im looking for someone to help me with some questions i have about maintaining a level of mature bucks on our farm anyone who can help please respond..... Honest abe

ask away but give the details about the farm as well. size, ratio of crops to woodlands, hunting pressure both on the farm and neighbors, water sources, locale, etc

Yep, give us the details, and I can guarantee you'll get the answers!

OK THE Farm is only 100 acres one small lake one large pond and a creek. surrounded bye river bottom for miles only 6 deer hunters in prolly 5 square mile radius very weak hunting pressure located in north east texas along the sabine river bottom. buck to doe ration is prolly round 1 to 3 maybe 1 to 4. planting food sources for 4 years rye winter peas etc. the problem is not seeing bucks we see  quite a few of them there just all small deer.    Bout 5 years ago a man about a mile from the property killed a 160 class buck the only one of good size weve seen in the ten years weve been there

Since your farm is only 100 acres, you should talk to the other hunters in the area and come up with certain criteria that the buck must meet before you pull the trigger. For example, my neighbors and I have agreed to shoot bucks that are only 4 years and older, or only bucks over about 140 inches. Everyones idea of a "trophy" is different so you just need to work out what you think is best for your area. Also, you can never shoot to many does. I try to kill 3 does for every buck I shoot. There are many other things that go into managing for big bucks but these are just a couple things that will help out. Good luck

Posted By WillyG on 03 Oct 2012 02:59 PM
Since your farm is only 100 acres, you should talk to the other hunters in the area and come up with certain criteria that the buck must meet before you pull the trigger. For example, my neighbors and I have agreed to shoot bucks that are only 4 years and older, or only bucks over about 140 inches. Everyones idea of a "trophy" is different so you just need to work out what you think is best for your area. Also, you can never shoot to many does. I try to kill 3 does for every buck I shoot. There are many other things that go into managing for big bucks but these are just a couple things that will help out. Good luck

What WillyG said,  also I have family in Texas and the deer manager in their area told me he likes to keep 3 or 4 bucks per doe ratio to grow bigger and bigger bucks.  Also only kill the older bucks that are trophies but not the most dominating buck in that area anymore.  Good luck with your monster buck!

Food plots will help hold and feed the does and fawns, but minerals and protein rich plants are what bulks up bucks and helps develop antlers. Genetics are also important reasons to cull the does, since a large percentage of a bucks genetic make-up is derived from the doe that had him as a fawn. Do you use trail cameras? If not, invest in a couple and see what bucks are there that you don't see. It could be that the bucks you are seeing just aren't the bigger, older trophy bucks. If you get pics of nothing but scrub bucks, then start culling them and only let the decent ones live to breed, along with the biggest and most productive does.

Welcome to the boards honest abe.

The state is already attempting to manage the bucks in your area for you. That's why they put an antler restriction on legal bucks throughout most of the state. Not knowing which county your farm is in, I'll reference Smith county, which is in the Sabine River bottom area. There is a four deer limit, two legal bucks may be taken, but only one may have an inside spread of 13 inches or greater. A legal buck is defined as having a hardened antler protruding through the skin and at least one unbranched antler or an inside spread measurement between the main beams of 13 inches or greater.
I believe the hunting pressure in that area is much greater than you realize, what with Dallas being so close. For years many people just shot anything that looked like it might have an antler sticking out. That's why we now have antler restrictions through most of the state.

Ok everything you guys have stated is true to form. and i deeply appreciate the tips and advice please keep it coming. But i have already talked to the guys hunting the surrounding area and we have agreed on criteria. this was 5 years ago the only people i havent talked to that i am sure are hunting hunt 3 to 4 miles away. i have looked at topography maps and we have great habitat surrounding us. native browse is plentifull and i have no trouble seeing lots of does there everywhere. but the other guys i have talked to arent seeing big bucks either... and big to us is 130" class 4 to 5 year old deer that is our shooting criteria. every year we will see 1 to 3 mature bucks and from october to february they dissapear nobody sees them not even the trail cameras. if yall wouldd like to have a look on goggle maps i hunt in rains county close to van zandt county and have also tried mineral supplements to no avail

I grew up in river valley surrounded by agriculture and small wood lots. What worked best was to look for choke points between bedding areas and open fields. The mature bucks probably have gone nocturnal. Look for lesser used trails. They might be five to ten yards away from the ones the does use.

-MD

Y'all might have talked and agreed, but how do you know they are sticking to the agreement? In my experience, most people would just as soon tell a lie when the truth would serve them better.............especially when it comes to hunting and fishing!!!!
The guy who hunts my neighbors place is supposed to shoot only 8 points or better, but when I hear him pop a cap at 4:30, and I'm not seeing bucks 'til 7:00, I tend to not believe he's living up to the rules!!!!!!!!!! And btw, all of the food plots are on my property, none on the property next door!!!!!

Well the paticular stand placement i have. my stand is on a hill side on the up stream side of a damed up river with good cover abd plenty of oak trees it splits to forty acre hay meadows and i know the deer travel it back and forth i see new sign almost everyday tracks scrapes rubs etc. i hunt every weekend and two to three afternoons during the week before work. and i agree maybe they arent holding up to our agree ment but would that have that much effect on the mature bucks

It is likely there are not many mature bucks around and those that are have learned to avoid hunters. The easiest solution is also the hardest...and it takes a while. Do not shoot younger bucks. The only way to have more 3 and 4 year old deer is not to shoot them when they are two year olds. You can and should talk to neighboring hunters, but as stated above, there is no guarantee they won't shoot young deer. And you can"t guarantee deer won't get hit by cars, relocate to another property, or disappear for other reasons. You can ultimately only control your actions.
Shooting does to balance the buck to doe ratio is something you should look into. It is said a balanced herd has a more pronounced rut, as there is greater competition for doe, so hunters seem the bigger bucks more often. My thinking about shooting does is each remaining deer benefits from more food, water and cover and can have better health and more likely to reach it's potential. Look at the www.QDMA.com site. They have methods for conducting a camera survey that can quantify the buck doe ratio as well as a lot of other resources. Just know the site is about maintain a balanced herd and allowing bucks to reach there genetic potential by improving food and cover and most importantly age - larger antlers are a by product of having a healthy overall herd.

Should i consider finding another stand location on the property where i can see longer distances

An idea might be setting up a camera to see when the deer are traveling through the oaks. If there are rubs and scrapes, your in a good area - maybe not at the right time. A lot of deer activity is after dark, especially when they know hunters are in the woods during the day.
If you can catch glimpses of deer, but can't get a clear view / shoot, moving that direction would be good idea. Setting up were you can see a long way might get you a shoot, but could also give some indication of where the deer are passing through so you can move in on them... I'd also move if seeing nothing. Having several stands or trees ready for a climbing stand is a good way to go, since you can select the best one based on the wind and the specific location you are seeing deer.
good luck