West Texas got It from NM/TX mule deer, same in the panhandle ungulates from CO/NM/KS

All those areas are the least lowest densities in Texas, which also correlates to large home areas

I am down to the management practice of shoot the buck you want to shoot. Might take years but it works... Shoot a doe or two as well for meat... I haven't seen a coyote in 2 years on our place. When they go nuts right by us deer don't even flinch so they are a non factor. Bobcats eat rabbits. We have tons of turkey. They can all live in harmony if you let them... I have seen bobcat fail miserably trying to get a turkey. Probably same outcome on a deer.

You should look up some of the research on trophic cascade.

Most hunters goals aren't for ecological sustainability. They want to artificially inflate the carrying capacity of the land for one species only.... I am sure everyone has their own opinion on the sliding scale.

Good stuff TrackQuack. Is this our place? Is it the cause of the spreading of CWD? What are some other negatives related to inflating the carrying capacity.

There are many benefits if you enjoy hunting, taking pictures, etc,


[/quote]

Just a observation/ opinion... My preference is a place managed to benefit the environment and wildlife (Kings Ranch) vs. a place managed to make more money.

Vast majority of management plans do the exact same, profitability or margin is higher when fees bill is less due to better range conditions. Even with improved genetics feed bill is number one yearly cost.

Only way to increase margin/profitability is to increase natural forge to lower supplemental feed dependence, you can only jump start so much native forage, eventually you have to lower populations

Very few for profit hunting operations that don’t kill 5-6 management deer to 1 trophy

Part of what the OP is asking is why are there so many contradictions in management philosophy. Multiple reasons but I believe the main one is that each situation varies based on the goals of the decision makers and their ability to carry them out. For most the goals they set are not realistic based on the resources available. An example for most I think is simply to have BIGGER AND MORE BUCKS. Never ever a magic bullet to pull that one off. If lots of big bucks is your goal then you will need lots of know how and lots of management skills that normally involve people skills if you have lease members. Deer management is not super hard if you can manage the trigger finger of the members. Also, if you are on very small acreage there is almost nothing you can do for the long haul since you are dependent on your neighbors deer and their management practices.
#1 MOST IMPORTANT management practice for more and bigger bucks is simply "QuitShootingYoungBucks." Tons of other stuff you can do like carrying capacity, sex ratio, varmit control, and habitat management etc etc etc. I say do all you can but absolutely NOTHING WILL MATTER if you kill too many bucks or many young ones.
#1 MOST IMPORTANT reason too many bucks and too many young bucks are killed(usually) is that there are TOO MANY hunters as a ratio to the acreage.
#1 MOST IMPORTANT reason there are too many hunters per acreage is that otherwise it will cost too much per hunter to get the hunter/acreage ratio right.
If the market says a landowner can get a certain price for the hunting on his property then hes gonna get it and he should. It doesn't hafta end there. The hunters can still control the numbers of hunters and the number of bucks killed. Yes it will cost a lot more per the number of bucks killed.
#1 MOST IMPORTANT answer for the hunters wanting more and bigger bucks is to pay the much higher price per hunter to get the hunter/acreage ratio in line OR adjust your EXPECTATIONS so that you are happy with the reduced size of the bucks you will be killing. All this is based on a long term plan.
I will go out on a limb(for me) and say any discussion on the number of does, spikes, coyotes, hogs, roadrunners and rattlesnakes to kill will pale in importance to keeping hunter numbers down so that fewer bucks and less young bucks are killed. My 2cents(well maybe a nickel).

Excellent post.

Texas hunting forum needs a like button for post.

i've noticed there are so many contradictions because people come up with these pipe dream management plans with no scientific backing that is specifically geared towards their own very personal interest, instead of what is overall the best for an overall healthy ecosystem.

My philosophy is this: I just want to have fun and enjoy the hunt. Killing small bucks isn't fun to me anymore, so I pass many. But I love to see a youngster kill their first deer, or even their second (or third). On my place, kids get to kill whatever they want. When she was 11, my daughter shot her first after waiting and passing deer for 2 years. Now my son is 11, and he's chomping at the bit to match his sister this year.

I'm not managing wildlife. I'm managing memories. There is nothing short of heaven and on this earth that is better than that smile.

I agree with kry226. The most important thing for each individual place is to do what you want. There are no black and white rules for game management. All owners of these ranches are looking for a different outcome as the end result of what they are doing. The best advice is to do what you think needs to be done. Then if after a length of time it doesn't work out try to figure out where you need to change what you are doing to get to your goal.

A priceless smile no doubt...........well played Dad.

“Shooting what you want” with no concern for management is why neighbors put up HF. Just sayin.

You made memories that will last two life times, and your going to make more with your son. It is because of people like you that there will be another generation of hunters. Love that smile, well done little lady.

Each location is different when it comes to wildlife management. Everyone has different goals and expectations. Numbers management is the most crititcal IMO....that is animal populations and hunter density. Manage those two and the rest can fall into place.

Yep. Texas is a very large place and regions/properties are just different.

I think the problem with predatormanagement is there is no real predator management plan. Either free game with no restrictions, or hunting/killing strictly forbidden.

If as much effort was put into managing predators as there is in managing whitetail deer, I don't think we'd have many issues. And I am talking about statewide/nationwide, not just landowners on private property.

Then you have places like Marble Falls that seemingly has whitetail overpopulation forever regardless. I think that is just a failure to acknowledge we need to let a given city or county have the final say vs the state.

Amen to that!