Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio
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Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/3/2009 11:21:12 PM
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DeanoZ
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Joined: 10/9/2008
From: New Jersey
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Just curious what an acceptable Buck to doe ratio is on a given property as well as the optimum number of acres/ hunter a given habitat can support without overly pressuring deer? I know this can vary by locale but just looking for a planning guide at this point.
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 6:55:54 AM
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Wanderer
Posts: 287
Joined: 2/8/2009
From: Fulton County Indiana
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DeanoZ,
The Nov 2009 issue of American Hunter (from NRA) has an article on pressured deer. In it, they refer to three different surveys done on the subject. In 1967 a report on hunting pressure at Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge in IL , it showed that .39 hours of hunting activity per hectare per day was harassing to deer.(A hectare is about 2.47 acres) Their rough translation would be about 6.25 hours of hunting daily spread over 40 acres. Another study done in Missouri put the figure at .45 hours per hectare or 7.25 hours of activity per 40 acres. The third study, also in Missouri, described "intensive hunting pressure" as 1.39 hours per hectare or about 21 hours per 40 acres per day.(Or 2 hunters all day on a 40 acre parcel dawn to dusk) The good news here is these studies showed that deer seldom leave their home range. They also conclude that deer are more active in the afternoons than mornings after experiencing excessive pressure.
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 10:27:28 AM
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ranwin33
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From: Live Kansas - Hunt Missouri
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I've always heard that optimal buck to doe ratio was 1:1 or 1.5:1. I believe mathematically it is impossible to get much beyond a 1:3 ratio, although you hear all the time about much higher ratios, they are probably not accurate. I think does are easier to find so that's one of the reasons people think the buck to doe ratios are beyond the 1:3 ratio. For example, we have a group of 5-7 does that regularly travel our property. We also have game camera photos of at least 7 different bucks this year. That would put the buck to doe ratio at 1:1 or better. Yet when we hunt, we always see the does, but the bucks are pretty scarce, and if we didn't have the cameras we'd probably be talking about how we have a 1:5 buck to doe ratio when in fact it isn't.
As far a hunters/acre. All I can tell you is what I know from my own experience. My brother and I have 100 acres of very hilly property with a mix of 75% timber and 25% pasture. The two of us hunt this property and sometimes his son joins us. We have owned the property since 2002 and have yet to hunt every part of it in 8 seasons. Deer have ample places to go on our property where they will feel no pressure. So I'd say you could probably go 1 hunter per 20 acres or so and you would not overly pressure deer. I know at 1 hunter per 50 acres we have the same deer traveling our area when we're hunting as when we're not so I'm guessing they aren't feeling all that pressured and we could go with more hunters if we wanted. Pressure can also be effected by how quietly you enter and exit the stands you hunt.
_____________________________
A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience...It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.
Aldo Leopold
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 11:32:02 AM
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Goose
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From: Eastern Farmland
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Both are great answers.
I will just add that the biggest factor will be who the hunters are and how they hunt. If you practice scent control, good entrance and exit routes, and play the wind--you can get away with a lot more than if you dismiss those measures.
Ideally you want to go as low-impact as possible.
_____________________________
Jake
Genesis 27:3 Take your bow and quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game.....
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 2:52:54 PM
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DeanoZ
Posts: 940
Joined: 10/9/2008
From: New Jersey
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Wander, yes I read the same article which is what prompted this post. In doing the math (based on that article) on the 185 acres of public land that I hunt would mean it could support no more than 3-10 hunters (depending on which report you go by) hunting all day...wow that's not a lot to pressure deer! I see at least that many people on any given hunt so I guess they are pressured to some extent and I know deer sightings/encounters are down compared to the beginning of the season...although with the rut they are certainly on the increase. Goose/Ranwin33, all good points and since this is public land I'm hunting and I've personally experienced the not so "stealthy" entrance/exits of other hunters in these woods my guess is the deer are feeling pressured. I would have also guessed the BTD ratio as 1:5, lol purely on sightings...but as you were quick to point out its because the bucks are in hiding. 1 to 20 or even 30 hunters per acre sounds reasonable to me...but that's still not alot, especially when you facotr public hunting land and its draw to the equation. Thanks for the feedback fellas!
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 6:22:15 PM
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buckhunter21
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From: West-Central WI
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Lots of factors involved, as has been stated, but I go for low-impact as Goose stated. The less hunters the better IMO (makes practical sense). But, this all depends on the habitat your hunting, as well as hunting practices as has already been stated. As far as the buck to doe ratio, there are a lot of factors that go into this too, but ideally, you'd like something close to 1:1 or 1:1.5. I'd say very few properties are even close to this except for the ones that are managed somewhat. It's even more tough to get to this ratio when you have a smaller property and the neighboring landowners are doing their own thing as well. My thought is to do the best you can with the property you have, and go from there...That's the only thing in your control! Best of luck!
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QDM!
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RE: Buck/Doe and Hunter/Acre Ratio - 11/4/2009 7:35:35 PM
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DeanoZ
Posts: 940
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From: New Jersey
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quote:
As far as the buck to doe ratio, there are a lot of factors that go into this too, but ideally, you'd like something close to 1:1 or 1:1.5. I'd say very few properties are even close to this except for the ones that are managed somewhat.
...and there-in lies the rub (excuse the pun!), realistically I think there are very few habitats that come close to this...just too many external and uncontrollable factors (like neighbors) that can change the course of a hunt or habitat. I tell ya if you've never hunted public land I recommend everyone do so if for no other reason than the entertainment value and eye opening experience. Like the guy who starts rattling before legal shooting light...or the two kids who go traipsing through the woods (by your stand) early monring, white lights blazing, tripping over every piece of lumber in the forest...or they old guy who wants to carry-on a full fledged conversation as your trying to stealthily walk to your stand in the wee hours of the morning! Not to digress, but BTD ratios and hectares/hunter aside its a wonder the deer don't go into hibernation!
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