Determining how many does you should/can kill

[BJE80]

So you set up mineral stations with a trail cam to get your inventory. And you know approximate how may does, fawns and bucks live on your property. Our family loves venison and the meat is a big part of why I hunt.

We own 80 acres of land. So how can I tell how many does I can kill in a given year while keeping it sustainable? Is there some type of formula or guideline out there? What types of things should I looking for?

I don't think there is going to be one paragraph answer. More or less I would like to get a discussion going on the best ways to decide what deer to shoot and how many completely separate from mature buck hunting.

[Southern Man]

I always looked at how many I think we could eat in a year and how many the freezor would hold But deer are abundant here, we're not gonna wipe them out. I guess that depends on what kind of herd you have.

[Black Squirrel]

Depends on what your seeing on your cameras. I also look at the preferred browse around the area. If that is getting hammered pretty good, you can take a few more does. If I am trying to reduce the population, I like to shoot an adult doe. If I am trying to maintain, I will shoot a yearling doe, if I need meat for the freezer. Not sure how much I can effectively manipulate the population as there are so many other hunters around. That's just how I do it.

[goldtip5575]

What are the nieghboring landowners goals ?Are they brown its down shoot anything?Or do they practice some type of management?

[gutone4me]

We eat 3 deer a year so I will only shoot what we need but can have my arm twisted if she snorts at me and then gives me an opportunity to kill her !

[jlh42581]

80 acres isnt enough to worry about managing the herd unless your neighbors are on board. 500-1000 now were talking.

[moondoondude]

That is dependent on a lot of things (location, habitat, space, browse, ag, cover, food in general, harvest by other hunters, densities, and so on). In general, you have to know your herd. I would like to see my deer herd here cut in half, at the very least. I can kill 40-50 deer a year here for 4 or 5 years along with a couple other buddies and still see more deer every year than the year prior. If you did that elsewhere, you may have ran out of deer 2 years ago. When in doubt, don't shoot any.

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[RUTIN]

I hunt several hundred acre tracts that land lock each other and I personally dont shoot any does, unless i need one. I havent shot a doe off my land in years!!! If i want a doe i go to public hunting areas. IMO wherever the does are the bucks will be come rut. Ive seen to many people get caught up in this buck to doe ratio and screw there hunting properties up by shooting to many does. It doesnt take much to ruin a property so id be cautious on this one.

[BJE80]

What are the nieghboring landowners goals ?Are they brown its down shoot anything?Or do they practice some type of management?

Not really. They are gun only hunters that are lazy. Not many deer are shot on the neighbors.

[BJE80]

80 acres isnt enough to worry about managing the herd unless your neighbors are on board. 500-1000 now were talking.

Don't get me wrong I agree. Doesn't mean we should be shooting everything that moves just because they taste good.

[jlh42581]

80 acres isnt enough to worry about managing the herd unless your neighbors are on board. 500-1000 now were talking.

Don't get me wrong I agree. Doesn't mean we should be shooting everything that moves just because they taste good.

Im on board with you. I have had a doe tag in my home county for the last three years I couldve filled it multiple times. I refuse to do so because I am not a hypocrite. I refuse to be upset that we have very few deer then kill the few I do see.