management buck or future trophy

Tknez

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LAST EDITED ON May-28-16 AT 02:53PM (MST)[p]I know that most people and also biologists believe that a big mature deer that only have 3 on one side, need to be taken out of the heard if you want to try and manage for trophy quality. I was just wondering how many people out there might have a story or experience that goes against this thinking.
Here is mine. I watched a buck for three years and the first year I seen him I knew right away that he was an older buck. that year he had a nice four point frame on his left with a small kicker. Right side 3 point with about a 5" drop off the G-2. He was close to 30" wide and I figured about a 185" buck. The next year same frame on both sides this time 3 small kickers on his left, he lost the drop on the right but now had 2 kickers in its place. Still around that magical 30" mark and I figured very close to 190". The third and final year he grew the the G-3 on the right side making him a 4x4 main frame! Also had the 2 small kickers out the right and now had a real nice inline on the left with a small kicker off of that! He ended up just over 32" wide and 199 3/8". He had almost no teeth and I figure must have been at least an 8 year old deer.
Anyone else with similar stories? He was for sure an example of age being more important to the amount of bone on his head over genetics.
Now of course if you get the age along with genetics that is the perfect storm, but how many management bucks are taken that might some day break the 200" mark???
 
My experience is most deer don't change all that much. They seem to keep the same general frame. Unless they are prone to throwing non-typical points.
My son and I chased a buck during the archery season four straight seasons in a row. He was a huge three point we named "hat trick".
He was 32"+ wide with no brow tines but was a slick 3 point on both sides.
One year he did split out a fourth point on one side but I am guessing his score didn't increase much at all. The last year we saw him his face was bleached out, kind of like an old lab dog and he had a limp. But that old buck was cagey and we never did get an arrow in him. I'm guessing very few management bucks will ever break 200" unless they have one crazy big side.
 
Cool story! I tend to think you are right more times than not. Just my experience with this deer kind of made me open my eyes to other possibilities. I will be honest, I think I wrote in the original post I believed him to be at 185" the first year I found him. Looking back on the video tonight I think much closer to 180". That means in those two more years right at 20" of growth for the 4x3. At a very old age... Just food for thought for sure I think.
 
Tknez- You bring up an honest point about management deer. I'd say the answer to your question is "a few". There are some deer killed as management bucks that might have eventually become a 200" trophy animal. But, it's hard enough to become a 200" trophy without the downfall of generally growing only a 3-point on one side.

On the Henry's, there are so many bucks that it frankly doesn't matter. There are dozens of deer there every year that are 200" or more. And plenty of Management Deer are harvested there every year. All you would really get without the Management Hunt are a few more, older deer, that would die of old age and rot in the sun, rather than be harvested and honored forever. :)

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24
 
Browning I couldn't agree with you any more when it comes to the Henry's. Also I like that it gives more opertunity which imo that is always a good thing. I guess my point is more towards the hunters that think by taking a 3x4 out of a normal heard they have done great work for the overall genetics of that heard. One other thing I feel gets over looked far to often when talking genetics of a heard is that it takes 2 to tango. What I mean by that is this. Let's say you have a doe of say direct line of popeye that breeds with a buck with horrible genetics. Then you have a buck that lets say is Popeyes son that breeds with a doe that had the same buck and doe that made the above "bad" genetic buck. Which set of deer are more likely to have a fawn of great horn growth potential?
 

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