Whitetail Management                                                                                                                

There are numerous opinions on what makes up the elements of a trophy management program and which elements are the most important. In this segment I will share with you my veiws on trophy management. Maybe it would be better if I said Quality Deer Management includes improving Does as well as Bucks. The things you can do to better the quality of whitetails in your area are fairly simple. With a little practice you to can decide which animals to harvest.. Most people that know anything at all about managing whitetails will tell you there are four important factors in managing a deer herd for trophy animals. They are: Age, Nutrition, Buck/Doe Ratio, and Genetics. I beleive there are five. In my opinion you should add Location. There is not a whole lot you can do about this one, except move. Generaly the further you go north the larger the deer therefore the larger the antlers. This has evolved for thousands of years. The climate is harsher thus making the deer adabpt. Deer must have more body fat to survive. During the antler growing season bucks are eating and storing fat for the winter to come. This also helps antler developement. However I am not saying Trophy whitetails cannot come from warmer climates, for example look at Texas. Antlers have plenty of width and tall tines. But there is one major difference in Southern trophies and Northern trophies. And that is mass (The thickness of the antlers.) but lets talk about some things we can control. Age:

Bucks:A buck does not reach his potential until age of three. During his first three years body developement takes priority over antler growth. Three to five years of age is a bucks prime. Generaly a buck will start to decline after that. Some bucks on up until seven will still have antlers fairly close to the size of there antlers at age five. Depending on nutrition, availability, and competition for food. Bucks need to live to be at least three years of age and I prefer Five years for quality antlers

Does: A doe should be harvested for several reasons to maintain the buck to doe ratio is the obvious one. But which does do you harvest. Harvest the old does that are past there best fawn bearing years. Leaving the mature 3 to 5 year does for breeding. Also harvest wounded does and ones that don't appear to be healthy

Nutrition: The organic makeup of antlers during the growing stage is almost entirely protein. Even after mineralization (hardening) is complete, a good portion of protein remains in these antlers. To grow the best set of antlers that his genetics and age will allow, a deer needs food containing at least 16% to 18% "digestible" crude protein. (Not all proteins are digestible to a deer.) The most important factor in growing trophy antlers is to provide the buck with nutrient rich food during the growth period from April through October.Calcium is another element needed by deer during and after the antler growth period. Although a deer can borrow calcium from bones in other parts of his body and utilize it for antler growth, he still needs foods that contain a minimum of 0.45% calcium. Phosphorus is also needed for antler growth. Although dietary phosphorus requirements are not completely known, it is believed that the lowest level a deer needs for adequate antler growth and other body functions is 0.30%. Vitamin D is important in promoting calcium absorption and mineralization of bone. A deer gets all the Vitamin D he needs by absorbing ultraviolet light through its skin and eating vegetation that has been in direct sunlight. Vitamin A is important to antler development once the bone hardening begins. Carotenes in "green" leaves can be converted to Vitamin A. Green leaves can become scarce during the winter months, but remain an important part of the deer's diet

Buck/Doe Ratio:A buck to Doe ratio of 1:1,1:2 and even 1:3 is exceptable. If you find that the deer herd in your area is over 1:5 then you will also find that there is heavy hunting preesure on bucks and that most bucks are under the age of three, if you are lucky! At worst I know of areas where the average age of bucks harvested is 1&1/2 years of age. States have to do a better job at managing this natural resource. In these type situations the rut will not seem like much to you. Not like you have read in so many magazines. I to must admit that I did not really realize the importance of this until just recently while on a hunting trip to Kentuky. After recording every deer I saw on my trip it was a 1:2 Buck/Doe Ratio. I saw more rutting activity in 5 days than I had seen my entire 26 years of hunting. And entensety like I had never seen. I can not emphasize enough the importance of Buck/Doe Ratios. Not only for the quality of bucks but the quality of the hunt

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