Originally Posted by Mbrock
Originally Posted by treemydog
215 acres.

Unless you have an agreement in place with LOTS of neighbors (and nobody cheats) - you, me, most of the hunters in AL will face this fact of deer hunting.

Manage the deer on your small parcel anyway you like, but the most important thing you will have to manage is hunter expectations. Killing a big buck on a small property IMO is sheer luck. You have to be sitting there when that one buck walks by that has somehow managed to elude all your neighbors on 4-8-12 different properties for 4-5-6 years.

But it hasn’t always been this way. Even on small properties landowners had the hope and expectation of at least having the opportunity to kill a mature buck. That hope is now lost because they’re not making it. People don’t have to kill a mature buck to be satisfied. Knowing one is there is usually satisfaction enough. When they are no longer there ppl will lose interest and stop trying to be good stewards of their land.

You are correct Matt. I have killed 4 bucks off my 40 acres in 18 years, my wife 1 my daughter 3 and son 3. Of those bucks 5 of them were 4plus 3 were 3 yr olds and the others were my son and daughters first two bucks. Until 3 years ago we had 3-4 bucks on property through the year that were 3 plus every year and 5-10 2 yr olds come through every year and the majority of both age classes lived through season. 3 years ago I killed my biggest off the property and neighbors killed the majority of the 3 yr olds and a bunch of does. Last year we had 3 3yr olds on camera and 1 4 yr old all 3 yr olds and several 2 yr olds were killed. This year I only had pics of one 4yr old a few nights and 1 possibly 2 3 yr olds and 5-7 2 yr olds. I let my daughter kill the 3yr old we had and we have one 1.5 yr old broke off 4 and a few spikes left. I may let my kids have at it next year and let them kill anything they want. I give up trying to get to any age on a buck.

Would walk over a naked woman to get to a gobblin turkey!