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How many deer can be taken #5414045 11/11/14 11:54 PM
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klp Offline OP
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The place is 350 acres, with 4 blinds, 5 feeders, LF. Only family hunts the place which can range up to 7 or 8 family members, however due to time constraints, majority of family try and hunt 1 weekend or 2 to get it over with. How many deer can be taken off of our place (and please refrain from it depends on....)? I personally feel 80 to 90% of the time you go out to hunt, you will see deer. So far we have had 1 doe and 3 bucks taken (1 was a spike). I feel the number and bucks should = the number of does removed from the place.

A friend of mine has a place double the size of ours and they are MLD and take 10 deer a year. Last year 5 deer were taken (on our place), the year before it was 5, then before that it was like 1 or 2 a year. Is 5 the number we should take??

Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414111 11/12/14 12:24 AM
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Probably won't get an answer that doesn't have something to the effect of "depends on" since you are there, only you can know. Deer density and what you are trying to achieve for herd management come into play. It may be 80-90% of the time you see deer but multiple years of too many shot will lead to 15% of the time you see deer. I hunted about 350 acres in an area with very high deer density and there were anywhere from 7-10 deer a year shot in the 5 years I was able to hunt it and every year it seemed the herd stayed stable with everyone seeing up to 10-15 deer per sit. The years before more than 10 a year were shot. If I would have been the one making the rules on that place, probably would have wanted to take more does but limited bucks to 4.5 YO or older and totaled maybe 6-8 deer a season with only 2-3 bucks taken if old enough. Long story short, without way more info, you will have to be the judge of how many.

Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414127 11/12/14 12:27 AM
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I can't answer without saying, "it depends on", so....good luck and do what you think is best up


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414137 11/12/14 12:33 AM
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no way of knowing.....deer density varies by region, area and county. I can be on one ranch that has a certain type of habitat and has a CC of 1 deer per 15 acres and drive 5 miles down the road and its 1 deer to 5 acres.



the number of blinds, feeders and family members has absolutely no bearing on how many deer you can/should take off property


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414153 11/12/14 12:39 AM
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Have you done a survey? What is CC of the habitat on your ranch? What is your buck to doe ratio? What is your fawn crop like this year? Is it in an AR county?
It does depend on where in the heck it is located and what the habitat is like.


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: stxranchman] #5414157 11/12/14 12:40 AM
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Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Have you done a survey? What is CC of the habitat on your ranch? What is your buck to doe ratio? What is your fawn crop like this year? Is it in an AR county?
It does depend on where in the heck it is located and what the habitat is like.


He said he didn't want a "depends on" answer trout


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: txshntr] #5414162 11/12/14 12:42 AM
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Originally Posted By: txshntr
I can't answer without saying, "it depends on", so....good luck and do what you think is best up


confused2 I just followed your lead hammer
Originally Posted By: txshntr
Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Have you done a survey? What is CC of the habitat on your ranch? What is your buck to doe ratio? What is your fawn crop like this year? Is it in an AR county?
It does depend on where in the heck it is located and what the habitat is like.


He said he didn't want a "depends on" answer trout


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414317 11/12/14 01:39 AM
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scratch 7-8 hunters who's gonna tell the others, they can't kill a deer. a person pays ta hunt, no one has right ta say, U can't shoot. seen too many times one person talken bout trophy deer, an then ground shrinkage. here i can take 4 deer, 2 bucks, only 1, 13+" buck a spike, & 3-4 days two does for last several years. the choice is mine what to take. that's choice Ya'll need ta make. LF, some one else might shoot em. i don't tell my neighbors don't shoot. best wishes flag



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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: 1860.colt] #5414395 11/12/14 02:07 AM
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Seven to eight hunters on 350 acres????? You are WAY too overcrowded. Come talk to us when you pare down to one or two hunters, max. Let the other 5-7 hunters lease the adjoining property and you can embark on cooperative management. Did I miss where you said your 350 acres is located? I would guess only one mature buck could come off a place that size. For years on the Shackleford-Throckmorton County line, we always figured one mature buck per thousand acres.


"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple.....and wrong." H. L. Mencken
Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: esnow74] #5414403 11/12/14 02:12 AM
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Deer survey would give you the number you are looking for.

If the 350 acres was near my ranch in well managed areas in Rocksprings area will limit it to 1 buck per 100 acres

So you could take:
3-4 bucks (includes any spikes, trophy, cull)
4-7 does


Last edited by doogie; 11/12/14 02:17 AM.
Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: dawaba] #5414438 11/12/14 02:25 AM
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Originally Posted By: dawaba
Seven to eight hunters on 350 acres????? You are WAY too overcrowded.



Not in part of Mills county. We have 8 blinds on 420 acres on one place and we are under hunted and need to harvest twice the numbers we do each year. It all depends on the area of the county your hunting.

Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414701 11/12/14 03:54 AM
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Location is mostly west of Austin a ways (a little south) in the hill country. Non ar county. I saw some fawns this year but not a huge amount. I'm uncertain of the hunting pressure I feel its gone down since I don't hear nearly the shots I use to when I was younger. We have a lot of cedar but quiet a few oaks. Deer seem to vary sometimes I'll b there a weekend and see aton of wildlife other times I won't see anything

Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: 1860.colt] #5414777 11/12/14 04:27 AM
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Originally Posted By: colt.45
scratch 7-8 hunters who's gonna tell the others, they can't kill a deer. a person pays ta hunt, no one has right ta say, U can't shoot. seen too many times one person talken bout trophy deer, an then ground shrinkage. here i can take 4 deer, 2 bucks, only 1, 13+" buck a spike, & 3-4 days two does for last several years. the choice is mine what to take. that's choice Ya'll need ta make. LF, some one else might shoot em. i don't tell my neighbors don't shoot. best wishes flag

bang dang, i'm wrong again flag



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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: KG68] #5414890 11/12/14 06:32 AM
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Originally Posted By: KG68
Originally Posted By: dawaba
Seven to eight hunters on 350 acres????? You are WAY too overcrowded.



Not in part of Mills county. We have 8 blinds on 420 acres on one place and we are under hunted and need to harvest twice the numbers we do each year. It all depends on the area of the county your hunting.
Deer density is the basis for harvest rate. Obviously, low density areas can't sustain a higher harvest and continue to produce quality hunting. If you're in a high density area you can shoot more deer. Just be careful to take the 'right' deer.


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5414891 11/12/14 06:36 AM
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Originally Posted By: klp
Location is mostly west of Austin a ways (a little south) in the hill country. Non ar county. I saw some fawns this year but not a huge amount. I'm uncertain of the hunting pressure I feel its gone down since I don't hear nearly the shots I use to when I was younger. We have a lot of cedar but quiet a few oaks. Deer seem to vary sometimes I'll b there a weekend and see aton of wildlife other times I won't see anything
There are plenty of deer there. Liveoak acorns are the culprit. Drought conditions haven't helped. There were way too many deer in this area to begin with.


Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it.
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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: KG68] #5414957 11/12/14 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted By: KG68
Originally Posted By: dawaba
Seven to eight hunters on 350 acres????? You are WAY too overcrowded.



Not in part of Mills county. We have 8 blinds on 420 acres on one place and we are under hunted and need to harvest twice the numbers we do each year. It all depends on the area of the county your hunting.


Small world, I hunted Mills County from 1979-1991, SW of Star on Bennett Creek. It was fine turkey country, hunting the pecan flats along the creek, and the deer were thick as fleas on a junkyard dog. Our lease was 460 acres, similar to KG68's, and we hunted 3 guns for most of my term there. We briefly went up to 4 guns, and I admit that the hunting didn't suffer any.

The mantra back then was to shoot any hard-antlered buck followed by does until you ran out of tags in your pocket. Based on many conversations with other hunters, mainly in the little Star café, such was the M.O. in all the area. And at first light every Saturday morning, Bennett Creek sounded like Antietam Creek, with all the rifle reports. It was the perfect family lease and every weekend there was great fun.

Problem was, not one of us ever laid eyes on a mature buck, much less harvested one in the dozen years I hunted there. My best deer was a smooth 10-pt that we aged at 3.5 yrs old. So I left Mills County in search of better quality, having wearied of lots of little bucks.

Nowadays in 2014, Mills County deer hunters may be taking more of a scientific approach to their deer management, letting younger bucks walk and shooting nothing less than bucks 4.5 yrs old or better. If so, this is great, because there are always enough does to fill your freezer while you wait for the big guy. But I am still betting that even well managed Mills County LF leases will still have a hard time producing one mature buck per 350 acres. The OP had said that he hunts the Hill Country west of Austin where deer density is likely even higher, but I'm thinking that his lease will have a hard time producing a mature buck every year, that is unless the neighboring properties are also well managed. Getting a local game biologist to evaluate the property would be money well-spent.

I could be wrong about the deer quality, and I hope I am. Lots can change over 15 years.


"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple.....and wrong." H. L. Mencken
Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5415084 11/12/14 01:41 PM
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Best bet is just put an age limit on bucks say 5.5 or older. Period

Survey your deer and set your doe numbers via a survey


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: dawaba] #5415459 11/12/14 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted By: dawaba
Originally Posted By: KG68
Originally Posted By: dawaba
Seven to eight hunters on 350 acres????? You are WAY too overcrowded.



Not in part of Mills county. We have 8 blinds on 420 acres on one place and we are under hunted and need to harvest twice the numbers we do each year. It all depends on the area of the county your hunting.


Small world, I hunted Mills County from 1979-1991, SW of Star on Bennett Creek. It was fine turkey country, hunting the pecan flats along the creek, and the deer were thick as fleas on a junkyard dog. Our lease was 460 acres, similar to KG68's, and we hunted 3 guns for most of my term there. We briefly went up to 4 guns, and I admit that the hunting didn't suffer any.

The mantra back then was to shoot any hard-antlered buck followed by does until you ran out of tags in your pocket. Based on many conversations with other hunters, mainly in the little Star café, such was the M.O. in all the area. And at first light every Saturday morning, Bennett Creek sounded like Antietam Creek, with all the rifle reports. It was the perfect family lease and every weekend there was great fun.

Problem was, not one of us ever laid eyes on a mature buck, much less harvested one in the dozen years I hunted there. My best deer was a smooth 10-pt that we aged at 3.5 yrs old. So I left Mills County in search of better quality, having wearied of lots of little bucks.

Nowadays in 2014, Mills County deer hunters may be taking more of a scientific approach to their deer management, letting younger bucks walk and shooting nothing less than bucks 4.5 yrs old or better. If so, this is great, because there are always enough does to fill your freezer while you wait for the big guy. But I am still betting that even well managed Mills County LF leases will still have a hard time producing one mature buck per 350 acres. The OP had said that he hunts the Hill Country west of Austin where deer density is likely even higher, but I'm thinking that his lease will have a hard time producing a mature buck every year, that is unless the neighboring properties are also well managed. Getting a local game biologist to evaluate the property would be money well-spent.

I could be wrong about the deer quality, and I hope I am. Lots can change over 15 years.



Yes deer density has changed. Growing up in Mills County in the fifties I never saw a deer in north central Mills until I was a teenager and most areas of the county was the same except areas along the Pecan Bayou and the Colorado river in western and southwestern Mills. Since that time deer densities have exploded in most areas of the county. We have properties northeast, north central, and western Mills and all are overrun with deer now. I moved to the city of Goldthwaite in 1992 and since that time deer have moved into the neighborhoods and have become a nuisance to a lot of folks. Seldom do I walk out of my home and not see deer in yards and adjoining lots. During the acorn drop they stay and bed and never leave except to find water. I love posting this pic I took in the fall of 2010 of my neighbors yard one afternoon.



Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: klp] #5415544 11/12/14 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted By: klp
The place is 350 acres, with 4 blinds, 5 feeders, LF. Only family hunts the place which can range up to 7 or 8 family members, however due to time constraints, majority of family try and hunt 1 weekend or 2 to get it over with. How many deer can be taken off of our place (and please refrain from it depends on....)? I personally feel 80 to 90% of the time you go out to hunt, you will see deer. So far we have had 1 doe and 3 bucks taken (1 was a spike). I feel the number and bucks should = the number of does removed from the place.

A friend of mine has a place double the size of ours and they are MLD and take 10 deer a year. Last year 5 deer were taken (on our place), the year before it was 5, then before that it was like 1 or 2 a year. Is 5 the number we should take??



With 8 hunters you can shoot 30 deer. That doesn't depend on anything. I highly recommend shooting 30. And then feeding more than your neighbors. It's the way it's done today.


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Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: therancher] #5415563 11/12/14 04:35 PM
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Originally Posted By: therancher
Originally Posted By: klp
The place is 350 acres, with 4 blinds, 5 feeders, LF. Only family hunts the place which can range up to 7 or 8 family members, however due to time constraints, majority of family try and hunt 1 weekend or 2 to get it over with. How many deer can be taken off of our place (and please refrain from it depends on....)? I personally feel 80 to 90% of the time you go out to hunt, you will see deer. So far we have had 1 doe and 3 bucks taken (1 was a spike). I feel the number and bucks should = the number of does removed from the place.

A friend of mine has a place double the size of ours and they are MLD and take 10 deer a year. Last year 5 deer were taken (on our place), the year before it was 5, then before that it was like 1 or 2 a year. Is 5 the number we should take??



With 8 hunters you can shoot 30 deer. That doesn't depend on anything. I highly recommend shooting 30. And then feeding more than your neighbors. It's the way it's done today.
You hit the nail on the head Rancher.

Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: don k] #5415696 11/12/14 05:27 PM
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Originally Posted By: don k
Originally Posted By: therancher
Originally Posted By: klp
The place is 350 acres, with 4 blinds, 5 feeders, LF. Only family hunts the place which can range up to 7 or 8 family members, however due to time constraints, majority of family try and hunt 1 weekend or 2 to get it over with. How many deer can be taken off of our place (and please refrain from it depends on....)? I personally feel 80 to 90% of the time you go out to hunt, you will see deer. So far we have had 1 doe and 3 bucks taken (1 was a spike). I feel the number and bucks should = the number of does removed from the place.

A friend of mine has a place double the size of ours and they are MLD and take 10 deer a year. Last year 5 deer were taken (on our place), the year before it was 5, then before that it was like 1 or 2 a year. Is 5 the number we should take??



With 8 hunters you can shoot 30 deer. That doesn't depend on anything. I highly recommend shooting 30. And then feeding more than your neighbors. It's the way it's done today.
You hit the nail on the head Rancher.


Between you and I we got a lot of experience betwixt us!


Crotchety old bastidge
Re: How many deer can be taken [Re: KG68] #5415712 11/12/14 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: KG68




coolpics a deer yard, were the deer can go out an play. were seldom is heard rifle for years was in 1buck county, tried ta get 1 doe permit. experts said no. not enough deer. scratch hmmm, hogs, 24-7-365, the other wild game . they change ta 4deer. got month of archery, WOW, two months rifle. ain't never gonna see a deer pool like one in pic. shoot, i can't even find a hog for grillen & chillen. back confused2 i got cheep posts . best wishes flag



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