Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANYONE still trying to grow Huge NATIVE Low Fence Whitetails???

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    I only have small properties and its in East tx. Several years ago I decided that i couldnt control what people on other places did but that if i killed them they sure woudnt get any older. The hunting pressure around me is crazy so i made sanctuaries for the deer where they could have everything they need. We started pouring the nutrients to them. It didnt take the bucks long to start spending the majority off their DAYLIGHT hours on my places where they were safe from the idiots.

    Year after year, i see and have pics of the same bucks. Sure some get killed and some just drop off the Earth. Thats just part of it whether I like it or not. The net result though is that we have a mature class of bucks as well as a pipeline full of studs on their way up.

    Im gonna grow me a Booner some day right here in the middle of this mess.

    Comment


      #17
      I’d like to. Our lease has usually 15 people (it can go up or down a couple people a year) on 18,000 acres.. out of the 15 me and maybe two other guys are trophy hunting.. the other guys will shoot young deer that don’t even brake 100”.. I would like to see everyone on the same page of what is shot and not but they did tell me before I got on that this is a lease where they like to have fun and shoot what they want. No one is going to get in any kind of trouble for shooting a 3 year old 10 point. So I’m not going to complain or try to change that but I would be on board and willing to pay my share of protein if they did want to.. id love to get a giant one.. this lease was day leased before they got it and they picked it up in the drought.. the last 4 years has gotten way better. Last year the only hunting time I got was two weeks straight around thanksgiving and shot a 10 that was 148”, saw 3 more deer in the 130s and one that looked to be in the low 140s.. I guess with there being so much land maybe some will make it long enough to be a true trophy, there is usually around 12 bucks taken a year.. I’ve shot two in 4 years and besides mine nothing has gone over 130.

      Comment


        #18
        Originally posted by GarGuy View Post
        I only have small properties and its in East tx. Several years ago I decided that i couldnt control what people on other places did but that if i killed them they sure woudnt get any older. The hunting pressure around me is crazy so i made sanctuaries for the deer where they could have everything they need. We started pouring the nutrients to them. It didnt take the bucks long to start spending the majority off their DAYLIGHT hours on my places where they were safe from the idiots.

        Year after year, i see and have pics of the same bucks. Sure some get killed and some just drop off the Earth. Thats just part of it whether I like it or not. The net result though is that we have a mature class of bucks as well as a pipeline full of studs on their way up.

        Im gonna grow me a Booner some day right here in the middle of this mess.
        You made me bust out laughing " safe from the idiots " .
        You're doing it the right way, if you kill 'em you know they're dead. No more what if?

        Even though we have more land than you that's exactly what I'm trying to do, pour the nutrients to them and give them very little hunting pressure with only 3 hunters on 3k acres. It seems to be working.

        When I first obtained this ranch the first I noticed was our numbers weren't what they should be with a ranch that had such low hunting pressure in years past ( we had all age classes of deer), then it hit me.... WATER! We had ONE place for them to water with consistency if there was a drought. Now we have 3, and if it rains we have 5. So like you amigo I'm trying to give them everything they could ever want on my place so at least MOST will stick around, and I realize that a few will just drop off the earth but the reward is worth the risk.

        Comment


          #19
          Originally posted by ultrastealth View Post
          I'm not wild about the genetics stuff, but we have 930 acres high fenced, and it's that way because the neighbors reneged on the wildlife cooperative from the word go. It also allowed us to protein feed successfully, which, in our area, is absolutely necessary to grow big deer.
          It's funny how fast a 4.5 year old 160 will make your neighbors change their mind or completely forget the co-op.

          Comment


            #20
            Good post! Seeing the management strategies some of you guys have going is my favorite thing to read on this site. It’s a lot different (and more intensive) than what I have going on, no doubt.

            Nutrition and age are the most important variables in my area. Cover & water aren’t really issues. The two adjacent counties I hunt in have similar terrain for the most part, but one has better soil and fewer, but much bigger deer (borders the delta and not as rocky). It’s all rolling hardwood hills and ridges with some pastureland and grown up pastures/cedar brakes. It is top notch deer habitat, and the population reflects that.

            We have tried to do what we can for habitat through timber stand improvement, burning, bush hogging, letting fields grow up, minerals, and discing/putting in plots. AR has a 3 point (on one side rule) so spikes, forks, etc. are safe. While not a perfect rule, very very few yearling bucks get killed, so we have tons of bucks getting to 2. We have a 4 point and outside the ears (+15”) “rule” on our places that we try to use to save those 2 year olds. So basically all of our bucks make it to 3 IF no one else shoots them, natural attrition, whatever. We try to shoot plenty of does and have a good ratio on that farm of probably 1:1.5. We have tons of bucks, but nothing huge. They just seem to top out around 135-140”. Limiting factor has got to be nutrition due to soil quality, because there are book deer killed with regularity in the county with the better dirt (though many may not be entered).

            We have good neighbors at both places and not a ton of hunting pressure, in fact pressure seems to drop by the year.. I’m afraid we’ll be (if not already) overpopulated in many areas.

            Comment


              #21
              Originally posted by elgato View Post
              We actually had a neighbor that high fenced his ranch and left 50 acres outside the fence surrounded by us on 3 sides. He built an irrigated food plot, protein feeder , and heavily corned. Put a pop up blind in the middle and darted the bucks putting them inside his fence .That practice alone had a material impact on a very large area.

              We get surprise bucks on all the pastures every year. There are also bucks that disappear for a couple years , given up for dead then reappear. I see hunting pressure, hf or lf a choice excepting of course perimeter pressure which can only be encouraged thru cooperatives.
              Now that would probably get my blood boiling!

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by Razrbk89 View Post
                Good post! Seeing the management strategies some of you guys have going is my favorite thing to read on this site. It’s a lot different (and more intensive) than what I have going on, no doubt.

                Nutrition and age are the most important variables in my area. Cover & water aren’t really issues. The two adjacent counties I hunt in have similar terrain for the most part, but one has better soil and fewer, but much bigger deer (borders the delta and not as rocky). It’s all rolling hardwood hills and ridges with some pastureland and grown up pastures/cedar brakes. It is top notch deer habitat, and the population reflects that.

                We have tried to do what we can for habitat through timber stand improvement, burning, bush hogging, letting fields grow up, minerals, and discing/putting in plots. AR has a 3 point (on one side rule) so spikes, forks, etc. are safe. While not a perfect rule, very very few yearling bucks get killed, so we have tons of bucks getting to 2. We have a 4 point and outside the ears (+15”) “rule” on our places that we try to use to save those 2 year olds. So basically all of our bucks make it to 3 IF no one else shoots them, natural attrition, whatever. We try to shoot plenty of does and have a good ratio on that farm of probably 1:1.5. We have tons of bucks, but nothing huge. They just seem to top out around 135-140”. Limiting factor has got to be nutrition due to soil quality, because there are book deer killed with regularity in the county with the better dirt (though many may not be entered).

                We have good neighbors at both places and not a ton of hunting pressure, in fact pressure seems to drop by the year.. I’m afraid we’ll be (if not already) overpopulated in many areas.
                Do you have any deer that are making it to 6 or 7? If so what are those deer looking like score/health wise? Also overpopulation is a nightmare for a ranch and range conditions. I'd much rather be under populated than over, and so would my bank account

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by Mexico View Post
                  Do you have any deer that are making it to 6 or 7? If so what are those deer looking like score/health wise? Also overpopulation is a nightmare for a ranch and range conditions. I'd much rather be under populated than over, and so would my bank account
                  I’m sure there are a few getting to that age, but I’ve always been told that our deer top out around 5, and that seems to be the case (not a scientific observation, admittedly).

                  When I say overpopulated I’m not talking about skinny deer and browselines, just probably over the ideal carrying capacity for “trophy” production. You don’t really see deer with ribs showing and stuff like that around here. If you were having to feed deer to maintain them I’d imagine that would get expensive. I’m don’t feel the need to feed a deer that has a layer of fat on his back. That being said, I can really produce a lot of deer grub with a disc and some fertilizer. Exponentially more than I could pour out of a sack. That’s not the case everywhere, though.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Originally posted by Razrbk89 View Post
                    I’m sure there are a few getting to that age, but I’ve always been told that our deer top out around 5, and that seems to be the case (not a scientific observation, admittedly).

                    When I say overpopulated I’m not talking about skinny deer and browselines, just probably over the ideal carrying capacity for “trophy” production. You don’t really see deer with ribs showing and stuff like that around here. If you were having to feed deer to maintain them I’d imagine that would get expensive. I’m don’t feel the need to feed a deer that has a layer of fat on his back. That being said, I can really produce a lot of deer grub with a disc and some fertilizer. Exponentially more than I could pour out of a sack. That’s not the case everywhere, though.

                    Gotcha... man its hard got me to think 5 yr olds are the top deer in any area buy I'm obviously familiar with your deer. And amen on the disk, unfortunately in Mexico that's not as feasible unless you have access to irrigation which we do not. Good luck!!

                    Comment


                      #25
                      One other thing. We have a rule that no deer gets shot under 5 years old. Several of our deer either evaded us or we just didnt have the right hunter in place to kill them at five even though they didnt amount to much.

                      Now for the point.. over and over i have had those deer turn into BIG deer(relative I know 140-150) at 8 years old. Also our two top shooters at 7.5 last year made it through and are HUGE this year at 8.5.

                      If i didnt have exact history on those deer, i would age both at 5.5 by their body.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        I spend a ton of money each year trying to grow bucks that make 13”!

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Been doing it here on our place for the last 20 years. 3- 150 gallon protein feeders, 3- 200-300 gallon cotton seed feeders, minimum of 1- 500 gallon water trough, all per 250 acre pasture with 5 total pastures. All feeders are filled every 2 weeks to keep from ever being empty. Bucks are not killed unless have history of being a freaky looking cull or older buck with small rack. Never killed a trophy off the place with at least 1 buck being over 160 every year, due to wanting them to have every chance to spread their genes. Does we usually sell 12-18 a year to day hunters after we have filled our freezers.

                          This year will be the first year ever we kill a trophy, in which we decided had to be at least 6.5 and known with previous years tracking and photos. my dad got first dibs and I am second. Those plus 2 other cull bucks are the only ones we have on the hit list.

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Originally posted by GarGuy View Post
                            One other thing. We have a rule that no deer gets shot under 5 years old. Several of our deer either evaded us or we just didnt have the right hunter in place to kill them at five even though they didnt amount to much.

                            Now for the point.. over and over i have had those deer turn into BIG deer(relative I know 140-150) at 8 years old. Also our two top shooters at 7.5 last year made it through and are HUGE this year at 8.5.

                            If i didnt have exact history on those deer, i would age both at 5.5 by their body.

                            I have to admit we tried killing a 6/7 yr old last year that never hit the dirt. Honestly thought he was about as big as he'd ever get at that age. This year he's 7/8 and put on 30 inches, sometimes they just make you scratch your head

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Originally posted by MQ32Shooter View Post
                              I spend a ton of money each year trying to grow bucks that make 13”!
                              Lol bubba I hear ya, it's all relative. At least you're doing your best, that's what counts

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Originally posted by diamond10x View Post
                                Been doing it here on our place for the last 20 years. 3- 150 gallon protein feeders, 3- 200-300 gallon cotton seed feeders, minimum of 1- 500 gallon water trough, all per 250 acre pasture with 5 total pastures. All feeders are filled every 2 weeks to keep from ever being empty. Bucks are not killed unless have history of being a freaky looking cull or older buck with small rack. Never killed a trophy off the place with at least 1 buck being over 160 every year, due to wanting them to have every chance to spread their genes. Does we usually sell 12-18 a year to day hunters after we have filled our freezers.

                                This year will be the first year ever we kill a trophy, in which we decided had to be at least 6.5 and known with previous years tracking and photos. my dad got first dibs and I am second. Those plus 2 other cull bucks are the only ones we have on the hit list.
                                Man that is tough that you guys are 20 years in and you've never killed a trophy. What are your neighbors like? Any communication with them at all?

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X