Here’s something of a sidenote to add to the conversation. Bucks with a little age on them, like 3 year olds and older…..seem to be different creatures when it comes to what they want in terms of resources. Cover and lack of pressure seem to trump food with these bucks. Where as a doe wants to bed right next to a preferred food source if possible….a buck with some age is willing travel a good distance during darkness to feed on that food source and then return to an isolated bedding area before sunrise or early in the AM.

I tracked on a small property last season (100 acres) that didn’t have squat on it for food…yet the hunter reported that he saw a good many deer and they were nearly all bucks. This isn’t the first case where I’ve seen this happen either. When I first bought my own property, I didn’t see a ton of deer at first but I saw more bucks than I did does…and older ones too. As I added more and more food….the ratio changed to a higher percentage of does and less bucks. I see a lot more deer now but they tend to be all does until the rut comes in. It’s just something to think about. I still tend to prefer having more food, seeing more deer, and deal with keeping older does thinned.