Yesterday afternoon, the next-to-last day of the late muzzleloading/archery season in the SZ, I looked over seven whitetails, all in a row, that walked in front of me. I didn't want to take a doe that had fawns with her, but the very last deer in the file had none following her. When the smoke cleared and I got to where she was, I discovered "she" was a "he" ... a buck with 2-inch spike antlers, hidden behind those long ears. Now we all know about "button bucks" ... those 7-month-old male fawns that won't grow antlers of from 5-6 inch spikes to 6-point racks until the following year. So where and how does a 2-inch spike buck fall in this normally reliable scenario?
Chances are this buck was born very late the previous year, due to its mother being bred much later than normal, probably in December. Hence, the buck's slower antler growth seasonal pattern then falls in a medium between what would be just small buttons its first year and a set of longer spikes or a larger rack the next year.
Many believe Quality Deer Management (QDM) is all about larger racks and more mature bucks, but that's only part of the mangement scheme. A sound, balance sex ratio between male and female deer is also critical. Too many does and not enough bucks, and you get later breeding occurring, resulting in late-born fawns that often succumb to winterkill or predation. And sub-legal spike-button bucks like the one I took. Ideally the ratio should probably be about 5-6 does to each buck, but in many areas, especially excellent habitat areas or areas not being hunted, the ratio can be 10 or more to one.
"Dry Does"- We often hear hunters say they're looking for a "dry doe" for venison- meaning a doe that didn't produce a fawn. The average breeding age doe in the wild can usually produce fawns her first ten years. That's quite a while in terms of a deer's average lifespan. Often, what the hunter actually encounters is a lone doe that lost her fawn(s) to predation that previous spring.
"Antler Addiction" - Old habits die hard, and some hunters still resist harvesting does, mistakenly believing there'll be "more" deer the next year. That's true, but going back to the QDM observation, the overall quality of the deer in areas where does far outnumber breeding-age bucks will decline annually. Removing an appropriate number of does each year to keep the sex ratio near optimum levels and within habitat carrying capacity is far more important than harvesting every buck that comes within range.
