what do i need to do i feed year round just corn got water at feeder put blocks out feed apples the place is small 30 ac bow hunt only hays co dont want to break the bank i know if you want big bucks it cost money i pass on small bucks only shot this buck last year



did shot 2 does its just me on the place

don't be afraid to let one die of old age.

X2

whats a old buck hunting is kinda new to me

depends on your location..it'll vary depending on their diet.

hays co 1826 and 150

Maybe someone who hunts that area will chime in, b/c I honestly know jack squat about it.

x3 you can't make a 3.5 yr old buck 6.5 yrs old without time.

And if you shoot a 4.5 it takes 6.5 years to replace the trophy he was gonna make.

let them get some age. It takes at least 6 years if they are not fed to get some antlers.

Realistically, with the acreages you listed, unless the hunters on the neighboring properties are practicing some type of management program, you will never get the size buck you are looking for.

Like most places in Texas, unless you have several thousand acres that are all contigous, and all under ma strict management program, bucks are not going to live long enough to get that big.

There has to be a management program that everyone hunting the properties abides by, in place, a good feeding program involving free choice protein, not just corn also has to be in place, also limiting the age of the bucks that can be taken to 4.5 or older and actively identifying and removing culls/management bucks is important.

Game Cams make identifying and aging deer in such situations a worthwhile investment.

To get the big bucks it takes time and a strong committment on everyone hunting the properties part.

As others have said, you may not take a good buck but once evry 4 or 5 years, can you afford that type of investment of time and money?

If you can then the rewards can be very satisfying.

Best of luck.

In Hays County, the genetics are there for 135 - 140 class bucks.....I think you need to cull, shoot some does to keep a 1 to 1 ratio or close to it and hope your neighbors are on the same page about letting the nicer bucks get bigger. My place is near yours and luckily my neighbors do not hunt and was surprised that I have nice bucks. I hope it stays that way for a while.

Right on, x1000!!!

When reading the title of the thread, I thought you were going to tell me how to get rich!

i can for 3 payments of just $ 79.99 lmao lol

Why let a deer die of old age unless your into feeding buzzards. If ya dont like eating deer dont shoot one. jmo.

Letting them walk when there is a question about age and getting the committment from everyone on the lease to do the same is probably the one most important way to create big bucks.If they do not have some age on them, they are not going to be nearly as big as the ones that do.

I dont think there is a whole lot you can do to grow big bucks on 30 ac. Its gonna depend more on what the people around you do.

I tend to agree with what others have said, on that acreage you are going to have a hard time depending on what others around you are doing.

You can definately grow big deer without...

protein
corn
foodplots

but the more things you remove makes it more dificult. Age is going to be your strongest shot at big deer. What is "Big" to you? Do people hunt around you? That is a really nice buck you have on the tailgate already for only hunting 30 acres! I believe there is genetics for better than 130-140 inch deer in hays Co. you just have to give them the time and food to express that.

After all this, a guy I know shot a mainframe 8 with two small kickers that will go in the 140's this year off of a 25 acre tract that is surronded by other small tracts that are hunted. Got pictures of one even bigger last year... when the stars line up miracles can happen, but you might be waiting for a while.

matt

it just answers the question of how. You'll get some that slip through the cracks regardless of how a place has been hunted, but to consistently have them on small acreage, you have to be selective of everything you pull the trigger on. Shoot little, feed lots, tame down your does as much as possible so they hold to an area when they know you are present and it works out at some point. (imho I don't care what people shoot, big or small, but I know what I will or won't.. I just have a nice situation where if I want meat, I can go get meat, if I want horns, I can hunt for them too )

But wait, if you are one of the first 1000 callers you also get this..

Age is the biggest thing for size horns etc..

There is a huge difference between a 3.5 and a 5.5. Habitat is another. Someone said taming the doe. I agree. I am seeing the bucks raised in an area stay in the area's.

I have been feeding alfalfa for three years. I put a bale in each feeder every month. Every other month I add protein blocks. I also keep a mineral block in each pen. I have gained an average of 10 pounds per deer comparing similar aged deer taken roughly the same time of year over three years. My 1.5 and 2.5's look great I can't wait to see them in a couple years. The does are all fat and healthy.

About 20.00 per month not counting corn. Fairly decent return going to add a 3000# protein feeder this year.

Unless you own a high fenced area, or you are on a HUGE lease, there is no way you can expect a buck to live long enough to get truely huge.

You said you were on 30 acres, the problem is a buck will travel like 5 square miles during the rut looking for hot does. Unless you can get all the hunters in that area to follow the management you want, that buck will get shot. (Getting all the hunters in that large of a area to follow the manage principle to allow a buck to get 6+ years before shooting it is impossible.).

Get a good college education. Work hard, keep your nose clean and never stop learning.

Some deer may travel that far, and others never will. We have deer that I doubt have ever left our place and it is just over 300 acrs. Deer will most definatley slip through the cracks and seem to come out of no where one day. You will have to wait and expecting it every year or every other year is no realistic, but it can and does happen. My bigest buck was a 6.5 year old 10 shot off of a heavily hunted hill country lease with alot of heavy hunting pressure around it, deer had never been seen untill he steped out at my blind.

That 9/10 in the original pic is more than I would bet you could expect to shoot off of 30 acres, but it happens, not with predictable regularity but it does.