[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/antler-potential-on-200-acres-of-land\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/antler-potential-on-200-acres-of-land\/","headline":"Antler Potential on 200-Acres of Land","name":"Antler Potential on 200-Acres of Land","description":"Qualifier\u2014if you are blessed to manage over 1,000 acres for quality deer management, this column is probably not for you.\u00a0...","datePublished":"2014-08-27","dateModified":"2018-10-24","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/3-Alsheimer-Branded-e1431030793547.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/3-Alsheimer-Branded-e1431030793547.jpg","height":687,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/antler-potential-on-200-acres-of-land\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1303,"keywords":["Land & Habitat","Tips"],"articleBody":"Qualifier\u2014if you are blessed to manage over 1,000 acres for quality deer management, this column is probably not for you.\u00a0 However, if you are attempting to manage a property of around 200-acres for better bucks, you may want to read on.Trail camera photo of the buck I killed (Photo #2).\u00a0 I hunted this buck for two years before finally catching up with him.In 1991 a handful of landowners, here in western New York, set out on a journey to see if we could raise better whitetails.\u00a0 One of our goals was to bring the deer population in line with the range\u2019s carrying capability.\u00a0 Another was to have older class bucks to hunt.\u00a0 Prior to 1991, more than 85% of our antlered buck harvests were 1 \u00bd year old yearlings.\u00a0 In short, we wanted to improve our deer herd and wildlife habitat.Because all landowners in our area are not interested in practicing quality deer management, only a few of the properties attempting QDM actually touched each other.\u00a0 Some are very close to each other, but in some cases QDM properties are more than a mile apart.\u00a0 Consequently, if a map showing the participating QDM properties was darkened, it would look a little like a checker board.\u00a0 This checker board-style-QDM approach is pretty much the norm wherever you find free ranging whitetails inhabiting relatively small parcels of land (50-250 acres).As might be expected, a question often asked of our QDM group is \u201cHow many 2 \u00bd, 3 \u00bd and 4 \u00bd year old bucks can be produced for every 200-acres when all landowners do not wish to participate in QDM?\u201dNo one answer fits all, but I believe that our area\u2019s 23 year experience can offer some insight into what can be expected.\u00a0 Before providing an answer I\u2019ll share some guidelines that must be in place for a QDM program to have any hope of succeeding.Me with the buck in trail camera photo #1.The PropertyThe location of a property as well as the habitat it contains are major ingredients in determining how many 2 \u00bd+ year old bucks it can produce.\u00a0 If a property is situated next to a heavily hunted public land the chances of producing older class bucks will be difficult without mandatory antler restrictions.A property must also have the potential of feeding the deer that call it home.\u00a0 A major part of the better deer equation is in place if there is enough quality food available.Another key ingredient is how much of the property has been set aside for a sanctuary or multiple sanctuaries.\u00a0 Thick bedding cover that is not entered during the hunting season is a critical component needed for holding deer.\u00a0 So, the more food and undisturbed cover you have, the better your chances of having bigger bucks on the property.An aerial view western New York state’s farm country….rolling hills,\u00a0deep valleys and lots of farms.RestrictionsAntler restrictions of some form are required to have any hope of hunting older bucks.\u00a0 In the majority of cases serious QDM practitioners strive to have 3 \u00bd year old bucks to hunt.\u00a0 This is no easy feat, but it can be done under a checker board concept.\u00a0 In order to have older age class bucks, yearling bucks should be put off limits for the majority of hunters on the property.\u00a0 The lone exception on our property is that young or first time hunters are not restricted by what they can kill.\u00a0 For all the other hunters on our farm, a buck must have an inside spread of 16\u201d and a minimum of 8 points before it can be harvested.\u00a0 This helps get us to our goal of having 3 \u00bd year old bucks to hunt.Me and my son Aaron with a buck he killed here on our farm, we had many trail camera photos of this buck and Aaron killed him in mid-November.Case StudyOur farm is located in Steuben County, New York. \u00a0The county has roughly a 50\/50 mixture of wooded habitat and farmland. \u00a0Though variable by year, its pre-hunting season deer population is approximately 50-70 deer per square mile, which is considerably higher than the 35-45 deer per square mile many feel it should be.\u00a0 Steuben also has one of the highest deer harvests in the state and a quick perusal of the latest New York State Big Buck Club Record Book (17th Edition) reveals that the county is one of the top trophy producers in the state.Based on the county\u2019s whitetail history, those in our group thought we\u2019d have a significant number of mature bucks to hunt three years after implementing QDM. \u00a0This reasoning was predicated on the fact that nearly all of the participating landowners were seeing a high number of yearling bucks on their property each year.\u00a0 By way of example, known yearling buck sightings on our farm have averaged between 6-8 every year since 1992.Though we did have more nice bucks to hunt three years after implementing QDM, the numbers were not as high as anticipated.\u00a0 So, our question was, \u201cWhere did all the yearling bucks go?\u201d\u00a0 After 20+ years of studying the situation it is obvious two things happened. \u00a01) Some of the bucks QDM practitioners pass up are being harvested by their non-QDM neighbors.\u00a0 2)\u00a0 Due to herd competition, some bucks dispersed as they aged.After careful study using some advanced scouting techniques (i.e., trail cameras, etc.), I\u2019ve concluded that in our area, every 200-acres under QDM can produce approximately four 2 \u00bd year old bucks, two 3 \u00bd year old bucks and every now and then a 4 \u00bd or 5 \u00bd year old buck.Me with\u00a0a 140″ bow buck and doe I killed the same morning in mid-November.\u00a0 I passed up this buck five times the year before when he was a 2 1\/2 year old 8 pointer that scored 111 B&C (we found his sheds in our food plots in late winter).\u00a0\u00a0 I shot the doe while tracking the buck.Only ten times since 1991 have I been aware of bucks roaming our farm or the neighbor\u2019s that exceeded 4 \u00bd years of age.\u00a0 Since 1991 I\u2019ve harvested two 5 \u00bd year old bucks, three 4 \u00bd year olds and four 3 \u00bd year old bucks.\u00a0 The gross Boone & Crockett scores of the animals ranged from 127 to 151.\u00a0 This may not be quite what was hoped for when QDM started around here in 1991, but it is a drastic improvement from what used to be available under the old \u201cif it\u2019s brown it\u2019s down\u201d philosophy.The bottom line is that you can produce 125-140 class B&C bucks on small QDM properties, but probably not the number you think you can.\u00a0 However, don\u2019t be dismayed.\u00a0 Even with a checker board QDM program you will be able to hunt more mature deer, have a more intense rut and more exciting hunting opportunities. "},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/antler-potential-on-200-acres-of-land\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Antler Potential on 200-Acres of Land"}}]}]