Why are there no big bucks around? I get asked that question all the time. Then I ask, what did you shoot this year & the response is almost always, "Oh, I just shot a little buck, he'll be good eating." And with that I begin my answer to the initial question: Why are there no big bucks around? I guess people don't seem to understand that big bucks must first go through the process of being little bucks. (The kind that are being shot for good eating). I have always been partial to hunting for big horns. But, if I don't find somerthing for my trophy wall I begin to look for something with poor genetics. ( a 3x3 buck will only be a bigger 3x3 buck next year and still not score well) or I take an antlerless animal. A small 4x4 or 5x5 might be a very impressive animal in coming years so why shoot it to make sausage with? The buck to doe ratio is usually out of whack in most areas, doe populations being high. Why not make sausage out of a doe or a fawn? They are every bit as tasty & might give those little spiker bucks a chance to turn into something noteworthy in years to come.
Those are my thought on the matter. Does it make sense to everyone else?
Well we are definitely on the same page. It would be nice if more hunters seen things this way. I think guys like us who hunt the same areas year after year will eventually see the change.
Have a Merry Christmas eh!
mrjbigfoot wrote:
I shoot more does to do my part to keep the doe to buck ratio in check and I'll also shoot or stick cull bucks in years between taking nicer bucks to help keep genetics in check on the big farm I hunt on.
I shoot more does to do my part to keep the doe to buck ratio in check and I'll also shoot or stick cull bucks in years between taking nicer bucks to help keep genetics in check on the big farm I hunt on.
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