true enough... for antler size, I'd have to do a little diggin'...

that is what greg was talkin bout to soap

... outside the obvious gentetics, nutrition, management programs, etc. etc.

There is a lot of feeding in Texas, look a public land Texas deer and public land Florida deer is there a lot of Difference?

Can you feed deer in Florida?

While I don't reply to alot of these posts, I do read most of them. However, when I saw the subject I had to put my two cents in. I am from Northwest Florida but I now live in Southwest Georgia, and I hunt in Georgia but still do some hunting in Florida. While bucks of 200 lbs. are not plentiful in this area of Florida, they are not uncommon. Just last year I killed a 110"(small to some) 8 point that weighed 180 lbs. I aged this buck at just 3.5 years old.

The problem I believe Florida has is age and nutrition. The average age of bucks taken in Florida is just 1.5. There is also a lack of row-crop farming which provides deer with proper nutrition they need to grow big bodies and big racks. Also, it is legal to baitand most hunters do nothing other than pour corn out just prior to season. There is not much emphasis on supplemental feeding or planting of spring and summer plots to supplement nutrition.

The problem herein lies in the Department of Game and Fish. A legal buck in Florida is a 5" spike - something that is very common around here. There is also no limit on how many bucks a hunter can take in one season. Also, the doe population is not controlled as it should be. We have only a 1-week doe season and it is close to peak rut down here and who wants to shoot a doe when a big buck could be close behind?

Just 15 miles from where I took the 8 point last year, in 1997, I took my largest buck ever. He weighed 195 lbs. live weight and scored 150". This happened in Georgia where the season limit on bucks is 2. One has to have at least 4 points on one side. You can also take up to 10 antleress deer in Georgia at any time you please. Most people use early season to take their does and then shoot for a trophy buck.

In my opinion you can grow big bucks in Florida. Go to www.myfwc.com and look up Florida Buck Registry. You will see that there are some good bucks taken every year. Granted, the rule of science does apply here but if the proper steps were taken by the Fish and Game Department, you would see more and bigger bucks coming out of Florida.

My opinion is not worth much but I thought you guys should read a post from someone who hunts Florida and knows firsthand what's going on down here.

Good post QC MAN. Iwill agree with youthe way states are managed by the Game and Fish departments has a great amount to do with the quality of the deer herd. My native state of West Virginia for instance has some of the same management problems you stated for Florida. Theres no reason why WV shouldn't have more quality bucks. However, the state hunting rugulations deffinately don't take any steps in helping it out. I used to look forward going back to WV and hunting with my family. Anymore, its a waste of time. Because I know i'm not gonna see anythingbigger than a spike or fork horn.

The post said why are Florida deer so small not why are Florida deer antlers so small..., so I guess you could start your own thread about antler size vs geographic location

I would think its both,you could have a record breaking rack on a 150# deer,or a 400# 8 pointer that`s not all that impresive.What leads me to believe it`s more genetic that geographical is the fact that here in minnesota the record for wieght is 510#,now that lady that shot the 24 point -3rd biggest non-typical in mn. history wiegh 150# , at my cabin in 92 my cousin shot a 17 pointer that weighed 300 pounds, this is all over the board.IMO it`s genetics

Yep turtleshell... that's why I answered the way I did...

QC.. great post. I was talking to my taxidermist earlier this season and he told me about a study he participated in last year for the Department of Conservation by aging every single deer that came in to his shop... Believe it or not -- even when considering these were all deer that were going to be mounted (well over 150 of them) -- and the average age was two. Wow.