Except they will still need to get to 4 or 5 years of age to be big with the exception of the very very rare giant. Just going off observations and anecdotal age data, the vast majority of bucks won’t get there in Montana.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rokcast/id1473746379?i=1000658031880
@sclancy27 Rather than pollute the season proposal thread I thought I would start a new thread. this podcast is timely it basically speaks to the topic we were discussing and backs up what you were saying. I’m trying...
Yeah that’s the sticky wicket is some form of opportunity cut and decrease in harvest success is needed. What that exactly looks like that can garner the social acceptance needed to be implemented is key. I support any and all proposals and proposesrs if they think they can get anything donein...
No offense meant whatsoever, but you and I hunt and for that matter are on Hunttalk for completely different reasons. None of them are right and wrong as long as we are respectful and polite. Just food for thought.
As you know, Colorado is starkly different than Montana in terms of population, development, etc. they are tasked with spreading out a giant amount of hunters on the finite landscape. The do that with limited entry for deer that includes very short window rifle seasons. Currently a season...
I agree. I think when the science is settled(if it ever is and I will be a mushroom or mushroom fertilizer) that it will be an all of the above thing. Genetics, habitat/nutrition, age. Hopefully they will be able to determine what factors have the greatest effect and maybe it is habitat like...
One last point @sclancy27 why did the late 40s and 50s kick out so many big bucks in Montana?
Agreed but to insinuate buck genetics play no part is pretty hard for me to believe. I had never seen a drop tine buck in my life. In 2015 I found an area that had a drop tine buck. I have now seen...
Not to mention why do private ranch deer owners pay ridiculous amounts for the breeder sires? Why do they care if it’s not genetics? I’m not arguing montieths research(I listen to all the cokslide podcasts) but even they would admit their research is still developing. I will bet money they...
Sean, I’m not buying the habitat=big antlers simply because with the right genetics a whitetail(ranch buck) is over 200 as a 2.5 year old. The same thing happens in the wild. The big ones are big when they are young based on my anecdotal experience. That jives with @antlerradar explanation