Gobbling Buck

CB- There are some good answers, to your questions. I'll put my .02 in also. Where I hunt, Central Alabama, we have a high concentration of deer, however I normally see 10 to 15 all year. That is from Oct 15 thru Jan 31 and I usually hunt a lot because my work schedule allows me to. The things previously stated about hunter movement and activity in the woods sends up a red flag to the deer in my area and they usually move at night. Also, our days are typically warm and if I had a thick fur coat on, I wouldn't move much when it's hot either. Another thing are the terrain differences from the west compared to the east. We have a lot of woods and hills. The woods limit your visability and the hills help to spread your scent around, so they usually know you're in their living room before you do. I don't hunt a lot of food plots any more, b/c the deer in my area usually don't come into them until after dark. They do this for a couple reasons. Food (obviously), their visiblity is better in an open area, and hunting pressure in these areas. Here, the deer can bed close enough to the food plots they can hear or smell hunters arrive and leave and never be seen. A couple years ago, I found the bed of a great buck for this area, that was watching me go to and from my stand and I never knew he was there. He was only seen at night crossing the highway. His tracks were everywhere in my hunting area and I was hunting him in vain. Due to property lines, terrain, and usual wind direction, this buck was impossible to take. A lot of people say hunt the rut, they'll mess up then. This is thier most vulnerable time, I agree. But when the doe to buck ratio is 5:1 and up, the big bucks don't have to go very far to satisfy their urges. There are some taken that are the exception to that rule, but we're talking about on average. And around here, a big buck doen't get to be big by being stupid. It's really hard to compare hunting out west with hunting in the east due to these reasons and more. Who are the best hunters? I'd have to say the ones who don't go hungry.

Racor

Some good answers....

Concerning the "growing" or "bettering" of the deer herds. I think most of the posts here would talk about the "local" herds. The herd that is maintained is the one that stays within a few square miles from one central location. Most people will subliment natural food sources with food plots, feeders or licks. The concept is to help establish a "balanced" or "complete" diet. With the proper diet, good genes and letting the deer come of age then more "quality" or trophy bucks could be raised. More trophy bucks in a given herd then there is a higher chance to harvest them.

Does it work? Well some think so. Some don't. I think if you have a large track of land then you can manage a large portion of a herd. The balance of the herd will still wonder onto other lands.

Lots of deer here in Georgia. In our subdivision we have a herd of at least ten deer (seen 2 bucks and 8 does at one time) that I supliment thier natural food source with roses and day lillies! [:@] They were eating some lilies last night!! [:@] [:@]

Dirt2

First, in NV, you're hunting muleys, which can't really be compared to whitetails. Where I live we have about a perfect 50:50 mix of whitetails and muleys, and I can tell you there's no comparison. If whitetails are Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, then muleys are Larry, Moe, and Curly. (Look I like muleys, too, they are a wonderful critter, but anybody selling muley IQ stories can try the next mark, 'cause I ain't buying.)

Second, that NV country is basically wide open, right? In your basic whitetail country, they have lots of hiding places.

Finally, individual hunters are absolutely atrocious sources for judging how many animals are out there. It cracks me up to see some of these guys who spent three weekends in the woods but they know more than the experts. Guys sit around the cafe after a tough day in the woods, and find another guy who agrees that the deer numbers are down, and next thing you know we got a crisis on our hands!

charlie brown

Thanks for the replies guys, it has helped me get a little better understanding of what a lot of hunters go through back east.

Dirt2- my signature pic is of typical mulie country, but don't let that fool you. It may look wide open but the big deer don't get big being dumb. There are areas of sagebrush that can top 8 ft tall, aspen stands so thick you can't see 5 feet, nor navigate through them. I think when people say that mulies are not as smart as a whitetail, they have never been on the trail of a truly exceptional specimen. I have trailed deer tracks through the thickest stuff imaginable, and have only seen the monster foot prints, only to hear the deer crashing through the brush to never be heard from again. I have seen BIG deer that are completely surrounded by does, right out in the open, along with several smaller bucks surrounding them, knowing they are safe, if somthing gets a little awry, the does and smaller bucks will alert that big buck, and he's gone forever. Trust me, I have had it happen

Dirt2

I didn't want to sound like I'm just crapping all over mule deer, they're a neat animal. I hunt an eastern MT area that's pretty similar to your picture, except that it have nearly as many whitetails as muleys. So, I'm hunting the two species side by side in two areas. One is the wide open eastern MT plains and the other is in heavy timber around my home in western MT. Nearly every day out I see both species, and whitetails really deserve their superior reputation for smarts. Last year I passed up the titan muley (a symmetrical 24" wide dude) of the area twice, and he wasn't too bright.