Managing your male animals is only part of the equation. The entire herd must be taken into account. But true management involves much more than just regulating what you kill.

All wildlife management must be ecologically sound, biologically sound and economically feasible. It can get expensive however, it need not b e complicated. When you manage the animals, in most cases, all you are really doing is managing for larger antlers to keep the hunters happy. The other side of the coin is managing the habitat to provide required nutrition.

One of the most difficult facets is to convince the hunters in AL or say SC they will never have bucks like they have in IL or IA or even TX. That is where it really gets hard. But once you have them content to have the best bucks THEIR area can produce, then you can make progress. It is also difficult to keep the guy with 300 acres happy when just down the road you are managing 21,000 acres and regularly kill 20-30 bucks that are among the best in the state.

Perhaps you understand why I am retired.

Next month I am going to that 21,000 acre property for the peak of the rut and will spend most of my time on the porch telling lies.