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Deer Season Tidbits for 2014
Fri, January 30, 2015 11:00 PM

The following are bits of miscellaneous information that hunters might find useful this hunting season in and around the central Texas deer woods. These observations will help hunters and managers to improve their deer herd this fall:

•This years' fawn survival is very high. Lots of new mouths on the range mean responsible managers should reduce the adult mouths accordingly to make room for the new ones.

•When harvesting antlerless deer, make certain it is a female and not a buck fawn. If the deer is alone, the ears appear large in proportion to the head, the forehead is flat, it is the first deer to the feeder or in the field, it very well could be a buck fawn, so don't shoot until completely confident of its identity. Doe fawns usually travel in groups, are smaller and less confident by nature than their brothers, and their foreheads are round, not flat across the top. Harvesting mature single does early in the season will usually prevent accidentally harvesting a buck fawn later in the season so begin surplus doe harvesting early this year and don't wait until later.

•An adult sex ratio of two females per male is ideal for optimum breeding and production for sustained harvest; however, more intensively managed ranches can have a much tighter sex ratio. If your adult sex ratio exceeds two females per male, you need to step up the antlerless deer harvest this fall. This strategy will result in less buck stress and natural mortality, tighter fawning dates next summer and a much healthier deer herd and habitat. A box of bullets is cheaper than a ton of feed!

•When selectively harvesting bucks, allow only the better quality bucks within each age class the opportunity to breed and pass the more favorable genetics into the herd. The earlier in the season you remove such undesirable bucks, the quicker genetic gains will be realized. Buck management is simple—if you like him, let him walk to breed. If you don't like him and don't want to see more just like him, shoot him before he breeds.

•When harvesting deer early in the season, expect to encounter more parasites than normal. Do not be alarmed if elevated levels of nose bots, ticks, deer keds, or even lice are found. Under only extreme cases of infestation are these critters a problem for the deer. None of the mentioned critters negatively affect the meat quality.

•Feral hog numbers have increased exponentially. Continue to harvest every pig possible. Do it for the habitat, do it for the landowner, and most of all, do it for the betterment of the deer herd.

Texas Hill Country Magazine

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