I’m saying that 10 months out of the year, or longer, bucks think with their stomach. They’re enslaved to food. Provide the food and lay off the trigger and you’ll see more bucks. They do not like to compete with umpteen does and fawns for food, and typically shy away from these doe units until rut. Balance out the sex ratio the best you can and you’ll have incredible experiences. I’m not repeating some text book. I’m telling what works in the real world from managing properties. A lot of you who don’t fully grasp this concept I’m afraid were part of a QDM property that was grossly mismanaged by someone who wasn’t qualified to be managing deer herds. It’s all about habitat and low pressure, and keeping deer populations at a reasonable level that’s both productive and sustainable. High doe populations do not ever equate to larger, healthier and more bucks. Having a ratio skewed heavily toward does actually leads to LESS reproductive success. That’s not a stupid idea or theory. It’s fact based with data. It’s been replicated thousands of times. Bucks will stay with a doe for 12-36 hours while she’s in estrous. They won’t leave her. They will breed her several times. So will other bucks if given the chance. While they’re locked down on her there’s other does in estrous that aren’t getting bred if the sex ratio is skewed heavily to females. This leads to fewer buck sightings, less reproductive success, and bucks that wear themselves down over an extended breeding period. This is also dependent on neighbors. If you knock back a few does and hold off on bucks, and the properties around you are heavy on buck harvest, it’s all in vain and you’ll never get to see what I’m talking about.