had one other (over 1.5yrs) on gamecam.....and never saw him from stand.

Who really knows?

[shed33]

83 deer per sq mile ... holy chit batman..thats more than I see all hunting season! wow..that blows my mind.. some of the deer densities you guys hunt..

[Germ]

ORIGINAL: GMMAT

Are you kidding? That's a LOT of deer.

On paper....Yeah. But I can tell you the adjacent properties to the ones I hunt don't have NEAR the deer density the ones I hunt do. Not even close. So you might or you might not have that many deer on your property. Total assumption. If your staggering figures are correct (RE: deer density)....the guy next door could have 120 and you have 40, total.....if his habitat will support them and they have MORE of what they need than what you can provide them.

I can tell you from hunting an area with a deer density LESS than what you proport.........Having that many does is a DETRIMENT to buck hunting. They will disperse to other, less inhabited lands.

Jackson County MI is over 100[&:]deer Per sq mile

[BobCo19-65]

83 per sqaure mile is an aweful lot of deer. I think you have your square miles messed up if the inner red square is a square mile, then the outer red square looks like close to6 square miles.

[Germ]

ORIGINAL: BobCo19-65

83 per sqaure mile is an aweful lot of deer. I think you have your square miles messed up if the inner red square is a square mile, then the outer red square looks like close to6 square miles.

Guys lets remember when they figure deer per square mile, it's only counting habit that can "hold" deer. So that is not 1 sq mile of deer habitat

[robbcayman]

I agree that 83 deer per square mile sounds like a ton of deer. Put out trail cameras throughout the area and see how many different deer you can spot. It is probably a better method than relying on inflated numbers.

If you do have 83 deer per square mile maybe you should consider letting me help you out.

[JoeRE]

Knowing nothing about your land, it is possible. If the deer dencities are correct it makes sense. However, remember button bucks are 'bucks' also! You probably need to cut those #s on half if you want to talk just about 1.5 year olds or older bucks....'racked' bucks.

However, your drawing of the larger red outline appears to be actually 4 square miles (2 miles to a side). 2 square miles of land would be about 1.4 miles to a side.

[GMMAT]

Guys lets remember when they figure deer per square mile, it's only counting habit that can "hold" deer. So that is not 1 sq mile of deer habitat

Translator on aisle 5!