Deer question

[WH_Conley]

In the last few years we have a great influx of out of state/area hunters. A timber company owns most of the county and leases hunting rights. One of the previous owners, here I am quoting heresay, was getting a deal on property taxes to allow public hunting. I do remember seeing a sign put up by the state years ago that said public hunting area. That was years ago. Now we have huge tracts of land, usually several smaller leases of several hundred acres each, all adjoining. Still makes for a great big area. I have talked to several of these hunters and it seems that the deer are more plentiful but smaller racks. When the "good ole boys" hunted it there was more pressure, by sheer numbers and the motto "it's brown, it's down". Saw a deer last night that came from that area, the hunter was an out of stater, couldn't beleive the rack, it was huge, til I took him in my living room, 10 ft ceiling, full of rack. Same area, 10 years ago. He wasn't real proud of his then. His was a very large bodied deer, no rack. Now here is the question. Does anybody have info on deer inbreeding due to lack of hunting pressure? All I found were PITA sites, we know how much scientific fact is there. This is not a survey or political question for hunting rights, just would like to settle this in my own mind.

[LeeB]

That could be quite possible. Centra. Texas is crawling with dear and te have small racks. In South Texas the dear aren't nearly as plentyful and the racks are huge.

[WH_Conley]

One thing I forgot mention. They are not like your Texas deer ranches, herd count, biologist and all that. The expert is the guy paying the lease.

[ellmoe]

  "Inbreeding" is not a problem. You are probably looking at younger bucks, or if over-populated, possibly a nutrition problem. When there are few deer there is less competion for the higher protein feeds, and if a buck lives till maturity (5.5) years, they will produce their largest antlers. Most areas have their bucks taken at 1.5 to 2.5 years of age. Consider this as harvesting  potential veneer walnut logs at the pulpwood stage. :(

Mark

[Norm]

That and natural selection which used to favor the biggest buck doing the most breeding. Now they are shot and not allowed to pass on the genes as easily.

We have so much forage that without hunting pressure they are like rabbits. I expect to see a disease come through because of the high deer density.

[cheyenne]

The deer population is exploding everywhere, Thus overcrowding for the available nutrients & feed, the biggest concern today is chronic wasting disease.....Cheyenne

[SwampDonkey]

Climate to. All our deer up here came from the south 100 years ago. This was caribou country and moose. Moose cope better with brain worm, caribou died out. Also TB took a lot before deer.  Must be how they forage, tending to reach up in the tops where slugs are less likely to hang around.  They do crawl all over everything when it's raining though. But I think it's a slug that carries a shell isn't it, not these shelless kind. Now on farm fields moose are likely to feed on crops the deer are pooping in, like clover and soybeans. Didn't have to worry this year though, no deer.  :

[WildDog]

Where I live and work in the New England Ranges Down Under we have always had the largest feral population of Fallow Deer, the inbreeding has resulted in very narrow palms known here as New England Scurf. We still occasionally get some great racks comeing through I have been leaving these of late and heavily culling the poor specimums. When I 1st bought this farm I shot and trapped all deer I could just to get rid of them, the 1st 12 months we took out 48 indescriminately. I have changed my ideas somewhat culling as necessary and leaving the better examples to breed for food and trophy's, I suppose we are theoretically farming them now. The majority of my Fallow are black/grey in color with the very odd menile and white creeping in. (we only take the blacks)
Last year my son and I were on a ridge in a 300 acre paddock when 2 stags with massive racks went running by, the size of these 2 were extraordinary, it was like they were brothers and on a mission, we never saw them again and when I asked about no one else had seen them. Can only hope they served some does on the way through ;)

We have a small population of the larger Red Deer starting to increase in numbers, I have found some caste antlers but am yet to take one.