Land managers
West Virginia
Hey guys For those who manage your land what do you do? We have feeders and now I also pickup apples and take those for the deer. We have foodplots out, turnips and clover. There are areas on the farm we will not go at all bedding areas. We will not shoot any bucks unless there around 120 and up. We do not shoot does on our farms although the neighbors do. The neighbors do shoot anything which isn't good but we can't control that. In 5 years on 1 of our farms we have taken 3 bucks total. We are not having as good success as I would hope but again the neighbors are the biggest factor. We refuse to lower our standards just because they are shooting anything. I'm interested to hear from you guys that have bigger farms to see how you feel your plan is working.
From what I have learned in studying this out is that you cannot set your expectations higher than your hunting areas potential.
True management should not focus on antler scorer, in fact it should be the last thing looked at. Good management should focus on age and overall health of the heard.
As far as goals go, I would suggest taking a look at the average age of bucks harvested and try to target bucks one year older than that for a year or two. The reason for that is if everyone is killing 1 and 2 year old deer and a lot of them, 4 and 5 year olds will be much fewer and farther between. However, a few 3 year olds should be around each year.
In my area, a 3 year old is a real trophy. We have the occasional older buck but it is very seldom. These 3 year olds score anywhere from 110" - 115" most of the time, some better than others.
Now if things around me start to change and I begin seeing a few more 4 year olds... the. I will adjust my standards accordingly.
However, no matter what, keep it fun and enjoy your time outdoors!! Good Luck!
I've had a plan for years now. We have a poaching problem with 1 neighbor. Hopefully that has decreased. The old man died last year plus they got caught 2 years ago with 8 bucks opening day of rifle season between 3 hunters. Huge fines, the young ones had to set up a payment plan. They know they are under a microscope now so hopefully it will get better. Bucks seem to top out about 4.5 and score 120-130. It's been a lot of work with food plots, trigger restraint but I'm pleased with results. We've taken 3 bucks in last 4 years on about 600 acres. I have found that the previous years acorn crop really makes a difference in antler size the next year.
Gobbler is right. I am just now getting into management. I have found the acorns from the previous year are important. I got a guy that stays on the property and he keeps the poachers at bay. You can't stop them all. We have had a couple arrested and shot at a few of em. So they are getting the message. Havnt killed a buck on this piece of land yet. The caretaker kills some does. I have found bucks that don't get killed seem to get bigger. Funny how that works . I'm getting into food plots now. It's actually fun. I kill my deer to eat on another 100 acre piece of ground.
The poachers that were caught were on their own property but it still really hurts the local buck population with that kind of stuff. Didn't hear near the shooting last fall as in years past. Hopefully they learned. It's hard to pay a 3000.00 fine on disability.
It seems a lot of what I read and hear is passing young bucks and planting food plots. Maybe minerals through winter, spring, and summer.
It seems there are many advantages related to timberstand improvement that you don't hear as much about. May be even more important that the food plots if done correctly? I don't know much about it other than what I have been digging into recently.
By allowing the canopy to open up and get. A lot of young growth it benefits all wildlife, creates natural browse, and cover from what I understand. Have any of you put much emphasis on timberstand improvement?
I have mostly passed younger bucks on my property. I have recently timbered properties around me so cover and food is abundant. I have made a sanctuary that I hing cut to make the deer feel more secure in the sanctuary. One thing I did notice while getting serious about managing is that you have to get ride of the bully bucks that run off the bucks with great potential. I had a buck like this a few year back that would run off all of the up and coming bucks. The bully buck can really hurt you on a small piece of property.
I timbered 13 years ago. Had popular, hard maple, and white ash 18 inches and over cut. I left all nut bearing trees(white and red oak species, hickory, beech, walnut) and soft mast like red cherry. It opened up canopy which allows sunlight to hit forest floor and browse exploded. It also allows the crowns of the nut and mast trees to get more sun and expand their crown thus being able to produce more mast.
A chainsaw is the deer hunters best friend!!
Plus it puts money in the bank which can be put back into the property. It also "releases" your valuable oaks and cherries to allow them to grow quicker which adds value each year if or when you decide to cut them. Better than money in the bank plus you get to enjoy them.
That goes right with everything I am reading and hearing about. While I am sure foodplots are beneficial, I am starting to think that would be a better starting place and allow it to pay for other improvements as you said.
Growing up I always thought those beautiful, open hardwood areas looked so good. I now understand that is the worst thing you can have for quality deer hunting and wildlife habitat.
Did you put much planning into a road system or let them fall where they may based on the logging crew's needs?
We put a planned skid road plan in place along with planned long landings. We reseeded the skid roads with clover and orchard grass and trefoil. This allows for long skinny food plots. I bushhog them every 2 years to keep them semi open . They really help with retrieving deer plus allows for faster quieter moving while gobbler hunting. I turned the log landings into food plots too. There's lots of heavy equipment on log landings which can compact soil so you really need to plow landings to break up the compaction before you plant anything.
I had mine logged during winter, Jan, Feb, and first 2 weeks of March . It was snow covered most of time which helps keep down on tearing roads up. Then after it was the perfect time to reseed the roads after they were done. Plus the deer pigged out on the tree tops during the winter. If you log get at least 3 estimates. I had 2 similar but 1 that was 15,000.00 higher. Unless you know the logger well it helps to pop up every few days unannounced just to make sure they aren't taking anything they aren't supposed to. It also pays to have an independent forester mark trees to be taken beforehand.
wv_bowhunter, where is your land located?
Not technically my land. It is my family farm that my parents own in Lincoln County.
It is split by a dead end road. One side was logged about 10 years ago with a select cut down to 16" dbh. No real attempt to save certain species above that because the timber was very mature and needed harvested anyway.
It has really improved some of the bedding spots on that side and all in all my brother and I have had some decent luck seeing better bucks and even killing a couple in there. The rut is especially better since the thick doe bedding areas hold so many deer now.
