What are your tips on Game Management?

I've heard mixed reviews on Game Management. What should you be knocking off to bring in a big future? What have you done in the past to bring up the mass? Food plots? Mineral Blocks? Hog killing?

Tags: Blocks?, Food, Game, Hog, I've, Management., Mineral, What, a, be, More…

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Permalink Reply by Allen Wayne Duennenberg on October 24, 2011 at 4:48pm

I know you wrote this way before I even knew about this site but, here's a little info from a career livestock/wildlife farmer/rancher.

You want big deer you have to do a couple of things:

1. let them grow and get some age. I mean don't harvest any trophy deer unless they are 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 years old. I wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a 7 point the first couple of years. What most people don't realize is that the genetics are there but the deer don't get a chance to live. Kill some does if you need sausage. You need to have a 1 buck to 1 doe ratio.

2. You have to supplement. Protein feeders @ 16-21 % protein or food plots. Deer can't use anything more than that, they just crap it out. If you get a chance and have some good field land, plant some of the legumes(Tecamote lab lab and etc) that David Morris has on his El Cazadore Ranch. You will be suprised at what your deer heard will do in just one year.

3. Control the pedators

I been doing this program at my ranches in Texas forever and it's payed off. Just leaving the deer alone to age out to 8 1/2 years will do wonders for your program. Now, if you have tons of hunting pressure your horns go south and it's just that simple.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on November 16, 2011 at 1:31pm

I have managed ranches all over south texas. The first key you need is to know what you have and what your neighbors are shooting. Then start from there. Cotton seed meal is a wonderful food for deer. It is hard to get them started on it but the rewards are great. The 3 main ingredients are Age, nutrition, and then genetics. Designate an area that is considered a safe zone that no one will ever enter or mess around in. That will always keep deer in your area. I am in north texas now and would love to help someone raise good deer. We own a ranch in South Texas but backed off the management side only because we got new neighbors and they shot everything.