Buck:Doe Ratio revisited
11-03-2008, 05:13 PM
#1
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
Buck:Doe Ratio revisited
Through 49 hunts......I've discerned my buck:doe ratio may not be as bad as I once thought it was. I think hunting heavily doe laden areas in the past threw the numbers off a LOT.
I've seen 46 does (all of these numbers are "sightings"....and I know some of the same deer have been sighted more than once in some instances); 21 bucks and 45 fawns.
You have to figure half the fawns are bucks......so the overall numbers would show 69 does and 43 bucks. That's not even 1:2......more like 1:1.5.
Compare that to last year.....and the overall numbers look a LOT worse. 132 does; 17 bucks and 58 fawns. That would mean 161 does to 46 does.....or....a buck:doe ratio of 1:3.5.
Do you think people must sometimes leave the fawns numbers out when trying to discern their buck:doe ratio? Why?
Only thing that concerns me is.....we still kill more bucks in NC every year than does. That HAS to change if we're ever going to see a big turn around in this area.
I've seen 46 does (all of these numbers are "sightings"....and I know some of the same deer have been sighted more than once in some instances); 21 bucks and 45 fawns.
You have to figure half the fawns are bucks......so the overall numbers would show 69 does and 43 bucks. That's not even 1:2......more like 1:1.5.
Compare that to last year.....and the overall numbers look a LOT worse. 132 does; 17 bucks and 58 fawns. That would mean 161 does to 46 does.....or....a buck:doe ratio of 1:3.5.
Do you think people must sometimes leave the fawns numbers out when trying to discern their buck:doe ratio? Why?
Only thing that concerns me is.....we still kill more bucks in NC every year than does. That HAS to change if we're ever going to see a big turn around in this area.
11-03-2008, 05:23 PM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: charlottesville, virginia
Posts: 1,732
RE: Buck:Doe Ratio revisited
Here's something from our blog that relates to the topic a bit
http://morethanapursuit.blogspot.com/
When westward expansion really kicked off in the 1800s deer populations across the country were decimated. Deer were a main source of food, and with no regulations nor understanding of the consequences, deer numbers were reduced to nearly extinction. In the1900s it was realized that something was going to have to be done in order to restore these numbers. The problem was, as was the case in the mid 1900s, the restrictions put in place were aimed at restoring deer populations by restricting antlerless harvests. Quickly the deer numbers catapulted back towards their original numbers, but, in doing so, an unhealthly ecoystem (with regards to whitetails) was developed. With nearly limitless restrictions on bucks, the male whitetails across the country were becoming fewer and fewer. On top of that, in many places even today up to 80% of the buck harvest is of yearlings and 1.5 year old bucks. With fewer bucks around, and fewer mature bucks able to breed, there is extreme stress placed on the young bucks that are around. In some cases, the what is normally 40 day rut can be extended to up to 3 months as the bucks attempt to breed all the doe that come into estrous! This not only places a burden on the bucks, but the does that are bred late in the rut have their fawns late in the spring. This, in turn, leads to an insufficient amount of time for the fawns to develop before the following winter reducing their survival rates. On top of the increased fawn mortality, after the long rut many bucks don't even make it through the intitial winter as they are forced to death through exhaustion.Naturally there should be a deer herd balance of one buck to one doe.
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Traditional management has left some areas with poor balances such as 5 to 1 or even worse. Under the goals of QDM, adequate doe harvests are suggested in order to restore the natural balance. This balance helps restore God's natural order. And, in comparison to the past half a century, it enables the natural processes of the rut to occur as they should. Also, by restricting the harvests of young bucks, this process is enhanced even quicker as the rut is intensified to its normal strength and mature bucks are able to breed does and pass on genetics that are likely superior to the adolescent bucks. However, as has been discussed, having these older, bigger bucks is not the goal of QDM; it is merely a by-product of the hard work and determination that goes into a QDM program. (Of course, I'm not going to lie, more chances at bigger bucks is something that gets the heart going!!)
http://morethanapursuit.blogspot.com/
When westward expansion really kicked off in the 1800s deer populations across the country were decimated. Deer were a main source of food, and with no regulations nor understanding of the consequences, deer numbers were reduced to nearly extinction. In the1900s it was realized that something was going to have to be done in order to restore these numbers. The problem was, as was the case in the mid 1900s, the restrictions put in place were aimed at restoring deer populations by restricting antlerless harvests. Quickly the deer numbers catapulted back towards their original numbers, but, in doing so, an unhealthly ecoystem (with regards to whitetails) was developed. With nearly limitless restrictions on bucks, the male whitetails across the country were becoming fewer and fewer. On top of that, in many places even today up to 80% of the buck harvest is of yearlings and 1.5 year old bucks. With fewer bucks around, and fewer mature bucks able to breed, there is extreme stress placed on the young bucks that are around. In some cases, the what is normally 40 day rut can be extended to up to 3 months as the bucks attempt to breed all the doe that come into estrous! This not only places a burden on the bucks, but the does that are bred late in the rut have their fawns late in the spring. This, in turn, leads to an insufficient amount of time for the fawns to develop before the following winter reducing their survival rates. On top of the increased fawn mortality, after the long rut many bucks don't even make it through the intitial winter as they are forced to death through exhaustion.Naturally there should be a deer herd balance of one buck to one doe.
-----------------------------------------------------
Traditional management has left some areas with poor balances such as 5 to 1 or even worse. Under the goals of QDM, adequate doe harvests are suggested in order to restore the natural balance. This balance helps restore God's natural order. And, in comparison to the past half a century, it enables the natural processes of the rut to occur as they should. Also, by restricting the harvests of young bucks, this process is enhanced even quicker as the rut is intensified to its normal strength and mature bucks are able to breed does and pass on genetics that are likely superior to the adolescent bucks. However, as has been discussed, having these older, bigger bucks is not the goal of QDM; it is merely a by-product of the hard work and determination that goes into a QDM program. (Of course, I'm not going to lie, more chances at bigger bucks is something that gets the heart going!!)
