no does?

[brownclown]

Well not literally. So the primary property i have permission to hunt is about 100 acres in 3n/danbury area. I have had 4 cams out since September and have had a total of about 10 doe pics compared to thousands of buck, primarily 1.5's. Im not the best at identifying individuals but believe I have around 12 individual bucks i  get on cam regularly and may 2 doe and one fawn. last year i didn't harvest any doe for that reason also. However, last year seemed to have better numbers but still noticeably low comparative to bucks. Im still a relatively new hunter and I have only been hunting this area for about four years so not really sure with if this has always been the case, nor did take the time to know about these things. i guess  my question is why? You never hear of places over run with bucks, it usually does. why is the ratio so screwed up. Are some properties just kind of like "nurseries" where only young bucks hang out? Also , what effect do you think this will have come seeking, rutting time? If there are no does around are the big boys(Big boys for me are more like 2.5, 3.5 , 100 inch) even going to come looking. Should i be spending more time hunting in another area?Which all seem to suck in comparison with very few deer at all. At l east this place i see lots of youngins?

[QDM4ME]

5 minutes ago, brownclown said:

Last year i didn't harvest any doe for that reason also. However, last year seemed to have better numbers but still noticeably low comparative to bucks. Im still a relatively new hunter 

That's awesome that your paying attention to your ratio in the area that you hunt. Well done.

From what I've seen during the seek phase of the rut, if you're hunting an area where you are seeing more bucks than does, I would see more bucks on their feet during daylight hours cruising around searching for that first hot doe. The scewed radio of more bucks to doe will keep them searching for a doe coming into estrus longer, as apposed to if there were more does to bucks, a buck would not have to travel far to search out hot does because of the amount of does in the area.

Just what I've noticed during this phase of the rut with a ratio that you described. 

To answer your question about a mature buck as you described coming into your area seeking out a hot doe, man us just never know where or when they will show up! Lots of variables too (hunting pressure, weather, number of mature bucks around you exc..)

Either way, good luck to you man! 

[dbHunterNY]

if for whatever reason you don't have optimal fawning cover and the surrounding area isn't over populated too bad with doe then you might just have doe calling somewhere else within most of their primary range.  mature doe can be territorial and bucks have been in bachelor groups together all summer.  it's also possible that one doe is a mature one claiming your area.  still should have some sightings but that would create the bias you're seeing to an extent.  not sure how big your property is to have more or less of an effect. come hunting time they always seem to move around more and some area with lesser activity at some point sees something.

[wolc123]

Does are more territorial than bucks, and control the "best" feeding and bedding areas.   I always put in corn plots, which provide both of those and they are usually dominated by does.   The key to holding more does on a property seems to be making the corn plots smaller, and more numerous, otherwise a cranky old doe will just take over the whole big plot for her group.  Less dominant does and bucks get shoved off to the "lesser" areas.  I like corn plots between 1/2  and 1-1/2 acres in size, and lots of them.   If you want more does on your area, look into putting in some food plots and better cover (corn does both).   My favorite time to hunt is the rut and keeping lots of does around makes that a lot better.  The more does you have around, the greater the odds that some will be in heat.   You might have a lot of bucks around now, but when the rut kicks off in a couple week, they will be somewhere else - after those hot does.      

One of the reasons I like hunting the rut is that it is usually colder then and I am primarily a meat hunter.  Dealing with buck or doe carcasses, and aging them properly before processing, is a lot easier for me when it is cold out.  Speaking of that, I am really enjoying the prolonged cold snap we are getting into now, with a nice fat corn-fed doe out hanging in my garage.  She should be aged perfect for processing by this Saturday.  The stainless steel probed  thermometer that I stuck in the arrow hole in her front shoulder has been reading a constant 40 degrees since yesterday evening and it is not supposed to break 50 until Saturday.  I love not having to skin them right away and place the half's in an old refrigerator for a week to age.                           

[Chef]

Does are more territorial than bucks, and control the "best" feeding and bedding areas.   I always put in corn plots, which provide both of those and they are usually dominated by does.   The key to holding more does on a property seems to be making the corn plots smaller, and more numerous, otherwise a cranky old doe will just take over the whole big plot for her group.  Less dominant does and bucks get shoved off to the "lesser" areas.  I like corn plots between 1/2  and 1-1/2 acres in size, and lots of them.   If you want more does on your area, look into putting in some food plots and better cover (corn does both).   My favorite time to hunt is the rut and keeping lots of does around makes that a lot better.  The more does you have around, the greater the odds that some will be in heat.   You might have a lot of bucks around now, but when the rut kicks off in a couple week, they will be somewhere else - after those hot does.      
One of the reasons I like hunting the rut is that it is usually colder then and I am primarily a meat hunter.  Dealing with buck or doe carcasses, and aging them properly before processing, is a lot easier for me when it is cold out.  Speaking of that, I am really enjoying the prolonged cold snap we are getting into now, with a nice fat corn-fed doe out hanging in my garage.  She should be aged perfect for processing by this Saturday.  The stainless steel probed  thermometer that I stuck in the arrow hole in her front shoulder has been reading a constant 40 degrees since yesterday evening and it is not supposed to break 50 until Saturday.  I love not having to skin them right away and place the half's in an old refrigerator for a week to age.                           

Ps best place to temp would be the hind quarters and anything over 43....well really 41 is not safe to hang


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[brownclown]

14 hours ago, wolc123 said:

Does are more territorial than bucks, and control the "best" feeding and bedding areas.   I always put in corn plots, which provide both of those and they are usually dominated by does.   The key to holding more does on a property seems to be making the corn plots smaller, and more numerous, otherwise a cranky old doe will just take over the whole big plot for her group.  Less dominant does and bucks get shoved off to the "lesser" areas.                          

Unfortunately i dont own the land to plant food plots. this land is primarily hardwoods with some thick long overgrown fields. great bedding area.