The Multi Herd Experiment...Pic Heavy

[yazoomike]

Great pics and thanks for sharing. Question. Why haven't or have you ever tried moving some northern strain, Canada, Missiouri, Ohio, etc genetics in to one of your herds. The mass on the northern deer with some of your deer would be WOW.

[Encinal]

Great pics and thanks for sharing. Question. Why haven't or have you ever tried moving some northern strain, Canada, Missiouri, Ohio, etc genetics in to one of your herds. The mass on the northern deer with some of your deer would be WOW.

I don't think that those deer look real... the people we bought deer from concentrate on deer that are big but actually have typical frames... not crazy mass explosions...

I have never been interested in northern stuff because well... we are in Texas... I like texas deer... those deer are exotics as far as im concerned.

Also Encinal is sacred to me... its an example of what the best of Texas can do vs the North... And I think it produces bigger native deer than any other 4000 acres on the planet... at least in the last 5 years...

[bearkat2004]

Well, if you ever need someone to volunteer to drive down and take care of come "cull" bucks let me know!!

[d_e_smith]

very nice! Never would have thought that was across the road.

[Death from Above]

I love your "deer" threads.....looks like ALOT of work, but fun.

[mikemorvan]

You're just showing off! I WOULD TOO!!

[Encinal]

You're just showing off! I WOULD TOO!!

I think about deer about 25 hours a day... so I decided I better get familiar with the deer we had over there... started working on pictures and thought I would share... I've shared culls or 1 or 2 deer over there before but never a broad spectrum look at the tops of the age classes... (and a couple of bottoms)

Guess I'm showing off... but to be honest, I really just wanted to talk about them... It's how I get myself familiar with them and can recall them from my head later...

I haven't tried to age any of these deer without eartags... The green tag bucks I hadn't even tried to put a camera out for until this year... imagine my suprise... they were just over there growing without supervision for 4 years... I have no idea what any of them were last year... it's ground floor on my understanding of these deer as individuals...

It didn't matter before because we were trying to get the herd where we wanted... Now I can see it turning that corner and coming more in to the brand of management that I apply at Las Raices, which is deer by deer scrutiny.

I don't know if I can fit 50-60% more deer in my head... but that's kinda what I am thinking about right now.

[D C]

Looking good Marko.

[Cazador]

I see the porcupine... where are all of the coons?

Good looking animals. That just shows that hard work does pay off!

[mikemorvan]

I think about deer about 25 hours a day... so I decided I better get familiar with the deer we had over there... started working on pictures and thought I would share... I've shared culls or 1 or 2 deer over there before but never a broad spectrum look at the tops of the age classes... (and a couple of bottoms)

Guess I'm showing off... but to be honest, I really just wanted to talk about them... It's how I get myself familiar with them and can recall them from my head later...

I haven't tried to age any of these deer without eartags... The green tag bucks I hadn't even tried to put a camera out for until this year... imagine my suprise... they were just over there growing without supervision for 4 years... I have no idea what any of them were last year... it's ground floor on my understanding of these deer as individuals...

It didn't matter before because we were trying to get the herd where we wanted... Now I can see it turning that corner and coming more in to the brand of management that I apply at Las Raices, which is deer by deer scrutiny.

I don't know if I can fit 50-60% more deer in my head... but that's kinda what I am thinking about right now.

Hey man, don't get me wrong. I'm right there with ya'. You're doing great work. You've got PLENTY to be proud of. Like i said, i'd be showing them off as well! GREAT JOB!! I meant no harm or insult...

[W-L-F]

Marko; you really have it going on----How much protein does a porcupine eat and what kind do you feed them---are those native porcupines----deer look good to--

[junkmanhunter]

Wow, I really enjoy looking at your pictures. To me, an average hunter who never has or probably never will get the chance to see or hunt deer like that, I love reading your write ups.
I have learned more on how to age and field score deer from your pics and post than in 25 years of hunting. Keep them coming!!

One question though, you stated " But a buck is more likely to get whacked for a medina county looking shape or hair color than he is for being a spike." I am sure there is a good reason. Why? Hair color especially.

[d_e_smith]

I would guess hill country type genetics vs south texas genetics coming out.

[Encinal]

Wow, I really enjoy looking at your pictures. To me, an average hunter who never has or probably never will get the chance to see or hunt deer like that, I love reading your write ups.
I have learned more on how to age and field score deer from your pics and post than in 25 years of hunting. Keep them coming!!

One question though, you stated " But a buck is more likely to get whacked for a medina county looking shape or hair color than he is for being a spike." I am sure there is a good reason. Why? Hair color especially.

Oh... Medina (at least where I am) has a much lower top end to the antlers than the deer we introduced... There are a lot of 3 year old 6's... missing brow tines. 2 year old 3 points, 3 inch G-2's and 16 inch beams on mature deer that are almost all medina county influence... I just don't see much of that in Encinal...

I want to hammer those deer hard and young NOW so that there are fewer of them pushing through the bottleneck of genetics before the herd blows up into full size... I have a limited window to be able to do it in...

Right now I have a really good looking top end... a really really crappy looking bottom end and an ok middle...

I don't have the really crappy bottom end in Encinal... and if I let it go too long... it will bring down my top end.

In Encinal since I really haven't effected those genetics very much over the years (if at all) I don't worry about culls all that much... don't stress about it... that herd made that deer just as well as making a 200... I don't stress about not killing the smallest (if I don't get around to it) or KILLING the biggest... because the herd produces the deer... deer COMPRISE a herd...


In Dunlay... think of a sprouting tree... we are at the base... if I can get the ugly branches now... they won't grow into huge limbs on the big tree...

[Encinal]

Hey man, don't get me wrong. I'm right there with ya'. You're doing great work. You've got PLENTY to be proud of. Like i said, i'd be showing them off as well! GREAT JOB!! I meant no harm or insult...

Oh I didn't take it that way... I just wanted to clarify my motivation for posting, since it could very easily be perceived that way.