Originally Posted by NightHunter
Originally Posted by Mbrock
Originally Posted by AUbowhunter1990
I think the main issue and reason why people shoot 90 inch 2.5 year old bucks is because the hunter knows if they don’t, then the next person signing in or down the street will.

And that’s why age structure is terrible on a lot of properties. Too many people concerned about what everyone else is going to do. If everybody around has that mentality, then it’s a never ending cycle of death to young bucks. A little communication goes a long way and can help everybody.

One of the most important things is to hunt with like minded people. It’s about the only way to keep hunting enjoyable. If you want to kill mature deer, then hunt with ppl who do the same. If you want to kill young deer then hunt with ppl who do the same.



But you better have a lot of acres. One property can ruin a huge number of surrounding acres. We’re dealing with right now on multiple properties. Hunter’s get pissed when high fences go up but it’s because many folks are tired of pissing money away on trying grow deer top end AL deer just for their neighbor to high grade out the superstar 2 year olds year in and year out.

High fencing is going to continue to explode in this state because of it.



We are in a similar situation. Roughly 3k acres in a good area for producing big deer. The problem is, our land is not in a square block. It strings out over several miles, and there is not any one point on the property that you are more than 1000yds from a property line. Even though we have a lot of acreage, we are completely at the mercy of the hunters around us. Last year we killed 3 bucks and 5 or 6 does, this year 2 bucks and 4 does so far. I have 20-30 100-125" 2 and 3 year olds on camera, just like every year, but somehow almost no mature deer. I've gotten pictures of 1 deer that I would kill this year, and killed him. The quantity and age structure seems to be rapidly deteriorating the last few years, despite us being more selective than ever. I believe legalizing corn has a lot to do with it. Corn has allowed small plots of land to account for a lot of dead deer. Somebody with 10 acres next to 1000 acres, can do a lot of damage with a big enough corn pile.