No, I didn’t listen to the podcasts.
I think most on here are arguing about a word. It’s just a simple little word that is getting y’all’s feathers ruffled. “Cull” means to “remove”. That’s it. It’s that simple. The reasons to remove can vary. On a lot of places in Texas you have to remove a certain number of bucks and does to reach desired ratios, numbers, etc. So you have to “cull” the herd. LF or HF doesn’t matter. You have to “cull” a certain number of bucks, and you have to “cull” a certain number of does. Simple math really.
It’s just common sense that you will remove bucks with lesser quality antlers and leave the bucks with seemingly more potential. I have NEVER seen a study where a ranch “culled” only 10 point or bigger deer. Wonder why that is? If a ranch needs to cull/remove 20 bucks to hit their numbers, then why not shoot the first twenty bucks you see regardless of antler configuration? If it truly doesn’t matter to the genetic make-up of the herd, then why not? Or better yet why not shoot the top 20 bucks and leave the rest? Is it making sense now?
Maybe we need a new word, like “skim”. Can you “skim” bucks without people getting upset? If I said I shot a skim 5 year old 7 point, would that be better? For the record I hunt both LF and Hf. Our LF isn’t big, but we have been “skimming” the lesser quality antlered bucks and leaving the “big” ones for about 15 years now. Average antler size has gone up. We will continue to “skim” on our LF lease.
I think most on here are arguing about a word. It’s just a simple little word that is getting y’all’s feathers ruffled. “Cull” means to “remove”. That’s it. It’s that simple. The reasons to remove can vary. On a lot of places in Texas you have to remove a certain number of bucks and does to reach desired ratios, numbers, etc. So you have to “cull” the herd. LF or HF doesn’t matter. You have to “cull” a certain number of bucks, and you have to “cull” a certain number of does. Simple math really.
It’s just common sense that you will remove bucks with lesser quality antlers and leave the bucks with seemingly more potential. I have NEVER seen a study where a ranch “culled” only 10 point or bigger deer. Wonder why that is? If a ranch needs to cull/remove 20 bucks to hit their numbers, then why not shoot the first twenty bucks you see regardless of antler configuration? If it truly doesn’t matter to the genetic make-up of the herd, then why not? Or better yet why not shoot the top 20 bucks and leave the rest? Is it making sense now?
Maybe we need a new word, like “skim”. Can you “skim” bucks without people getting upset? If I said I shot a skim 5 year old 7 point, would that be better? For the record I hunt both LF and Hf. Our LF isn’t big, but we have been “skimming” the lesser quality antlered bucks and leaving the “big” ones for about 15 years now. Average antler size has gone up. We will continue to “skim” on our LF lease.
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