Taking Census.

[Captcurt]

Went to the farm today and rode the 4-wheeler around for awhile. I have mud all over me and the machine, but that is about as much fun as a guy can have with his clothes on. I pulled sd cards from cameras. One camera didn't work but the other had 1800 pictures since the 26th. Nine bucks and 8 does that I can identify. A couple of the bucks have shed. Also saw about 20 turkeys and 2 armadillos. I had my little 42 Glock with me and I can testify that a 380 with a Golden Saber will put a hurting on a dillo. Got both of them.

It wasn't all fun and games. I pulled 2 blinds and a feeder as well as 1 camera. Still have a couple of stands to pull and one more blind. Then I am going to put a climber on a trail that I found today. It looked like a cattle trail, but there aren't any cows in there. Maybe I can stick an arrow in a fat yearling doe tomorrow.

 

[bikerdoc]

Very jelious.

I got a cold and cant get out.

 

[sage5907]

It's interesting that you're already seeing bucks that have shed their antlers. Here in Oklahoma the big mature bucks usually keep their antlers until late February or early March and the smaller bucks keep their antlers until around the first of April. Our turkey season starts the first week in April and it's common to see one antler bucks. Interesting post.

 

[Captcurt]

It's interesting that you're already seeing bucks that have shed their antlers. Here in Oklahoma the big mature bucks usually keep their antlers until late February or early March and the smaller bucks keep their antlers until around the first of April. Our turkey season starts the first week in April and it's common to see one antler bucks. Interesting post.

I don't know why, but the last two years the bucks on this farm have dropped late December and into January. The first year that I hunted this place, 3 years ago, I had good bucks on camera into late February. Need to do some research on this. It has me scratching my head.

I read somewhere that if the buck to doe ratio is close and the majority of the does breed early, the buck's testosterone levels fall and they shed early. I haven't found any scientific evidence to back this up though. I do know that there are not nearly as many does now. I took care of that problem.

 

[Captcurt]

The buck to doe ratio must be the answer here. I checked out a couple of articles online and both listed that as one of the reasons for early shedding. Others being stress from breeding and poor nutrition.

 

[BigBore44]

It's interesting that you're already seeing bucks that have shed their antlers. Here in Oklahoma the big mature bucks usually keep their antlers until late February or early March and the smaller bucks keep their antlers until around the first of April. Our turkey season starts the first week in April and it's common to see one antler bucks. Interesting post.

This has been my experience in OK as well. I’ve seen bucks still chasing in March. Heck, I saw a fawn with spots last week driving home.

 

[Captcurt]

This has been my experience in OK as well. I’ve seen bucks still chasing in March. Heck, I saw a fawn with spots last week driving home.

I have seen the rut drawn out for 5 months when the buck to doe ratio is off a lot. The particular farm that I am talking about was overrun with deer. It is a cattle farm raising high-end cattle. The owner would shine his calf feeders at night and have 40 or 50 deer in them. A biologist came in and issued nuisance permits, then they turned me loose on them. The buck/doe ratio is a lot better and the owner isn't spending about two thousand dollars a month on deer feed. There has to be a balance.