Originally Posted by
Topgun 3006
***That buck would probably be a yearling born last year and like you stated it is probably his first set of horns. That is a deer that some would say to shoot and take out of the herd. I would probably let him walk and see what he looks like the following year and if he hasn't developed at least a decent little rack to show he has potential would then take him out.
Edit: ***These are my thoughts on your various comments.
Thanks. I just noticed your comments in the quoted text.
Yes, agree with the guest thing. So far it hasn't really been a problem, because it's rare when everyone hunts at the same time and brings 2 guests. It was set up this way, because 2 have a wife and a son that hunt. This year will be the first for each of the children to hold stands alone, so we'll see how that pans out. Could be an issue. But that's a whole different can of worms HA HA.
***IMHO 60+ deer is too many for 500 acres no matter how good it is and I think the doe to buck ratio needs to be brought down to more like a 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 than what it appears to be from what you mentioned.
Also agree 100%. Now that I'm able to gather more data from cameras, it appears I have 20+ deer at just 2 locations (does, yearlings, & button bucks). They're not gonna like it, but I will have to take some does out myself; because I'm positive they will not.
***Those would be fawns born that year if they just have buttons and not actually horns protruding from their pedicels. Once in a while a fawn that is born earlier than most in an area and has a very good first six months may break through and try to sprout, but you need to look closely to distinguish button bucks from does, especially during late doe hunts where anything without visible horns is legal to shoot.
That makes perfect sense. I suppose late rut is why we have so many button bucks each year.