Doe factory???

[HB_Hunter]

I’m keeping tabs on an area that is roughly 600 acres. It is also relatively narrow and long. It has as much habitat diversity as anyone could ask for (ag fields, open hardwoods, ridges, hollows, mountains, fingers, creeks, springs, thickets, food plots and benches). I am actively managing about 300 acres.

I have noticed that we do have a large amount of does. We haven’t killed one since 2012 and I don’t think the neighbors have shot many. They generally bed in the cover closest to the food and I get an abnormally large amount of pictures of them on the food plot cameras. I also bump them frequently when driving field edges. They show up on the cameras all throughout the day when the food isn’t pressured, but the bucks (2, 3, 4+yo) almost never do.

I also feed corn (one or two spots) throughout the season. I get more daylight buck pictures on the corn during the summer months (June, July, August) and the winter months (December, January, February). The does don’t come as frequently because I believe the bucks run them off during this time. Bucks rarely hit the corn (even at night) during the prime months (September, October, November) even when there is ZERO hunting pressure, but I do get lots of doe/fawn/young buck pictures. I think this is due to better food availability (ACORNS) in areas they are bedding and feel the safest during those months. I have been monitoring this closely for 10 years and haven’t seen a weak acorn crop yet and the pattern has continued.

We also seem to have a good age structure with 3 or 4 4yo+ bucks year to year and the same number or slightly more 2-3 yo bucks. Last year I did a better job of running cameras during the season and had 9 3yo+ bucks on camera during November. Post season scouting shows that they are mainly bedding on the benches (or just off) and secondary ridges. The rub lines generally show up in the same spots year to year. These areas are 100 to 1000 yards from the closest food plots and doe bedding areas in almost every case.

All that to say, I do believe you can create a ‘doe factory’ if your property setup doesn’t leave room for the bucks to bed. If you have five food plots on 100 acres spread evenly, the mature bucks just don’t have room to get away from the does (once enough show up) and be the solitary creature they like to be until it’s time to breed. They will likely mingle with them early, but find bedding away from them when they lose their velvet. These bucks will be cruising through when it is time to breed so there is hope. You can shoot the does, but others will fill back in eventually.

 

[HB_Hunter]

That was long . Short version:

1. I do believe you can create a 'doe factory' on your property.
2. I believe you need to plan for areas bucks can be the solitary creatures they prefer to be.
3. I believe you can kill mature bucks on your 'doe factory' property during the rut.
4. I don't think hitting doe harvest numbers one year out of five fixes the problem long term. Fixing the layout of your property fixes the problem long term.

 

[HB_Hunter]

Main question to ponder - How many buck beds are you finding on your property that were being used late September - November?

 

[bcoving]

I watch your post's close because your farm is very similar to mine in MS. We had this same issue a few years back. We were gravity feeding year round and had summer/fall foodplots. We also were driving a side by side around the property to get to our hunting spots. I read that the deer would get use to the side by side if you drove it around all the time. We have establish bedding areas do to thinned pines and cutover and our roads are outside the bedding areas. So we weren't driving through our bedding areas just around them. We were seeing 15 to 30 does every time we hunted but no bucks. After talking to some habitat gurus we started walking into our spots. I quit planting summer food plots and quit gravity feeding year around. I put spin feeders on my boss buck feeders and only throw in the evening for 10 seconds. Just enough corn for a little treat. It's night and day different on buck sightings and mature bucks we are killing now. We are seeing just as many bucks as does.

 

[Turkish]

I think Grant Woods has claimed the need to kill 2-3 times (or something like that) as many does as bucks, to maintain steady state with male:female ratios. This has always seemed excessive to me, when bucks and does are born at a 1:1 ratio, but he knows way more than I do.

If you take his advice as gospel, what the OP is seeing isn’t too surprising. We have the same issue at the land we own. It’s on purpose because we’d seen numbers dwindle to nothing at another property we hunt and didn’t want that happening at the land we own. Now we’ve let it get to the point that there are too many does/deer.

 

[OkieKubota]

Here on our 90 acre Whitetail Hollow I rarely bump a bedded deer because I do not believe they bed here and the little they do is light...I have neighbors with much better bedding but all the deer come here to eat and rut. Kind of nice because you can actually work around here during midday and still have those same deer show up that same afternoon or next morning. Most all of the main feed areas on our place are commanded by the bucks except a feeder we have right behind the house that we watch from the kitchen window...it’s been this way the entire time we have been here which is going on 7 years now...

Our other place is the opposite. Any food is taken over by the does and they bed everywhere. I can jump a doe pretty much anywhere on the place at any time during the day. If we want to shoot a doe we head down that way because we don’t kill any on the hollow because I suspect my neighbors kill more than their share because we certainly haven’t gained any...

 

[Triple C]

Thx for all the responses and input. Happy to report that we are seeing bucks on sits. Had 2 bucks chasing already on Saturday morning sit. Designated doe killing day or days is definitely on the agenda. I'm amazed at the number of deer in the food plots in late afternoon. We drive right past our largest field/plot anytime we go anywhere on the property. No screening at all. It never fails on the way out to see multiple groups of doe in this field. I kinda feel like it's a good problem to have as some in the area seem alarmed at the lack of deer sightings on their leases.