Whitetail Paradise
New Member
Sligh1, This is an excellent thread and I commend your efforts...I'd like to offer my 2 cents based on decades of experience.
Protecting younger deer despite rack size is the correct thing to do, its all about age and there is nothing wrong with your goal of tagging 5 1/2 year old bucks. As time goes by you can always adjust this number upward based upon your success for holding deer through your overall management efforts, herd and habitat.
Doing everything on nutrition that you can do...excellent.
TSI for cover and browse...spot on.
Most doe shooting late in the season...I would recommend a change in execution here. We target does from opening day on for a multitude of reasons. rather than detail them all, I will attach an article.
Supplemental minerals or feeding (non-food plots)...don't do it for the health of your herd, disease etc.
Shooting any number of mature (5 1/2 by your standards) won't hurt a thing as you will always have younger deer moving up the ladder. However since I assume you are talking no or low fence, I would reconsider targeting all older inferior bucks. Even inferior bucks serve a purpose in your herd as competitors for does. This makes your buck population more visible throughout the season.
I think you are way underestimating the number of mature bucks 400 acres are capable of holding. See the thread on CWD real world where I discuss census.
I am copying an article I wrote years ago that may help explain some of my short answers above.
Play Musical Chairs…for bucks!
Bob Coine
When classic fall weather rolls in, complete with those frosty mornings beckoning to our age old hunting instincts, anticipation of a monster buck for the den is at an all-time high. Yes sir, this will be the year! Deer sign is all over the woods, from telltale running buck tracks in the mud, to rubs and scrapes littering the forest.
A hunter may sit for long hours on stand during the magical time of the year known as the rut, thinking wishful thoughts, mentally plotting where that new buck mount will be placed on the wall. All he needs is for that big boy to prance down the trail, and wham, bam, thank you maam, that brute of a buck will be wearing a tag!
Unfortunately, wishful thoughts alone won’t get it done on a consistent basis. Sitting all season, year after year without sweet success leaves us hungry for an opportunity, and probably frustrated. What the heck is going on? Where did the studs go? This is mid-November, and if it wasn’t for the sign, I’d swear there isn’t a big boy on the place! It must be that dreaded…lockdown!
If this scenario sounds familiar to you, I’d like to extend a helping hand. I know I can help, because early in my hunting career I also endured years of frustration attempting to tag a mature White-tailed buck. That time is well in the past now, thank goodness.
Let’s find out where we will find the key to unlock lockdown forever. But before we do, let’s analyze and understand why we are having difficulty sighting, much less tagging the mature bucks that we know are all around us.
The latest buzzword in the hunting industry is lockdown. I have no idea who coined this particular phrase, but it sure has caught on like wildfire. According to many magazine articles and TV shows, lockdown is the reason we don’t see mature bucks during the rut. The bucks are “locked down” with does for breeding purposes, and therefore they are not visible. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
Fortunately for us, this is America and we don’t have to participate in anything, with the exception of death and taxes. So how do we choose not to participate in lockdown? The answer lies in sound management.
First let’s analyze why these fully mature bucks aren’t visible in the first place. A typical hunting property today is loaded with deer. Deer populations are at an all time high in virtually every locale the Whitetail calls home. In many areas, does outnumber bucks handily.
A biological fact is that a buck will stay with a doe on average for 48 hours while she is in breeding condition. Most does will come into estrous, or heat at about the same time. Lockdown begins to look like a simple math problem.
My favorite analogy is the children’s party game, musical chairs. However this game will play afield, and the players should be mature bucks, and the chairs in this analogy, are the does.
Everyone looks forward to the once per year party, and anxiously awaits the sweet sound of the music. Suddenly the music stops in November, and there are more chairs (does) than players (bucks). All the mature bucks pair up for 48 hours, and the music starts again. With all these chairs available, the players don’t need to spend time looking for them. Even immature bucks can participate freely! Just look at all those chairs!
Now what if we snuck into the party early, and took home boatloads of chairs before the music even started. Well there would be a whole lot less chairs to go around, and the players would have to compete for the chairs available. Now the big boys would have to go looking for those hard to find chairs. And the uninvited youngsters would have to keep a keen eye out for those physically intimidating older players, lest they risk physical abuse by attempting to crash the party intended for the adults.
All of a sudden, our hunter sitting on stand begins to see bucks looking for those difficult to find does. And when a doe is spotted, she can really attract quite a following. The bucks that find her must now compete with each other for the opportunity to breed her. Then they must defend her from constant challenges from other bucks, and this all takes place 24 hours a day, which of course includes daytime when we are on stand.
If we indeed have more bucks on our hunting property than does that are ready to be bred right now, the un-paired bucks will have to be busy trying to locate an available hot doe. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Sometimes the most difficult challenges can be solved very simply. But in the real world there will be solid questions that will answered. The most common question I’m asked is… “when is the best time to tag these does?” I have found the best time to harvest a doe, is when she is in front of me!
We are bombarded by the big buck stories, and some folks feel pressure to tag a trophy to validate their hunting prowess. This pressure can lead to a buck or nothing mentality. The possibilities are endless when that little voice starts talking to us. “If I shoot this doe in front of me, it may cost me an opportunity at a nearby-unseen buck.” “If I shoot these does, they won’t be here to attract the bucks later during the rut. If I bag this doe, I’ll have to field dress and process her reducing my time on stand.”
I’m sure you have heard that little voice talking to you, I know I have too. This is where you get to say something back to that little voice… “Be quiet voice, and watch me take control of my own destiny!” At this point we are no longer just hunters, but hunter-managers. We make decisions for the betterment of the herd and the environment. The by-product of being a proactive hunter manager in this manner just happens to be more bucks on the wall!
Here at the home farm, we work hard at building our Whitetail Paradise, intensively managing habitat including food plots, and enhancing cover. But I believe we are consistently successful putting great bucks on the wall because of our doe hunting. We hunt does from opening day through the end of our deer season. We enjoy the close up challenge of tagging them with archery gear, and we also look forward to the longer-range possibilities afforded during our brief Illinois gun seasons.
Simply put, my friends and I see ourselves as doe hunters who also happen to tag nice bucks. By embracing this philosophy, and adopting this self-image, we don’t have to deal with lockdown, and neither do you!
So the next time you hear about lockdown, take satisfaction in the fact that you realize lockdown is just a term applied to a property with a poor buck to doe ratio, and the person speaking of lockdown probably never played musical chairs…or applied it to his deer hunting!
If you’d like to learn more about managing your hunting property and your deer herd, visit www.Heartlandillinois.com, the home of Building Whitetail Paradise.
Protecting younger deer despite rack size is the correct thing to do, its all about age and there is nothing wrong with your goal of tagging 5 1/2 year old bucks. As time goes by you can always adjust this number upward based upon your success for holding deer through your overall management efforts, herd and habitat.
Doing everything on nutrition that you can do...excellent.
TSI for cover and browse...spot on.
Most doe shooting late in the season...I would recommend a change in execution here. We target does from opening day on for a multitude of reasons. rather than detail them all, I will attach an article.
Supplemental minerals or feeding (non-food plots)...don't do it for the health of your herd, disease etc.
Shooting any number of mature (5 1/2 by your standards) won't hurt a thing as you will always have younger deer moving up the ladder. However since I assume you are talking no or low fence, I would reconsider targeting all older inferior bucks. Even inferior bucks serve a purpose in your herd as competitors for does. This makes your buck population more visible throughout the season.
I think you are way underestimating the number of mature bucks 400 acres are capable of holding. See the thread on CWD real world where I discuss census.
I am copying an article I wrote years ago that may help explain some of my short answers above.
Play Musical Chairs…for bucks!
Bob Coine
When classic fall weather rolls in, complete with those frosty mornings beckoning to our age old hunting instincts, anticipation of a monster buck for the den is at an all-time high. Yes sir, this will be the year! Deer sign is all over the woods, from telltale running buck tracks in the mud, to rubs and scrapes littering the forest.
A hunter may sit for long hours on stand during the magical time of the year known as the rut, thinking wishful thoughts, mentally plotting where that new buck mount will be placed on the wall. All he needs is for that big boy to prance down the trail, and wham, bam, thank you maam, that brute of a buck will be wearing a tag!
Unfortunately, wishful thoughts alone won’t get it done on a consistent basis. Sitting all season, year after year without sweet success leaves us hungry for an opportunity, and probably frustrated. What the heck is going on? Where did the studs go? This is mid-November, and if it wasn’t for the sign, I’d swear there isn’t a big boy on the place! It must be that dreaded…lockdown!
If this scenario sounds familiar to you, I’d like to extend a helping hand. I know I can help, because early in my hunting career I also endured years of frustration attempting to tag a mature White-tailed buck. That time is well in the past now, thank goodness.
Let’s find out where we will find the key to unlock lockdown forever. But before we do, let’s analyze and understand why we are having difficulty sighting, much less tagging the mature bucks that we know are all around us.
The latest buzzword in the hunting industry is lockdown. I have no idea who coined this particular phrase, but it sure has caught on like wildfire. According to many magazine articles and TV shows, lockdown is the reason we don’t see mature bucks during the rut. The bucks are “locked down” with does for breeding purposes, and therefore they are not visible. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
Fortunately for us, this is America and we don’t have to participate in anything, with the exception of death and taxes. So how do we choose not to participate in lockdown? The answer lies in sound management.
First let’s analyze why these fully mature bucks aren’t visible in the first place. A typical hunting property today is loaded with deer. Deer populations are at an all time high in virtually every locale the Whitetail calls home. In many areas, does outnumber bucks handily.
A biological fact is that a buck will stay with a doe on average for 48 hours while she is in breeding condition. Most does will come into estrous, or heat at about the same time. Lockdown begins to look like a simple math problem.
My favorite analogy is the children’s party game, musical chairs. However this game will play afield, and the players should be mature bucks, and the chairs in this analogy, are the does.
Everyone looks forward to the once per year party, and anxiously awaits the sweet sound of the music. Suddenly the music stops in November, and there are more chairs (does) than players (bucks). All the mature bucks pair up for 48 hours, and the music starts again. With all these chairs available, the players don’t need to spend time looking for them. Even immature bucks can participate freely! Just look at all those chairs!
Now what if we snuck into the party early, and took home boatloads of chairs before the music even started. Well there would be a whole lot less chairs to go around, and the players would have to compete for the chairs available. Now the big boys would have to go looking for those hard to find chairs. And the uninvited youngsters would have to keep a keen eye out for those physically intimidating older players, lest they risk physical abuse by attempting to crash the party intended for the adults.
All of a sudden, our hunter sitting on stand begins to see bucks looking for those difficult to find does. And when a doe is spotted, she can really attract quite a following. The bucks that find her must now compete with each other for the opportunity to breed her. Then they must defend her from constant challenges from other bucks, and this all takes place 24 hours a day, which of course includes daytime when we are on stand.
If we indeed have more bucks on our hunting property than does that are ready to be bred right now, the un-paired bucks will have to be busy trying to locate an available hot doe. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Sometimes the most difficult challenges can be solved very simply. But in the real world there will be solid questions that will answered. The most common question I’m asked is… “when is the best time to tag these does?” I have found the best time to harvest a doe, is when she is in front of me!
We are bombarded by the big buck stories, and some folks feel pressure to tag a trophy to validate their hunting prowess. This pressure can lead to a buck or nothing mentality. The possibilities are endless when that little voice starts talking to us. “If I shoot this doe in front of me, it may cost me an opportunity at a nearby-unseen buck.” “If I shoot these does, they won’t be here to attract the bucks later during the rut. If I bag this doe, I’ll have to field dress and process her reducing my time on stand.”
I’m sure you have heard that little voice talking to you, I know I have too. This is where you get to say something back to that little voice… “Be quiet voice, and watch me take control of my own destiny!” At this point we are no longer just hunters, but hunter-managers. We make decisions for the betterment of the herd and the environment. The by-product of being a proactive hunter manager in this manner just happens to be more bucks on the wall!
Here at the home farm, we work hard at building our Whitetail Paradise, intensively managing habitat including food plots, and enhancing cover. But I believe we are consistently successful putting great bucks on the wall because of our doe hunting. We hunt does from opening day through the end of our deer season. We enjoy the close up challenge of tagging them with archery gear, and we also look forward to the longer-range possibilities afforded during our brief Illinois gun seasons.
Simply put, my friends and I see ourselves as doe hunters who also happen to tag nice bucks. By embracing this philosophy, and adopting this self-image, we don’t have to deal with lockdown, and neither do you!
So the next time you hear about lockdown, take satisfaction in the fact that you realize lockdown is just a term applied to a property with a poor buck to doe ratio, and the person speaking of lockdown probably never played musical chairs…or applied it to his deer hunting!
If you’d like to learn more about managing your hunting property and your deer herd, visit www.Heartlandillinois.com, the home of Building Whitetail Paradise.
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