QDM? A good approch.....

[bfletch7441]

It sounds like you have a good approach, you just need to keep implementing it and encourage surrounding land owners to do the same. Year round feeding would definitely be a benefit also. A constant source of food would help keep the deer in your area. Otherwise, just keep doing what your doing and it will pay off in the long run.

Ben

[dogdoc]

Re: QDM? A good approch.....

Even with agriculture crops available I would sure encourage you to provide year round nutrition in way of high quality food plots. That just might increase the number of deer that actually stay on your property. A good perennial plot is hard to beat and it provides high quality protein during the gestation/lactation/antler growing period. I don't know what the main agriculture crops are that are available to the deer but annuals like soybeans might not be available until May whereas a clover plot will be available much earlier that that.

good luck

todd

[jdickey]

Re: QDM? A good approch.....

Tik... we are under a special program with the Texas Parks & Wildlife, that is called Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLDP). Under that program, we must do preseason deer counts to determine the number of deer that we must harvest. We can harvest any number of deer, but we limit our bucks to two.

In reading your outline for your harvest program, I see a major difference. Concerning harvesting does, we try to take them EARLY in the season, as recommended by the TPWD. The primary reason, is that the bucks will not have the opportunity to breed does. If the bucks are presented with a high population of does, the bucks try to breed with every doe that they can get. This action will also deplete the quality of the bucks as they begin to mature.

Generally, after their first fawn season, does will almost always produce twin fawns. We have seen this to be true for the past three years. Under this MLDP program, we hunt till the end of February, and each time that a doe was taken during that month, the does had twins in their uterus.

So, our "directive" has been to take does early, all spikes deemed to be 1.5 to 2 years of age, and the older 4.5 to 5 year old bucks, regardless of points. We also have the "8 point" directive for bucks. This year, we have spotted a 14 pointer running with some younger bucks... hopefully... not for long!

Additionally, our landowner is also participating with the TPWD in another special program Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP). The program reimburses ranchers for their exspense in planting and maintaining native grasses and forbes on his ranch. The plus side is that it provides all sorts of graze, forage, and cover for game animals.

The down side is... it limits our use of food plots. We cannot plant any large food plots on this lease, which is about 1700 acres. But what we have found is that the deer are using the habitat for their natural cover and bedding areas.

Just thought I'd pass along how we are set up!