Culls

[Hunter98]

^This. Took us years to reach this conclusion - guess we are kinda slow. However, this notion that 8 points are culls once they reach 3.5 or even 4.5 is generally used as an excuse to let hunters kill bucks with upside when they should be harvesting does.

There are many 8 points that are 4.5 that get 10 or even 12 points at 5.5 or older.
Once they're dead, however, kinda hard to sprout those extra points.

So many clubs have too many hunters that still equate trophy status with the number of points when it's all about age.

I'm looking one right now, that is big bodied, 14 inches wide, 1 inch brow tines, and 4 tines. Probably 3.5. Thinking he is cull. I had another probably low 130's with him and he was smaller.

It was just one particular deer I was talking about. We have big deer.



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[elgato]

In almost all circumstances it is more important to figure out how to improve nutrition than to see any value in the idea of culling.Impossible to know what a deers potential is unless he has full year round nutrition

[Hockley]

In an original AR county we had a 3 year old 10 turn into a dang nice 8 at 4 due to the drought. The next year at 5 he was a 157” 10pt, he didn’t live till 6. I would definitely not shoot a 3 year old 8 and 4 is questionable.

I hunt as a guest on a high fence Ranch and in my opinion they shoot way to many 8’s too early. They also cull spikes. A high end deer on the place is 160”, granted it’s all West Texas original genetics, but I feel that after 10 years of management under a fence you should be hitting 170 fairly consistently. As a guest you do as you are told though. I don’t shoot the 8’s, but i will shoot a spike although I don’t agree with that either.

[Peyton]

All 8’s should be exterminated at 3! [emoji848]

[mjhaverkamp]

Friday evening was our last hunt in Mexico for the season, the ranch owner wanted a " tamale " buck, I told him if I seen one I would get him, well a really big what appeared to be 6 point walked in, he had 13 plus two's and three's, great mass and about 18 inches wide, he was a 4 year old, I was about to put the hammer down on him when my hunting partner said let me look at that deer with my spotting scope, well he had broken both brows smooth off, I am sure happy i did not shoot him, although a 145 six point would be pretty cool. Will be interesting to see what this deer may do if he makes it to 5 or 6. I think 4 years is as young as I would cull unless it is obvious the deer will not grow anything special.

[Artos]

That's a 16 Peyton...he likely ate his twin brother in the womb keeping the main 8 frame.

I shot a whopper 4-5 year old 8 yesterday that went a whole 107"

[lovemylegacy]

X2, the thing I would like to add is dont determine a "cull" by the number of points but rather look at the frame attributes of the buck. I would rather see a basket racket 10 point be taken than a large framed 8 point. Culling doesnt work in 99% of the situations in Texas so let the deer grow up and then kill them once they are mature.

Very good explanation.

[lovemylegacy]

Depends. It’s not a blanket deal.

We have a solid population of deer. 4.5 is preferred and what our rules say but some have died at 3.5 when there is an abundance and we shoot one or two on the low end of the age class when we need mouths removed.

Also because we like the big 8s, deer at 4.5 with good tine length or show potential elsewhere like kickers, width or great brows get a pass. Deer do not have to be >8 points to be allowed to mature and show their potential for us. We are in it for killing nice deer .... not total inches.

We shoot to remove mouths and less desirable deer .... . Seems like a common sense thing to do and pretty much all we non biologist low budget types can do since we are told culling to improve genetics doesn’t work on low fence properties.

Another good explanation

[lovemylegacy]

All 8’s should be exterminated at 3! [emoji848]

The best reason so far not to "cull", impressive

[txwhitetail]

As a general guideline for most of Texas, it isn’t a good idea to shoot anything until they get to 4.5

3.5 6 pts and no brows should die just about anywhere in Texas

[trophy8]

All 8’s should be exterminated at 3! [emoji848]

Dang high fence heavy protein fed deer don’t count.



Lol

[txwhitetail]

We’re at 4.5 for most main frame 8s with no trash or really big frames/tines etc.

[Smart]

Got dang Peyton. That is a beautiful deer.

[Mac5dawg]

We cull spikes at 2.5, anything 7 or less at 3.5 and we do not cull any 8's unless they are 4.5 or older and they show none of the following - good width, good mass or kickers.

[sierracharlie338]

That’s is a freaking PIG Peyton!!


Sierracharlie out…