Originally Posted by TDog93
^^

Cnc - i shot a 6 yr old last year and 7 year old the year before - i dont think my neghbirs will cooperate for me. And i got bunch of friends that only shoot mature - they aint got no 140 r 150 on camera. One of them has 1400 acer - he only shoot mature - he Never gets 140 and up in camera - they been there 15 years and many years he or his father never shoot - He finally got 1 - 130 on cam last year - just 1

What u prob never get thru your melon - 130 very rare in this area - even for those that never shoot - the 1400 acre guy - shoots very few deer a year - some years no bucks. He let us pay and join him few year - we shot a doe every year - nothing we wanted to mount was seen - no 130s on camera - shot no bucks

It aint as cookie cutter as u make it in this area and u aint never hunted here which means u dont no what the crap u talking about n this area

Got a buddy w 500 acres n mertlewood - they aint shot a deer n 3 years - guess what - no 130 on camera - ahh - its a miracle - no jack - thats just extremely common in this area - guess what - he prob want shoot this year and i guarantee u he want hav a 130

Leave your expertise for your area - u dont no squat about mine - u aint ever hunted it


You can’t expect to grow and hold big deer on 500 or even 1400 acres if your neighbors aren’t trying to grow big mature deer too. Sounds like a lot of acreage but to a deer, it’s not much and there will almost absolutely be periods of time, when that buck is off your property on on someone else’s. They simply roam too much, especially in the rut. If you’ve got guys all around you that hunt hard and shoot every decent 2.5 or 3.5 yr old 8pt they see, chances are you won’t have many, if any, older age class bucks to hunt. Also remember, deer are like people, some are just bigger than others, and not every old buck is going to have wallhanger head gear. There’s no guarantee that what few deer that you have, that do make it into older age classes, will sport that 130” rack you’re looking for. Killing big racked bucks is simply a numbers game. The more bucks you can get up into older age classes, the better chance you have to kill a 130 or better. With Alabama’s fragmented properties, heavy hunting pressure and exceptionally liberal harvest regs, unless you and all your neighbors are on the same page, managing for older age class bucks, and control big contiguous blocks of land, the percentages just simply aren’t in your favor.

Last edited by abolt300; 09/05/23 06:58 AM.