IL-Cornfed

I believe MANY studies over the years have proven that in only a small high fenced enclosure can you actually control and have an influence on genetics by shooting so called "cull" deer.

I'm sure the debate will go on and on, as many on the forums seem to think they have a better grasp on whitetail science sitting in front of their keyboards than Dr. J. C. Kroll, Ben Koerth and several other of the greatest minds in the World on whitetail behavior and science. LOL!

Truth is, as mentioned above, the DOE controls over 50% of genetics and the insignificant number of Does that a single buck can breed in a season makes the "cull" buck simply a good excuse for someone to justify shooting a smaller deer.

It workds well for ranches simply because they can offer the lower scoring trophies with 9 points or less at discounted rates and it also lessons the pressure on their prime bucks.

SJAdventures

Contolling your buck to doe ratio and not shooting young bucks at all in my opinion is how you produce bigger bucks in a non fenced situation.

gurnzman

I think that this really depends on the location where you hunt. Where I hunt if you see a buck of any size you better take the shot. Dont get me wrong there are plenty of big bucks around, but you just cant find them. In my experience Our county has been deemed antlered only in gun season which i feel has hurt our buck population. Due to the lack of bow hunters our does really do outnumber our bucks greatly. This gun season we had one of the biggest harvests ever and most of the bucks that were taken were decent bucks. However it is beneficial to harvest a smaller buck because in many cases these bucks will be run off by the mature buck and never seen again. Not saying this is always the case but it does happen.

rogerstv

No one still has sold me on the reasoning behind calling a buck, for example a 100 - 120 inch 8 pt., a "cull" deer or a "management" buck other than having an excuse to kill a lesser racked deer. I see Larry Weishuhn doing it all the time. I don't agree with it. He just shot a small buck and won't admit it.

Again nothing wrong with shooting what you want so don't get ruffled. Its your tag fill it as you wish. I wasn't looking to discuss that.

I must agree with the post about a buck with 1/2 of a normal rack and a spike. We shot one like that this year and one side was filled with yellow puss. So it must have been sick or wounded. Get it out of the herd. Cull it.

But, don't shoot the 100" 8pt. and tell me you are helping the herd. You're filling your tag.

IL-Cornfed

[quote=gurnzman;3527888] Where I hunt if you see a buck of any size you better take the shot. quote]

It's exactly THAT kind of attitude and thought process that prevents deer herds from living up to any sort of potential and from ever improving! I hope that you are just a young kid that doesn't yet grasp the concept of deer management and not a set in your ways grumpy ol' man that actually tries passing this BS mentality to other folks!

zrexpilot

That goes for high fence as well, age is what is needed.
Studies have shown that culling doesnt really do a thing.
But its better to kill a 5 yr old 8 pointer than a 2 yr old 8 pointer.
The young one shows potential while the older isnt going anywhere.

iSnipe

Don't waste a reply to this guy.

iSnipe

whatever ******.

rogerstv

This happens no matter your thoughts on it.

iSnipe[/quote]

No sh1t sherlock? I am not trying to stop it.

No matter my "tone", which is hard to portray in type. What I am trying to learn is..... Does it pay off in other states? I believe in Illinois and other row crop states that it probably doesn't. Can properties/ranches have so many bucks that dropping the ones that are percieved to be of lesser quality, deer with bigger racks will result? That's the idea, Right? I think they are just losing a male deer, period, nothing gained other than a filled tag. But, I could be wrong. If someone can show otherwise, I might change my mind. However, if the doe provides at least 50% of the genetics and the landowner can not control which bucks breed, then how can it help? Think about it?

Guess I am just tired of hearing about it so much. Call it filling a tag or call it culling. But, don't use the "tone" like it is beneficial to the herd.

gurnzman

[QUOTE=IL-Cornfed ;3528091]Im sorry if i offended you and upset you by my "attitude" but the reason for this is if your not the one to Shoot the buck you will go years without one because the property owners around where i hunt do not care about deer management. The reason i stated this is i have been hunting for 6 years now and have only shot one buck in county. This being my second overall buck I felt this reason enough to harvest this deer. However, people with "attitudes like mine" are in it mostly for the freezer fill so rack size doesnt really matter. Once again my apologies. And i Guess its people with attitudes like mine that keep 160 class bucks gettin harvested on the farm that i do hunt.