When is it time to find a new property?
 

I've been leasing a property for the past 8 seasons and although we have seen and had on camera nice bucks I have not harvested one and neither has any of the other club members.

Most of what has been taken is 2.5 yr old 8 points but we had on camera older 10's and 12's. I've had a few different people tell me my property sucks and I should give it up and find another. So when is it time to give up?

Just because we are not able to harvest one of these mature bucks doesn't mean it sucks, right?

I don't think people understand how much "hunting pressure" and "Human activity" can change a good chunk of land. You might have pictures of these deer but are any during daylight hours?

The antlers are the last thing that should be on your mind,as long as the property is putting meat in your freezer there is no need to worry about harvesting 10 and 12 pointers sure they look good on the wall but thats not what hunting is about.

The problem that I am seeing is the fact that you said everything yall have killed is 2.5 yr old 8 points. You cant shoot the big ones if you dont let the little ones grow. Once you guys start passing on the young ones the old ones will become more prevalent thus increasing your odds of shooting a big one.

If you are shooting 8 pointers, your property doesn't "suck."

Maybe it is a freak coincidence, or maybe you are just shooting too many of the small ones. As far as I know it is impossible to have a property that is attractive to 8 pointers but not to 10 pointers.

When is it time to find new property?

When the Amish Tribe move in your area.

Is it possible the few people that are telling you to give up your property because "it sucks", simply want it for themselves?

That was my first thought too.

How many hunters for how many acres? What borders your land? There are alot of unanswered questions in your post to be sure but if you are harvesting 8 pt bucks and catching 10-12 pt bucks on camera....well....I'd say there's nothing wrong with the land, just your expectations.

A point here too, in response to Blackhawk. I agree partially with your assertation that hunting is more about putting meat in the freezer but there are broad and varied goals and motivations to hunt and everyone is entitled to their own. For myself, I'm in the the "you better damn well eat it if you shoot it" camp and that lines up with the notion that taking out the mature old bucks means younger/vigorous bucks can pick up the slack.

In other words, I'm hunting the whole animal, antlers, backstrap, hams, and all. Holy smokes, that ol goat I took last year was tough, however so I certainly see your point.

To the thread starter, though, if you have more than a postage stamp size piece of land, its on you and your partners to manage the population to produce deer. Certainly, if you're hemmed in on all sides by anything goes/trigger happy neighbors, well, that could be a problem. That said, 8 years is plenty of time to do some selective harvesting and grow your deer.

Anecdotally, I've had many of my family members/fellow ranch owners swear our place 'sucks' for hunting. Its too rocky and difficult to get around. There's too much pressure from the rock quarry, too close to town, etc, etc. We've always had a big lease out of town with our family business. Well, I enjoy being out there as it is, seeing a few deer here and there and all but hanging over my TV right now is an 8 pt beast with a 6" dagger drop. I'm hoping my wife can take her first deer in the morning from the same place, a buck who's clearly his son and honestly a fair bit bigger, sans dropper.

TL:DR version: if you're seeing deer and consitantly putting meat on the table, look first to your methods of selection and harvest quantities before blaming the real estate.

Thanks for the comments. Let me clarify a few things. Our basic rule for QDM is that if you are not going to put it on your wall don't shoot it, take a doe. That being said, some of the guys are happy with the 8 pts, even though I think they should let them go. I have only harvested does since I've been on the property.

We have 6 guys to almost 400 acres, but 75 % of that is ag fields, cow pasture. And the other challenge is that the ag fields are in the middle of the property. So some place are only hedgerows to hunt. It seems that most of the sightings are in summer/early season, which tells me it's a combination of lack of pressure and the fact they are feeding heavy that time of year. Also, we do have issues with the neighboring properties, including poaching. Someone was nice enough to take the head of a mature buck and leave the rest behind a couple weeks ago.

This season I picked up a new member who lives near the property, he had a few days out where he didn't see anything. So he went to his old property and took a nice 8 pt. He said there is way more action on his old property.

So that is what really left me thinking about what I'm doing here.