By: Kip Adams

A deer management program’s success can be measured by many factors but one of the most important is whether the deer herd is in balance with the carrying capacity of the habitat. Is the habitat regenerating naturally? Are all species and age classes of trees represented in the forest? If the answer to these questions is “No” then the deer herd is most likely above the carrying capacity of the habitat and should be reduced. This article focuses on antlerless deer management and discusses four reasons for harvesting antlerless deer.

1) To Control Population Growth and Density – we need to shoot does to control population growth. Does are the reproductive segment of the deer herd, and the only way to maintain stability within or reduce a deer herd is to harvest female deer. We have removed the major predators of deer (e.g., wolves, mountain lions) from most of the whitetail’s range so we, the hunter, must assume that role.

2) To Balance the Sex Ratio – we want adult sex ratios to be as close to 1:1 as possible. In wild populations it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to get a 1:1 ratio but well managed herds can have <2 adult does per adult buck. Fawns are born at a rate of nearly 1:1 (it’s actually slightly more bucks than does) and we want adults to be balanced, so we need to harvest about the same number of does as bucks. If we shoot more bucks than does, the adult sex ratio becomes skewed and skewed ratios lead to poor breeding ecology within the deer herd and lower quality hunting experiences for sportsmen.

3) To Make Room for Yearling Bucks – one goal of Quality Deer Management is to improve the age structure of the buck segment of a population. A herd should have bucks in all age classes, not just the younger classes. Not harvesting yearling bucks is the best way to increase the number of bucks in a population. On areas that have the right number or too many deer for the habitat, if you save yearling bucks (and you should) then you need to shoot an additional number of does to compensate for the additional number of bucks on the area.

4) To Improve Reproductive Success and Recruitment – you want the deer herd to be as healthy as possible because does at their reproductive maximum produce the most fawns. Approximately every other fawn is a buck so you can put the most bucks on a property by having a healthy deer herd. The old adage, “If you shoot a doe you’re killing next year’s buck” is NOT necessarily true in any deer herd that is above the carrying capacity of the habitat (as defined in the first paragraph of this article).

The point is simple, if you don’t shoot enough does, the deer herd will grow above the habitat’s carrying capacity – that is bad for the habitat. Deer herds above carrying capacity don’t get enough high quality nutrition and their body condition suffers – that is bad for the deer herd. When body condition suffers, does produce fewer fawns and bucks produce smaller antlers – and that is bad for hunters!

Kip’s Korner is written by Kip Adams, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Northern Director of Education and Outreach for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). The QDMA is an international nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ethical hunting, sound deer management and preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. The QDMA can be reached at 1-800-209-DEER or www.QDMA.com.

This article was taken directly from a previous issue of Quality Whitetails, the bi-monthly journal of the QDMA. The $30 annual membership to QDMA includes a subscription to this acclaimed publication. For information on joining QDMA, click here.