Our research has shown that a buck does not always transmit his antler qualities to his offspring. For example, a buck with very poor antler qualities may produce offspring with very good antler qualities and vice versa. This means there is [glow=red]very little that can be done to practically manage genetics in a wild deer population[/glow] because we cannot determine which deer will pass the superior genes to its offspring. Additionally, even if we could select a "superior" buck, 50 percent of the offspring's genetic information is supplied by the doe, and there is no way to identify the superior doe!
I "somewhat" disagree with this... Yes. A mature buck with a perfect 12 point rack may produce some offspring with inferior racks. And YES, we don't know what the genetics are for the doe... However, we do know that the 12 point racked buck is spreading some of his genes and even if his offspring don't produce "12 point racks" we know his genetics are within those offspring, and when they cross with another "12 point rack genetic" either from a doe, or from a buck, another 12 pointer is much more likely than if we shot all the 10's and 12's and let the mature 6's and 8's breed... Yes, it is difficult to alter a wild herd, but on a big enough property, or with participating neighbors, I think you can make some difference...
The problem with most management practices is that they either kill based on age or score, rather than letting the superior genes mature. A lot of properties have a 3 y/o minimum. And in this case they generally shoot the best 3 year olds leaving the the small 3 year olds to live another year and breed. And whether they want to admit it or not, are generally killing the superior 2 year olds and "thinking, or claiming" they are 3... In a perfect management world we would wait for the superior bucks to mature to 6 or 7 years old and shoot the inferior bucks at ages 3 and older. Harder to do, than say, though.
There is a property in Michigan called the sanctuary. Years ago they fenced in a wild herd. At 1st they had bucks that matured with 6 or 8 point racks. They started shooting all the 6 pointers and eventually ended up with 8 and 10 point racks. They then started shooting all the 8 point racks... As of now, after years of select harvest they have monsters running around.
Yea, yea, I know its fenced. But it does show you can make a difference in some places if the properties are big enough and people follow the rules.
