Why did Mark Ware and his dad Bobby, who manage 1,500 acres in Bertie County, make such a concentrated effort to narrow the buck-doe ratio at their property? The answer might surprise you.
“We wanted to make the bucks have to get up to breed,” Ware said. “They can’t lay in a block of woods all day and not move and have does around them. Our bucks that chase does are usually 16 to 18 inches (inside spread), and we also rarely ever see a young buck breed.”
Ware said the lack of does at his land puts older bucks on the move, which affords better hunting opportunities, plus it creates breed-shy young bucks, which means better genetics are passed on to newer generations.
“We see young bucks staying bachelored-up into the second week of November,” he said. “We often see a couple of decent bucks in a field trying to tend a (receptive) doe, but the young bucks act like they’re not interested. If they do try to chase a doe, they get beat up a lot, so they don’t even try.”
Editor’s Note: This story appears as part of a feature in North Carolina Sportsman’s October issue. To ensure you don’t miss any information-packed issues, click here to have each magazine delivered right to your mail box.
Be the first to comment