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-   -   Will small bucks mate when larger bucks are around? (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whitetail-deer-hunting/395617-will-small-bucks-mate-when-larger-bucks-around.html)

WV Hunter 11-16-2014 09:32 AM

Ditto. I've seen plenty of small bucks getting busy. When opportunity knocks, they are gonna try and capitalize.

At the rate I've seen mature does without fawns this year, it appears that even with all the small bucks breeding they couldn't get to em all.

BarnesX.308 11-16-2014 01:23 PM

125lbs is certainly only a yearling and probably born late as a fawn. He will improve next year. Unless you live in The Keys and he's a Keys deer.

jerry d 11-16-2014 01:52 PM


Originally Posted by sachiko (Post 4169969)
I was going to post the same thought (in bold) but flags beat me to it. :biggrin:

I don't have nearly the experience hunting that he has, but the rest of what he says makes a lot of sense.

I thought this was a family website...LOL!..:)

WV Hunter 11-16-2014 04:50 PM


Originally Posted by BarnesX.308 (Post 4170018)
125lbs is certainly only a yearling and probably born late as a fawn. He will improve next year. Unless you live in The Keys and he's a Keys deer.

Not sure where you are hunting, but 125lbs (dressed) is a typical mature buck where I hunt. I've killed maybe 5 bigger than that in my life... out of well over 100. (VA / WV)

BTW, we weigh most of our deer on a scale, and after years of informal testing and hundreds and hundreds weighed... I've found that almost everyone that doesn't weigh their deer on a regular basis, overestimates how much their deer weigh by a good bit.

I've won a good bit of money over the years challenging some of my buddies who "claim to know" how much their deer weigh. I won $50 one time from a buddy who swore his buck weighed 180-185lbs dressed and I looked at it and told him no way. He told me I was full of it, so we bet. He didn't know I had my scale in the truck... it weighed 149. LOL.

Wisco94 11-16-2014 05:05 PM

Where we hunt in central and West central Wisconsin the last two bucks I shot were 206 lbs and 212 lbs. However most are around 175 give or take. So 125 would be relatively small for a mature buck around here. I'm not sure about does as I've never weighed a doe.

As far as young bucks breeding with does. We have considerably more does than bucks where we hunt and I'm sure it happens over there. To what degree I couldn't tell you.

BarnesX.308 11-16-2014 05:07 PM

My last buck dressed out at 185lbs. We believe it was 4.5 years old. This is upstate PA. We weigh all our deer. Had several doe that dressed out 120lbs plus.

uncle matt 11-16-2014 08:08 PM

The small bucks will get plenty of action. Big bucks will tire from fighting and not have the energy to fight more or do anything else. Some lucky young buck strolls into the area and he wins the lottery. Another thing is that big bucks won't always be around when every doe is ready.

flags 11-17-2014 04:40 AM


Originally Posted by BarnesX.308 (Post 4170018)
125lbs is certainly only a yearling and probably born late as a fawn. He will improve next year. Unless you live in The Keys and he's a Keys deer.

Maybe in PA. But in many places in the deep south, 125 lbs is the weight of most bucks that are taken. I did a lot of hunting in FL and the heaviest I ever saw there was taken by my father and it weighed at 155.

Oldtimr 11-17-2014 05:06 AM

There are darned few 185 lb dressed buck taken in PA, darned few, and even fewer at 200 lbs. I live and hunt in a part of PA that has big deer, generally a lot bigger than upstate PA and a 150/160 lb deer is a big deer anywhere in the. In addition, a deer of the year that that weighs 125 would be very unusual and certainly not late born. Me thinks you need a new scale! Additionally, an 80 lb key deer buck is considered good and doe run 45 to 50 lbs.

BarnesX.308 11-17-2014 02:55 PM

When I get to my computer I'll post several that top 185 dressed.


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