Personally I believe the only way to get proper Deer herd management is if it is a very large property or it is the dreaded HF. AR'S , shoot or not shoot spikes mean squat in the majority of Texas.

Not sure how anyone could believe that hunters help keep deer numbers in check while somehow believing that harvest rules have no impact on the local genetics.

Curious as to those who think runts catch up, how long are you willing to wait? If you are a believer, but still cull middle-aged bucks for points, etc., how do you know those aren't runts that are still catching up?

This Buck was a spike last year. Will he ever be any good? I guess that depends on what an individual thinks. He will never be a 120 inch Buck but will probably make someone happy some day.

This Buck was a spike last year. Will he ever be any good? I guess that depends on what an individual thinks. He will never be a 120 inch Buck but will probably make someone happy some day.

So...Chute'm or don't chute'm BOBO? I have 15.29 acres and want to make sure I keep my cc at 1/25th deer

I agree tho, you need the acreage and resolve to manage within reason, or maybe one of those tpwd co-ops deals they have with adjoining LO's.

No tags they are born on the ranch. they are not pets and about as wild as they can get. I don't corn roads to get them to come out in the open. I just keep 3 corn feeders at the 3 protein feeders going with cameras on them. If you drove around you would swear there are no deer on the place. Several years of management. If a buck isn't a 10 pt by 3 yrs old he's a cull. Try to keep a 1.5-1 buck to doe ratio. Plant lab lab and feed free choice 20% yr round. Ranch was old farm land years ago letting mesquite and weesatch come back, and planted about 150 acres of native grass mix. been spraying my butt off think finally got sunflowers, broom weed, cockleburs and giant rag weed almost gone and under control. Buried 3 ft predator wire to bottom of fence on outside. Killed ALL the hogs 3 yrs ago. Havent seen one in 3 yrs and they cant dig in. Or haven't yet! Killed All coyotes also. Have one or two get in after a flood thru my 1 water gap, but I keep a gut pile and camera on it so as soon as I see one they are pretty easy to get with the call and thermal. Bobcats play hell with me though. I've killed over 20 in the last 5 yrs. people who think they don't do damage on a deer herd are totally wrong. When I find a dead deer covered with grass I set up a camera and guess what shows up? I have seen them thru thermal climb up fence to first big square about waist high and just go thru fence. Cant keep them out, and cant kill them all just can control them. Don't think they will kill a mature deer but fawns and yearlings, yes. Here's a pic of a 4 yr old with the above buck behind him back in August. He was also a 1 yr old spike about like the other one, but since 2 his brows have pointed backwards so easy to follow him so far.