Ask The Biologist

Cradle Robbers

Cradle Robbers

By Bob Humphrey

Where are all these young deer coming from, and where are the giants?

QUESTION: I have a 700-acre lease on the Pee Dee River in South Carolina that’s mostly thick cut-over — perfect bedding cover. This is the fourth year we have been attempting to let our deer get bigger but this year we were overrun with spikes, 3- and 4-pointers. We ran 12 cameras on different plots and saw no deer bigger than 6-pointers, all 2 years old and younger. Any suggestions for what we can do to see more big deer?

ANSWER: Without more detailed information, it’s difficult to make specific recommendations, but I can offer some thoughts and suggestions.

First, how you are determining that the small-racked bucks are all 2 years old or younger. You can’t really tell just from observation or pictures, particularly with southern deer. The only way to tell for sure is by looking at tooth wear and replacement, which requires killing the deer. If that’s the case, then the solution is simply to stop killing young deer. Let them go so they can grow.

If you are passing up all deer presumed to be young or having 6 points or less, then the problem could be one or a combination of several other factors. One is mineral deficiencies inhibiting antler growth. If you’re in the coastal plain, you might have very well drained, nutrient-poor sandy soils. You could improve on that by providing mineral supplements or establishing food plots — after testing the soil and applying the recommended mineral fertilizer.

That area is also subject to periodic outbreaks of EHD, which might disproportionately affect older deer. It sounds like you have plenty of young deer available to mature into older age classes, so things could improve on their own.

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