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What percent of your 3.5+ bucks made it???

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megalomaniac

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We're conducting our post hunt census over bait (corn), and so far, I've been quite disappointed...

Only one 3.5 yr old has shown up so far. I personally know of five 3.5 and up yr olds that were harvested by us and the neighbors, but several of my 3.5 yr olds that made it through the first gun segment have disappeared. That leaves another 8 3.5 yr olds unaccounted for. I hope they've just shifted their patterns and weren't killed, but I was really expecting to pick up at least 3 or 4 of them.
 
We had three before season, I killed a 3.5yo nine, and we have pictures of one of the others(I think 4.5) since. Have seen pictures of a lot of our younger bucks that made it though.
 
Man I cannot wait to see what made it thru the season, I had the bow in hand 85% of the time because I have noticed that when mz/gun season fires up, mature bucks and deer in general use my ground as a sanctuary.

Began the season with 5 3.5yo's in 09' (2nd yr of QDM) based on trail-cam census. Scrape pics during the rut showed 7 (3.5yo+) using my farm. After season closed we only got pics of 3 (3.5yo+)...NOTE only one buck was harvested on my farm in 09'

At the beginning of this season (July-Sept) we had 7 (3.5yo+) but only 3 were photographed regularly. This years rut 11 (3.5yo+) bucks were photographed, 5 of them seen in the field, yet none were killed. Im eager to see if the 2010 data will follow suit with the 09 data by the number of mature bucks getting photographed dropping post season...This is the condensed version of my hunting log I have kept since QDM. My assumption is I am going to hit a plateau on the number of mature bucks using my farm this coming season or the next, but as long as I keep my management practices the same the numbers should stay remotely close + or - 3 or 4 deer a year. But that is solely a hypothesis....

Another Note: this farm is family owned for 25years and has a significant amount of acreage to hold high densities of deer...located in Williamson Co....Just thought I would throw that in there cause Lord knows Gatlinburg doesn't produce anything but high densities of yankster tourists :)
 
east10buck said:
Began the season with 5 3.5yo's in 09' (2nd yr of QDM) based on trail-cam census. Scrape pics during the rut showed 7 (3.5yo+) using my farm. After season closed we only got pics of 3 (3.5yo+)...NOTE only one buck was harvested on my farm in 09'

At the beginning of this season (July-Sept) we had 7 (3.5yo+) but only 3 were photographed regularly. This years rut 11 (3.5yo+) bucks were photographed, 5 of them seen in the field, yet none were killed.
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Fascinating information east10buck. Thanks for posting it.


I'm eager to see if the 2010 data will follow suit with the 09 data by the number of mature bucks getting photographed dropping post season...
Click to expand...

It should. Remember that many of the bucks photographed during the rut normally don't use the property. They are bucks that have either temporarily expanded their range onto the property for the rut, or bucks that have temporarily shifted ranges into the property for the rut. Post-rut, they return to their normal range off of the property.


My assumption is I am going to hit a plateau on the number of mature bucks using my farm this coming season or the next...
Click to expand...

What you will probably see is the buck age structure--the percent of bucks in each age-class--hitting a plateau. In essence, what percent of bucks are 3 1/2 or older maxing out. However, the actual number of bucks of this age using the property will be driven by total population, and that can fluctuate from year to year. And never doubt just how many deer can utilize high-quality habitat. What I see on most properties is the percent of photographed bucks that are 3 1/2+ stabilizing over time, but increases in total buck population causes the total number of these age bucks to increase.
 
I know my BIG 8 made it unless someone poached it but around the area I was hunting I woulda known if someone got hime I'll tell you in about 4 months!

The journey begins again!
 
Im still looking for my one older deer that I haven't gotten pics of since the rut really took off. Im actually moving the camera and bait Saturday to try and cover some new terrain.

I have gotten both of the good 2.5's that I passed this year so at least I know they have a chance to be there next year.
 
Don't expect to catch bucks on camera post-season that only showed up around the rut. The vast majority of those bucks only use that "rut pattern" for 4-6 weeks.
 

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