Small Property Deer Management Strategy

Hey folks,

I set up a mineral lick and trail cam for the first time on the 100 acres I have access to, and have done a bit of an inventory on who's around this fall. I've seen two forky bucks, and two different does (one with a fawn) fairly consistently. I had one monster 10-pointer come through at the end of August, but haven't seen him since.

I recognize there are probably many schools of thought on this topic, but here we go: If you were in my shoes, assuming you could only hunt the two week gun season and were hoping to manage for larger bucks in the future, which animal would you target?

Is it a fool's errand to pass younger bucks on a small property if they are just going to walk onto the neighbours and get shot anyhow? I have a doe tag for the first time this year after six years of applying, so my hunch is to target the lone doe. I just don't want to get so caught up in targeting a specific animal that I miss out on harvesting any deer whatsoever, especially with limited hunting time.

Appreciate your thoughts!

Just my opinion, deer management on 100ac is going to be pretty hard to be successful, given a typical property in Ontario. For deer management to work you need a good deer habitat that has everything a deer needs to stay on the property year round and you need to be able to have control of what’s harvested in a much larger area, min 500-1000ac. So you have 2 weeks of rifle to hunt, shoot whatever your going to be happy with and never pass up a deer on the first day that you’ll be happy to have on the last. Good luck

Entirely personal preference as to what you choose to harvest with the appropriate tag, especially if you're a newer hunter itching for initial success and hunting in areas with meager populations or someone more interested in acquiring venison for the freezer versus working on a "trophy" for the wall. Since the big 10 doesn't appear to be resident, I wouldn't hesitate to bag him if the opportunity arises. As to Does and young bucks, I'm personally at the stage where they get a pass, Does always, and young bucks are viewed as "an investment into the future". As you point out, with only 100 acres, not really sure you can "manage" for larger bucks with other hunters on nearby properties. I'd focus on providing enticements to make your 100 acres more attractive to fall deer and hope for the best.

Harvest whatever is legal and You set your mind to it.
If You are Ok not to harvest this year,while passing on opportunities-so be it.
Your choice,no regrets.Many do so-did so in the past .

As far as managing this relatively small piece of land-will be hard,as others said.
Good luck.

Ya, I don't think you would be able to manage the deer numbers in your 100 acres....I think any deer is a good deer.

in my books, during the gun hunt if its brown its down...
that being said, I've passed on fawns with mom.
but ive also took a fawn the week after the gun hunt, as i was pretty sure it was orphaned.

how it is. i suppose perks of being the alpha predator until something bigger comes and scoops you up :P

To keep what you have coming through the property you have access to should be your # 1 priority. You mentioned the mineral block was a good start. I'd also make sure you have a constant supply of food where you intend on setting up. Apples, corn, even a molasses blend that you can pick up at a local co-op. A sure supply of food should help you tag out especially if you can only hunt the two week gun season...

I think any buck is a good buck, during the rut bucks have been known to travel for miles in search of love. Many bucks we get on cameras in the late fall were not on film through the summer.
John

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Originally Posted by johnjyb

I think any buck is a good buck, during the rut bucks have been known to travel for miles in search of love. Many bucks we get on cameras in the late fall were not on film through the summer.
John

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Their home areas expand widely once the rut comes on. Even during the summer they still have a very large area they cover which is considered their home area. They will still branch off a little but once the rut starts it expands much more.

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I think it depends , how expect to have permission , to hunt the property. If long term, and the owner agrees, you can plant small food plot, Plant or encourage apple trees to grow . Set up mock scrape line on deer trails, past your sitting places.
I would not shoot the does . Maybe the fawn if you must. I would take one of the bucks.
I have much the same situation at my place, owned and hunted it for 45 years. lots of good bedding area, feed and apple trees. Haven;t harvested a doe in a lot of years. Most years harvest a buck . Prefer a spike . If you leave the does alone, dad will come visiting. Talk to the neigbors try to get them on the same page you will all have better hunting. Above all have fun, old243

Thanks all for your input. It sounds like making habitat improvements will make a more significant difference in seeing more mature bucks on the property than any sort of specific sex/age structure management (which would likely not succeed without a larger acreage). Good luck to all this season!

I have a similar situation with the 100 acres I hunt. A few years ago we had nothing but small bucks. Pass on the smaller bucks and encourage them to live on your property by having good habitat and reliable food sources. Don't overpressure the area during the year.

In a couple years you'll have some big monsters rolling around, like the 13 pointer in my avatar pic. Also discuss your goals with the neighbours and try to get everyone to let the little bucks grow into bigger bucks next year. By doing this, we've essentially created a 500+ acre hunting area where the neighbours are passing on small bucks, and some don't hunt at all.

Look up whitetail habitat solutions on YouTube. He has a ton of good info. I wouldn’t bother going all in unless you own the place though!

Where I hunt is crown land and I try and keep the does around knowing they will bring the bucks in. Very rarely do we have a buck on the camera all summer and see him in the fall. It seems summer bucks take off in the fall and new bigger bucks come in. Salt licks work the best to bring them in, I am not going to make a food plot on crown land.