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Russell Graves - Believes whitetails shouldn't be photographed in the back of a truck with their tongue hanging out.
Location - Texas
Brian Strickland - Has 369,518 acres of land that you can hunt on. Call him at (555) 281-HUNT.
Location - Colorado
Tony Hansen - Is pretty confident Michigan will release at least 300,000 archers into the woods this fall.
Location - Michigan
Jake Fagan - He's really just here to hang out, so don't mind him.
Location - Georgia
Will Brantley - Loves hunting in a dorag because it makes him look Ramboish. Some may call it Little Man Syndrome.
Location - Tennessee
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Don't Forget About the Girls
But with visions of headbone filtering through our minds and some impressive bucks that have already shown up on the blog, let's not forget about what creates the November excitement--the girls. I don't know about you, but October means doe season for me, and you can bet I'll be taking a couple of does off the small farm I hunt in Kansas when I visit there in a few days. Just like last October, I had a family group of does filter through my set up, and in 10 minutes two of them were on the ground.
Although we've all read the importance of herd management with regard to killing does, here's something else to think about that is purely selfish--killing mature does keep bucks at home. A study done by S. Holzenbein and R.L. Marchinton found a stark contrast between bucks that matured near their mother and those that were orphaned.
According to the study, out of the 15 bucks that were orphaned, only one left his home range in the next couple of years. Out of the nearly 20 bucks that grew up with their mothers, 18 of them left their home range. Other studies have shown that maternal does actually chase their buck offspring out of the area within two years.
So keep this in mind the next time you let that mature doe walk away unscathed. You might just unknowingly push that future toad onto the property next door. Oh, by the way, one of the does I killed last fall had a button buck with her. I guess you could say I'm selfish for bucks. :^)
From the Wild West
-Brian
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