3 Year Depredation Program is Over!

[Thunder Ridge Extreme 1]

All,
My hunting group ended its 3 year journey to reduce the number of deer on our hunting ground. The goal was to eliminate 45 does a year for 3 years totaling 135 dead does. We were able to harvest 127 does. In 04' we took out 57 and then in 05' 49 so we actually had impacted the herd greater than the goal so this year we only got 21 does which didn't meet the 135 total. But the impact was greater because of the number of does we harvested early.
So what has been the effect??
I feel it has been very positive on herd health. The young bucks are very heathly and their body size is very impressive. Hunting has changed a little because I don't see 30-40 deer a night but now I see 15 to 20. But I do see quality deer when I am out.

Later T$

 

[Bighole]

Just curious, how many acres were the 127 does shot off of?

 

[FarmlandQDM]

What method did you use to harvest the deer .. ie. shotgun, rifle, bow ...?

Do you feel that level of deer harvest affected your buck movement during the rut?

 

[huntdoc]

DId you dopretty well avoiding the button bucks? Hard to take that many without a mistake. You did a good thing when you consider all those does from that first year even would now have become 200+ deer.

 

[Thunder Ridge Extreme 1]

All,

To answer some questions:

As for how many acres I would say there is roughly 400 scattered acres of timber and it is surrounded by open river bottom crop fields and some hilly CRP.

As for the method of harvest I would say there were does taken in every season with bow, shotgun and muzzleloaders. No rifles we used because we are not in the southern two tiers of counties.

As for the # of button bucks we lost 17 total to mis-identification. So that should be just above 88% of the time what was thought to be a doe was indeed a doe.

As for buck travel I would say the buck movement has increased and we do see more daytime movement. Do they venture out of bounds for the lack of a better term I would say yes. Mainly the less dominent younger bucks do seem to disperse.

T$

 

[bowhuntr311]

AWESOME management.

That is some great QDM. Always a bummer when someone kills a buck fawn but that is a chance you take by shooting fawns. I believe taking fawns is important along with taking mature does. Taking the number of deer you did in the number of years you did is going to benifit you greatly Im sure.

I have a farm that hunt that has owns or has leased about 600-700 acres. His hunting group (avg of 10) and several bowhunter/muzzleloaders (4) over the last few years have taken 67 deer 1 year 50s the next and this year it was down to 30s.

I finally got the owner talked into some QDM this summer while BSing one night. He told his rifle hunters to shoot all the does/fawns first before any bucks. Opening morning they drug 6 fawns and 4 does back (5 were buck fawns

) The owner now has made mention of sitting down with me to plan a "BETTER" QDM plan so the Ratio and Quality of bucks goes up

.

Dean