Hunting

Deer Hunting Needed for Deer Management

Proper deer harvest plays a big role in an effective deer management program. Areas with high deer densities have lower fawn crops, more issues related to disease, smaller body weights, and low quality antler development. These symptoms are a result of abused habitat, where white-tailed deer, and sometimes domestic livestock and exotic deer, have eaten all available forbs and browse.

Such areas have poor plant diversity and in some cases are dominated by nuisance plant species. If this is the case, the whole system, including your white-tailed deer herd, is suffering. Some areas are just the opposite. These are properties with very good habitat but low quality hunting. Perhaps the age structure of bucks is poor. Perhaps the fawn crops and deer population are low. So, what if you are short on deer? I’ve outlined two very different situations. How many deer should managers harvest in each situation?

Deer Hunting and Harvest Management

Hunting season for whitetail is always in the fall and it’s not an accident. Fall hunting allows the removal of excess animals from the landscape prior to winter. Total deer numbers and available food resources are always a factor in deer management.

Winter is the biggest limiting (food) factor when it comes to the deer carrying capacity of a property. Because of the harsh time of year, proper deer harvest is essential for the deer herd on your property, their habitat, and your overall deer management program.

In most situations, harvesting around 20-30 percent of the antlerless deer from a deer herd will usually maintain good nutritional conditions. This number can and will vary. The number deer, habitat conditions, and the goals of manager determine overall harvest . On well-managed deer habitat, the adequate doe harvest should create conditions for good fawn survival, good body size, and good antler development.

Data Needed for Deer Hunting

A deer manager will need important information to make sure deer are harvested is at the proper rate. How many deer are out there? How many deer can the property support? The best bet is to conduct a deer survey during the late-summer or early-fall of each year. Without deer survey data, you may as well just shoot into the dark.

Annual survey data provides information on deer herd size, buck to doe ratio, and fawn survival.  A deer manager must also make considerations for rainfall, habitat conditions, and hunting on neighboring property. These data and factors allow the manager to then prescribe the percentage of the herd needs to be harvested.

Proper harvest allows mangers to optimize deer and habitat management objectives. Situations such as this where all pertinent information is available are, of course, very rare in deer management. However, it is your job to collect as much data as possible and fill in the gaps. More information allows you best manage the deer herd on a property as effectively as possible.

Buck Harvest & Deer Hunting

Let’s say your goal is to produce “quality” whitetail bucks. In this scenario, the total buck harvest should consist of no more than 20% or less of the estimated buck population. This limited harvest may lower buck harvest and hunter success rates. However, managed harvest allows a significant portion of the buck population to reach maturity. This may also increase the proportion of bucks in the population, depending on total antlerless harvest.

Smaller tracts of land may find limited success with this strategy when deer hunting pressure on surrounding lands is moderate to heavy. If you have a smaller property, then the buck harvest rates will likely increase.  It’s recommended that small acreages work with neighbors to form a wildlife management cooperatives with surrounding neighbors. It’s not an easy thing to do, but deer management coops are effective when done right.

For smaller properties, or those that simply want a healthy deer herd, a slightly higher buck harvest rate is justified. In short, remove 27% to 33% of the estimated buck population annually. Not only will this harvest rate allow for a generally acceptable level of deer hunting success, but it will limit overall hunting pressure on bucks. This will also allow the remainder of the buck population to reach older age classes.