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Cull Management Help
#5963991
10/06/15 05:46 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227
HuntinForTail
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227 |
We finally got a bunch of bad apples off our lease and the rest of us want to really take the herd management seriously and cleaning up our genetics. We got MLD 3 status and have started habitat improvement and predator control. We are all still pretty new to aging deer and deciding which to cull. I'd like yalls opinion on the following 2 bucks. Will they ever be more than scrubs? I know they're young and there has been all kinds of new studies on not taking spikes unless they are mature, but these have some funky racks as youngsters and we weren't sure if they ever have a good chance of developing into anything. I took out the IMG tags since the stand names on the pictures are a bit inappropriate for a pg site thanks to some pranking at the lease. If you want to see the pics and don't mind a little off color humor the links are below. http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah30...zpsvjhxeok1.jpghttp://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah30...zps4gyp8vrz.jpghttp://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah30...zpsbzbkccza.jpghttp://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah30...zpswp16iw1x.jpg
Last edited by HuntinForTail; 10/06/15 06:58 PM.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964000
10/06/15 05:53 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,045
Texas buckeye
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I would give each at least another year to figure out whether they will have promise or not. The second one looks incredibly young, late drop type young. The first one appears an earlier drop, but both appear too young to make a judgement on at this point.
Have a little guy like the first one hanging out with his mom and sisters still, don't plan on letting anyone take him this year.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964018
10/06/15 06:10 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227
HuntinForTail
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227 |
Please excuse the stand names. I forgot there was some pranking going on when these were taken. lol
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964023
10/06/15 06:12 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 11,542
rickym
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964030
10/06/15 06:15 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227
HuntinForTail
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227 |
So at what age would you cull a deer like these? I've got them around 1.5-2.5 (am i far off). Start culling the scrubs at 3.5 or 4.5?
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964051
10/06/15 06:28 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 650
jmh004
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 650 |
I wouldnt shoot either one of those buck this year. Theyre both 1.5. Give them a couple years and you will be surprised with how they turn out.I understand that this is not a HF ranch, but on HF ranches, I've seen 1 year old spikes turn into trophy bucks. This shows that spikes, if given the chance, can turn into something special.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964068
10/06/15 06:36 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,303
Ramsey
Pepe' Le Pew
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Pepe' Le Pew
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,303 |
Please excuse the stand names. I forgot there was some pranking going on when these were taken. lol You can crop pictures Sir.
Big Beckett!!
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964081
10/06/15 06:43 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 5
Lost Boys Outdoors
Green Horn
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Green Horn
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 5 |
Can anyone provide any tips on what would help deer like this have the most potential for growth over the future years? Does this happen because of a lack of nutrients at crucial times? Is there anything that can be done to maximize these deer moving forward like certain food plots or something?
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964094
10/06/15 06:49 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,605
fouzman
Veteran Tracker
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Both bucks are yearlings. The answer as whether to cull them or not depends on your deer density, age structure and sex ratios. If you have a lot of deer with bucks well represented in each age class and your sex ratio is 1:1 or close, then those yearlings could be culls (assuming you have enough other good yearlings). If your deer density is well below carrying capacity and or you have your sex ratio skewed heavily to the doe side, I let both deer walk.
There is no simple answer as to what age you begin culling. Most would say never before 3. I don't subscribe to that theory so long as everything else I mentioned is right.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: Lost Boys Outdoors]
#5964097
10/06/15 06:51 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,605
fouzman
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Can anyone provide any tips on what would help deer like this have the most potential for growth over the future years? Does this happen because of a lack of nutrients at crucial times? Is there anything that can be done to maximize these deer moving forward like certain food plots or something? Age and nutrition.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964136
10/06/15 07:16 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 650
jmh004
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 650 |
Age, Age, Age. Them I'd worry about nutrition.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964163
10/06/15 07:33 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227
HuntinForTail
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227 |
So I understand that age is important, but isn't recognizing a cull as soon as possible more important than letting a deer with a funky rack grow until they are 4.5 years old and have had a few years of breeding. I'm not suggesting shooting 1.5 year old deer.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: fouzman]
#5964170
10/06/15 07:37 PM
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 15,682
QuitShootinYoungBucks
THF Celebrity
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Both bucks are yearlings. The answer as whether to cull them or not depends on your deer density, age structure and sex ratios. If you have a lot of deer with bucks well represented in each age class and your sex ratio is 1:1 or close, then those yearlings could be culls (assuming you have enough other good yearlings). If your deer density is well below carrying capacity and or you have your sex ratio skewed heavily to the doe side, I let both deer walk.
There is no simple answer as to what age you begin culling. Most would say never before 3. I don't subscribe to that theory so long as everything else I mentioned is right. Good answer.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170223065011/http:/www.rrdvegas.com/silencer-cleaning.html
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964214
10/06/15 07:53 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,605
fouzman
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
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Posts: 2,605 |
So I understand that age is important, but isn't recognizing a cull as soon as possible more important than letting a deer with a funky rack grow until they are 4.5 years old and have had a few years of breeding. I'm not suggesting shooting 1.5 year old deer. Very hard (if not impossible) to recognize a cull at 1.5, though I have killed some when everything else was right. If a deer was weird at one and not much better at 2 and still had undesirable antler characteristics at 2, I'd cull him. But I can't stress enough having everything I mentioned previously right...before you go culling immature deer.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964332
10/06/15 08:51 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,045
Texas buckeye
THF Celebrity
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So I understand that age is important, but isn't recognizing a cull as soon as possible more important than letting a deer with a funky rack grow until they are 4.5 years old and have had a few years of breeding. I'm not suggesting shooting 1.5 year old deer. Looking at antler growth on LF native texas genetic yearling deer is a crap shoot at best, and probably depends more on how recently the fawn/buck dropped from momma than anything else. As I mentioned in my first reply, I think the first buck is slightly older than the second buck, and the second one looks quite young, so even having antlers is a plus. Most late drop bucks would be button bucks and not have the antler development either of these two have.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5964377
10/06/15 09:14 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227
HuntinForTail
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 227 |
Thanks for the help fouz and buckeye. I learned a lot today. These 2 get a pass for sure.
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Re: Cull Management Help
[Re: HuntinForTail]
#5965157
10/07/15 02:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
You can do more for deer management by culling does than you can do culling bucks early on in management. Both bucks are young and if you are over CC and have a bad buck to doe ratio then forget about culling bucks.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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