Jeff, i agree with everything you mentioned, but why is it impossible to have a way out of wack buck to doe ratio like 1 to 10?I know that bucks and does are bred at about a 50:50 ratio, actually i think its alittle more in favor of bucks, but In high pressured areas, such as one property that i hunt, anything with horns on his head is shot. Is there any research that you have found that proves this?
Give me the overall herd numbers you think you have.....and what you "think" your buck:doe ratio is....and I'll do a matrix for you. It'll become eveident.
I disagree on only taking the most mature animals from the herd. I think you'd be better served in taking out does from across the age spectrum.
First off.....it's hard as heck for most folks to age does (myself included). I've gotten to where I can tell the doe fawns really easily.....I can spot a yearling doe.....but after age 1.5.....I'm purely guessing. Take MY scenario out of the equation and let's just say you're trying to manage for a "balanced" herd. Taking representative animals from each age class would allow you to do that. Also....you wouldn't have an exhorbitant amount of fawn does being bred (due to the lack of older does that have been harvested). An older doe produces healthier fawns, also.
Me.....I TRY to take most any doe I can. I haven't taken a doe fawn this year....and most likely won't if my sightings don't go up. I've taken two mature does and one yearling doe. I'll contimue down this path unless I start seeing WAY more than I'm seeing, now. If I see a lot more....I'll target a couple doe fawns, too. Anyone hunting with me is ENCOURAGED (
) to take ANY doe that offers an ehtical shot. ANY doe.
But....my overall sightings are down....and they were down from '06 - '07. That's a good thing!
So approximately...how many does would you say a buck breeds on average during one rut??
I've "heard" 5-7. Gotta understand....when he breeds her....he'll stay with her as long as she's in estrous and continue to breed her repeatedly. He's probably with her for 48-72 hours. So.....if he breeds 6 does....he's using up 12-18 days of the rut ACTUALLY BREEDING (not counting seeking and chasing time).
BHB, go ahead and take as many does as you want, no one person is going to put a big dent in the population. Taking a few does will not hurt at all, in fact it will probably do the opposite. By there being less does in the area, a buck will have to look just alittle bit harder to find an estrus doe, which means he will be on his feet more often traveling greater distances, thus making it more likely to walk by your stand during daylight hours.
As for your question about how many does a buck will breed, i have read various reports, but they all seem to say that its not as many as you would think. It seems as though the concensus was anywhere from 2-7 does, although one article stated that a mature buck might only sire 10 fawns in a lifetime.
The only caution I'd throw in here is.....WHY take does if your land isn't at the carrying capacity? I don't have any science to back this up....but each one of those does is a buck machine (think about it). Buck goes in...buck comes out.