Y’all think more bucks are being killed during those 10 days in February then they were when you could kill a buck every day of the season? I know we can’t buy a buck on our place after the last few days of January in most years. However on a buddy’s place in Clark county, their rut is just starting when ours shuts down.
It’s not the total number of bucks being killed that’s the issue. It’s the selection of age classes that’s the issue. Back when you could a buck a day without cameras and legal bait, harvest was evenly distributed across age classes. There were still deer making it into the upper age classes. That’s why so many deer were killed back then in the 140-150-160+ category. Nowadays, those bucks aren’t making it , because there’s more opportunity and it’s WAY easier to kill one, leading to the top of the age class bracket in many populations being 3 and an occasional 4 year old.
