Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s silly. I think many hunters eventually evolve to a stage similar to the one you’re chastising. I think for many folks it’s when they start getting a little older and the thought of their own mortality becomes more real. That’s when folks realize that there’s more important things than just shooting something so that you can hang another rack on the wall, brag to your peers, or “win the game”. None of that really means chit as time passes. Antlers just collect dust. When they put you in the grave….all that will matter is if enjoyed being there while you had the chance. I love just being in the outdoors. I’ve blasted the chit out stuff when I was younger and have progressed through many of the stages of a hunter. I just don’t feel the need any more to hinge whether or not I enjoy myself on whether or not I kill something. If I do then I do….if I don’t then I don’t. I fail to see what is silly about that.

I guess I`m the odd man out. some of my most enjoyable/memorable hunts, I never pulled the trigger or reached for my gun. but I damn sure enjoy dropping a nice buck and throwing his butt on the wall for ME to enjoy. I never really went thru the "I gotta kill everything" stage. I don`t compete with buddies on kills. I`m very happy for a friend to kill a nice deer. when it comes to my son and other kids, I get very irritated if they don`t get to at least see deer every hunt

I agree Joseph. I still enjoy getting out there and enjoying Gods creation. I'm in a club with a group of men that has zero competition. We all enjoy the hunting experience but it's not everything. I find enjoyment just being out there. I don't pull the trigger every time I go. I could, but I'm more in to the quality of the hunt than quantity. I'm 55 and still learn something each time I hunt. Just go out and enjoy yourself.

I enjoy the serenity as much as anyone, but at some point I have to connect with the beast. I'm not giving up my precious vacation days sitting in 25 degree temperatures for hours on end just so I can watch a few squirrels and birds.

You are 100% on the money. Buddy of mine has a place over in Thomasville, GA. It's only 95 acres but he kills 3 or 4 bucks a year off of it and wont shoot anything less than a 140" off it. It's a long narrow strip of privately owned property between two very large, very well managed quail plantations totaling about 7,500 acres between them. He's got access on both ends, perfect travel corridor and he only hunts it when things are perfect. I offered him $30/acre for it numerous times and he just laughs. It is the most perfect lease situation I have ever seen. Location, location, location.

This is wrong in my book. If the neighboring plantation owners killed bucks at the same ratio per 100 acres, then your buddy would be looking for a new place to hunt.

If he takes 3 or 4 bucks a year off his property legally and seems to not have a shortage , what's wrong with that?

What's wrong is that a quota of one mature buck per 300 acres is sustainable. One per 20-30 acres is not.

If the ajoining large land owners do not harvest near what they produce it will. I have a friend that owns 160 acres that joins a 5,500 acre and a 800 acre tract that is VERY lightly hunted. They keep him stocked. My friend and his son kill 3 large, mature bucks each season, have for years. Guest killed a high 160's buck last year. Location, location, location.

First of all, even one mature buck a yr off of 95 acres is not sustainable and it would not be possible to kill what he does without the overall surrounding picture. Read what I wrote. This is basically an 8000 acre block and his property is in the dead middle of it. These are privately owned and highly managed "quail plantations". They could care less about a deer. They don't sell hunts and might deer hunt 2 weekends out of the year or if a family friend friend staying over wants to shoot one. Since you're a quote "wildlife biologist" you should know how these big plantations are managed. They probably have 300 acres or more strip planted at any given time on each plantation so almost 10% of the total acreage is in food and both are on a regular rotational burn plan. The fact that it is a whitetail Mecca is a by product of the quail management program. I've been blessed to hunt his place twice in the past 5 yrs and you can see 3-5 mature bucks (3.5 yrs or older) in any given weekend and probably another 8-10 young bucks. He's very selective about what he's shooting and attempts not to take a deer less than 5 yrs old off it. What he's doing is very sustainable. He's had it for 12 yrs now and it just gets better. It's all about the location and neighbors and yes, taking 3-4 bucks a year in this situation is totally sustainable cause its not a normal situation.

We agree on that. Your buddy is in a unique spot that hinges on his neighbors. He can continue killing more than his share until the neighbors decide that's not cool. Then it can become problem. If he is smart enough to find 1,000 acres adjoining Yellowstone, then I say good for him for finding the perfect location. But the situation you described are often problematic for adjoining landowners who manage for quality deer while trying to plug the "lowest hole in the bucket."

I'm very familiar with quail plantation management. Typically corporate owned and used to entertain business clients. Thirty years ago, plantation owners viewed deer as a nuisance and were glad for neighboring landowners to kill them. That changed over the years as more plantations realized some clients would rather kill a big buck than shoot birds. That's why I advise getting to know the neighboring land managers. They may tell him to kill all he wants, but I would anticipate they have a vested interest in deer too.

Each hunter should answer this question: "If everyone on my club and everyone on surrounding lands start deer hunting exactly the same way I hunt, and kill exactly what I kill, can it be sustained?" The answer is "yes" for many hunters but not all.

It's the same scenario as a 600lb guy sitting next to you in an airplane. Or the lady with 12 kids and no control over them. It's perfectly legal, it's just not very considerate, and if everyone did it, the world would implode.

I see both sides of the argument though, to be fair.

They don't give a rip about the deer and actually request that he shoot more. To them the deer are a nuisance. They complain that the deer are eating up all their quail food. They will shoot one here and there but they are 100% only interested in quail management. That's why I say it is the "PERFECT" situation from a deer lease perspective. They want him to shoot more than he does but with only 95 acres, he has to be careful about the pressure that he puts on it with 8000 acres around him receiving virtually no pressure at all. He could easily overhunt and over shoot his place and the deer have plenty of options to just avoid that 95 all together.

He knows both land managers and they both hunt deer on the plantations as time allows and they kill some studs too but with it being 8000 acres surrounded by even more managed property the three of them dont do much damage being as selective as they are. I'll guarantee that the plantation owners would love to control that 95 acres too but it has been in another family since the 1920s and they arent selling. My buddy would definitely have to modify his harvest strategy if the plantations sold to a bunch that were serious about hunting deer but for the past 12 years and the foreseeable future it just doesnt get any better than what he has.

I dont know how familiar you are with that area of Thomas county but the genetics right there around Thomasville, GA are the best I've seen in the south. Age has a lot to do with it as well as the fact that the majority of the land is owned and controlled by only a few individuals. I know of 6 deer last year killed right around Thomasville that scored 160 or better and those are just the ones I know about. No telling how many more are shot and kept quiet. My buddy will kill a 160+ about every 3-4 years which is pretty freaking good for anywhere in the SE. Honestly, these bucks look like midwest deer from a mass and body perspective. Thats what happens if you have large amounts of quality forage, not many people hunting, and deer reaching 5+ yrs of age. Wouldnt ever work in AL because on 8000 acres, you'd have the ownership spread among 300-400 people all shooting everything they see with horns on its head. Or even if the 8000 was owned by one person or group, you'd have 100 adjoining property owners killing everything they could bait off of him.

Well I can truthfully say, this is the rare occasion where I'm lost for words.

My year one goal would be to learn my lease, and enjoy my time there. On a small lease your main priority should be drawing deer to the property. You'll need to plant year round, and hunt it the right way which you'll learn by scouting, and through trail cameras. I would leave the slick heads alone unless your daughter gets a crack at one.If you can get the does coming in to your fields, you'll eventually have a shot at a good buck. The biggest thing for me has been working the land, and enjoying the results over time.Good luck

you and me both. If he and his friends are harvesting 3-4 140" bucks a year, off any size piece of land in the south, then they ain't doing a damn thing wrong.

The GA quail plantation I managed was 36,000 acres in Dougherty & Lee County. We grew some fine deer and hunting was tightly controlled even in the 80s.

I've hunted all over the SE and I was honestly shocked at the quality of the deer killed regularly right around Thomasville,GA once i saw it with my own eyes. If you didn't know where you were, you'd swear the best ones were from IL, IA, or KS. At 36k, I bet y'all did grow some good ones. How much was in ag?

We farmed just over 6,000 acres in peanuts and cereal grains. Also had just over 1,000 acres in pecan orchard. The owner was protective of his stuff. For example, he prosecuted poor folks who picked up pecans falling within reach of fences.