DuckSouth.com

I would have to agree with the "it's about the money/marketing" theory. IMO not every property is going to produce monsters consistently. If you've got 170" 5yr old potential then that's what you've got. Managing for a 200" deer isn't going to be successful without the genetics. John Doe out there wants you to buy his "secret blend" food plot seed in the glossy bag to grow bigger deer. It's a waste. I'm not saying deer management is pointless, just that realistic management may be more fruitful. Then you add in outlaws, idiots, and poor hunting practices. At that point you just flush your management scheme down the drain.

It's pretty simple, you want big mature bucks, DON'T shoot them at 3 yrs old.

To go along with what you all are saying I believe some may be from pressure. Deer are seeing a lot more activity in the woods because of game cameras. I think more and more people are using them for a better part of the year and when you are going in checking them 1 a week it's going to push them into an area with less traffic. Just my .02. But have heard a lot of peoe talking about the deer harvest down this year compared to years past

I don't know anything!! Just all hear say, but I will tell ya, you better start aiming for center mass instead of the face, probably work out better for you!

I agree with you delta quack. One of the issues I have and will never understand is these camps where they only allow you to kill one buck the entire year. I can see where this would let every buck have the chance to reach 5.5 years old. But if you have a buck that is a 10" 6 pt at 3.5 years old that weighs 200 lbs chances are he will not be a booner,so why let him reproduce any longer. Now in this idea there maybe a 1 in 100 chance you kill a young deer that just has not developed normally, but the chances are worth taking in my opinion. The biggest issue with 85% of the camps in this state is they are asking members to check for things like age and certain measurements that people have NO IDEA what they are doing because they expect a 5.5 year old MS deer to look like the one Bill Jordan or whoever killed the night before on the outdoor channel.