If you were going to start a hunting lease.....

[TX_Hoghunter]

I read an article on a guy that had shot a ton of P&Y bucks. The place he was on had a rule I had never heard of or considered before the article. It was pretty simply. If your first buck would net P&Y then you could shoot a second buck. Seems like an odd rule but if you think about it I bet it would work well. Mistakes are punished by only getting one buck. Quality decisions are rewards by getting a second one. The tape measure makes the decisions so it is pretty black and white. No grey areas to get yourself in trouble with.

-john

[7sdad]

I think location of the property and size would come into play as for as what rules you should have.

[hooligan]

So you don’t shoot any deer you consider inferior or undesirable until it’s 5.5 years old?

What about a slick 6 at 4.5 or even 3.5?

I asked this in the management section because we have a high deer density and need to get rid of some. General consensus was to not take anything based on antlers, only age and see how they turn out. Right now we’ve been picking deer based on antlers and age so this year we’ll switch to just taking out the old guys

[whitetailfanatic]

Really like the doe first ideas kind of earn the tag, saw this somewhere

[saintsfan]

Good luck "culling" especially in that part of the state. The only 2 rules I would put in place are.

1) if it makes you happy shoot it.
2) try to shoot bucks that are over 4.5 years old.

If you have any questions about rule #2, see rule #1.

Life is too short to be bickering over deer. It cracks me up all the people "managing" a low fence deer herd and friendships lost of this crazy idea.

Its really interesting to watch hunters "manage" a herd for years, argue over what deer to kill, lose frienships, with the focus on improving the quality of the herd. Then be kicked off of a lease, with no notice from the landowner.

[HighwayHunter]

I read an article on a guy that had shot a ton of P&Y bucks. The place he was on had a rule I had never heard of or considered before the article. It was pretty simply. If your first buck would net P&Y then you could shoot a second buck. Seems like an odd rule but if you think about it I bet it would work well. Mistakes are punished by only getting one buck. Quality decisions are rewards by getting a second one. The tape measure makes the decisions so it is pretty black and white. No grey areas to get yourself in trouble with.

-john

That’s actually a really good idea


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[30-30]

Imo, each hunter shouldn't be told they’re allowed to shoot a cull each year. That’s what leads to shooting half-decent 4 year old 8s. Cull bucks should be obvious, funky, older deer that everyone agrees should go. Then whoever sees it should be able to kill it. On most leases, there aren’t as many true cull bucks as there are mature “trophies.”

[Quackerbox]

Every time this comes up I thank the lord I dont need a lease

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[88 Bound]

My lease this year is in the same area so I can give some input based on seeing the quality and quantity of deer.

1) survey the ranch before you make the rules. The deer density is high as you know, but I’m not seeing many does on my place. If every one of our guys kills 2 does we might have issues later on.

2) set an age requirement. I have some 4 year olds that will scare 140” and none of them are 8s. None of them need to be shot yet either. That country has strong potential for 150”+ bucks but they need time.

3) don’t make a set point requirement. Example: if you say a 10 is a trophy, you’ll likely get at least 1 guy each year that will shoot a young 10 just to say he “killed a trophy buck”.

[bphillips]

Trophy 6.5+
Cull/management at least 4.5+

First off it’s all about mouths especially out here. Most every place in the area has too many deer to hit potential. That is what the cull/management bucks are really about with the does.

A biologist and a good survey would be the best way to get kicked off

[jt400]

After 6 years of mostly (some slip up) shooting 5.5+ year old bucks we are having trouble finding anything to consider a "cull". We will take some at 4.5 as "culls" that you can assume won't be anything decent. Anything that hits 5.5 and isn't an 8 goes as a "cull". Anything that hits 5.5 and is a smaller frame 8 goes as a management buck. Then again we have bucks that were on the cull/management list that make it through and end up being wall hangers the next year. Really drives it home to us just to let them get old.
I don't believe you can do much to control the genetics. Too many variables. Let the big framed deer go as long as you can. It really helps having a landowner that understands what you're trying to do. A lot that I've dealt with would look at some of the bucks we shoot as trophies that we're calling management. Problem is that no one would ever shoot them as trophies with the caliber of our upper end deer. Those management bucks would end up dying of old age and potentially be the dominant buck in that area for years. Keeping the higher end 3 and 4 year olds out.

[Hobbs]

I would say 5.5 minimum on "trophy" bucks. I would say the management buck would at least need to be 4.5 and score less than "X"(whatever you determine). No way I would let a 4.5 six or seven point keep eating my feed unless you are trying to grow a big six or seven point. I'd take him out not because of breeding but because he is eating feed and possibly pushing my younger desirable bucks (potential trophies in future years) off the property. There are always exceptions where a management buck would blow up years later but that isn't that common. Also, this is my strategy in East Texas so the trophy ages would be higher in South Texas where the bucks seem to peak at 7-9 years old.

[Bowtech2004]

Good luck "culling" especially in that part of the state. The only 2 rules I would put in place are.

1) if it makes you happy shoot it.
2) try to shoot bucks that are over 4.5 years old.

If you have any questions about rule #2, see rule #1.

Life is too short to be bickering over deer. It cracks me up all the people "managing" a low fence deer herd and friendships lost of this crazy idea.

Its really interesting to watch hunters "manage" a herd for years, argue over what deer to kill, lose frienships, with the focus on improving the quality of the herd. Then be kicked off of a lease, with no notice from the landowner.

This is how we roll!

[Hoss163]

If you need to take out mouths shoot does . Not young bucks . Another thing is what kind of lease you want to run . A have fun go kill what ever you feel like are a trophy lease ? There is a difference as you know . But if I was trying to run a trophy lease the 5.5 rule is what I would start out with . And usually the 130” is a pretty good number to start with in Eldorado area . In all reality on a low fence lease your not going to kill more then two are three bucks over 130 . And a lot of hunters want bigger then 130 so if they happen to see a 130” 5.5 they may pass him to live another year and at 6.5 he may be bigger. Same goes for one under 130 some folks may pass them as well . You really never know what a buck is going to turn out to be . Honestly I would love to let bucks get to at least 6.5 r even 7.5 . But I know that is hard to do in a low fence environment with other hunters on other properties around you . That’s why I would do the 5.5 rule and 130 it just simples things up for everyone on the lease . And usually keeps good young bucks alive until they do reach that 5.5 mark .


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[Big pig]

“Cull buck” is too subjective unless everyone has seen the photos and agrees he needs to go.
In my experience, there aren’t that many true culls. Just a lot of bucks that will never be huge. Most will be average for the area. Makes sense. Besides, any mature buck is a trophy for someone.

On the lease I manage, the landowner and I worked out a kill fee for bucks. One trophy per season per gun. It is equal to the rather low lease fee. It keeps everyone off the trigger unless it is a trophy. After years of that, we have progressed to the point we have landowner approved culls. It keeps everyone from shooting a late season buck because they had already paid for it and “needed some sausage”.
To remove numbers, we shoot does. I think we have exceptional bucks and age classes for our area. I rattle in a lot of bucks which tells me something. We pass lots of middle age bucks hoping for a stud. It takes a lot of restraint, but the fee helps.