Alyssa,

Thanks for your comment. I totally understand not seeing any nice bucks due to too much deer hunting pressure and not enough Quality Deer Management.

When I purchased my deer hunting land here in northern Wisconsin, my deer hunting experience was much like what you shared. I would see countless does during deer hunting season and few, if any, bucks.

My second year deer hunting here, I learned the reason why I was seeing so few bucks.

The properties surrounding my own deer hunting land had huge groups of deer hunters.

I spoke with a few of the deer hunters from those groups. The deer hunters said they were deer hunting for any deer with a legal rack. It was in those conversations where I learned why I was not seeing any big bucks, or even small bucks, on my deer hunting land. The bucks were being harvested before they could cross the fence lines.

 From No Bucks to Monster Bucks by Marty Prokop

I wanted to see the number of and size bucks increase in my deer hunting area; not only for me, but for all the deer hunters on surrounding properties also.

I began sharing my thoughts of how to increase the numbers and sizes of the bucks in our deer hunting area.  

I developed a friendship with some neighbors and told them my plans of wanting to start Quality Deer Management here on my deer hunting land. We talked about how, decades ago when they were kids, there were so many more large bucks. They wanted to see those big, beautiful, breath-taking bucks again.

We knew the gene pool existed in the does who were the offspring of the monster bucks. We hoped if the pressure was off the bucks, we might be able to help bring monster bucks back to our deer hunting area.

 How Quick Monster Bucks Came Back by Marty Prokop 

Even though my deer hunting land appeared to have little or no large bucks in 2003, after just one and a half years of Quality Deer Management, I started seeing more bucks by 2005.

Although the 2006 season was slow for seeing a decent number of bucks during deer hunting season, I photographed a good number of individual bucks prior to deer hunting opener.

After deer hunting season, in the winter of 2006 through spring thaw of 2007, I counted fifteen individual bucks one night on my deer hunting land. That’s ONE NIGHT!

I had bucks with racks ranging from spikes, forks, six-pointers, eight pointers and two really nice 10-point bucks.

 Marty Prokop says, “Quality Deer Management Really Works!”

Share your plans of wanting to start a Quality Deer Management program with other deer hunters and with your own deer hunting party. You could see an increase in numbers and sizes of future deer.

 How to Judge a Deer’s Age in the Field by Marty Prokop 

In my opinion, it is best to let the younger bucks grow until they reach full maturity.

Judging how old a deer in the wild is can be tough. It can become increasingly difficult when coupled with the sheer excitement and adrenaline rush experienced when you see a buck while deer hunting.

One of the best ways to be able to judge a deer’s age is to study as many deer as you can.

Look through the Deer Cam Pictures at www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com. Study pictures of deer. Watch deer hunting videos. These are great ways to learn differences between mature deer and young deer.

The easiest way to judge deer age is by the overall size. Most generally, a spike buck or fork-horn buck is probably sporting his first set of antlers. This usually happens when the buck reaches 1½ years.

But judging by antler size alone is not always accurate. Antler growth depends on many factors. Age, genetics, nutrition and stress all play key roles in antler development.

Marty Prokop Reveals a Simple Measurement to Help Age a Deer 

Here is one of the best tools I use to age a deer in the field.

I focus on a simple measurement beginning at the inside corner of a deer’s eye and running to the tip of its nose.

A mature deer’s head, be it a buck or a doe, will be considerably larger than a young deer’s head. 

Generally, mature deer will measure between six and seven inches in length from the inside corner of the deer’s eye to the tip of the deer’s nose.

You may ask, “How can I measure the length of a live deer standing in front of my deer hunting tree stand?”

 Marty Prokop Shows…Become a Master of How to Age a Deer

Try this tip to help you better judge the size of a deer standing in front of you.

Find a life size photograph of a mature deer’s head. You could do this by measuring the deer from inside corner of the eye to the top of the nose. It should measure six to seven inches.

Take this photograph to the gun range or you can do this in your yard at your home.

Place the life-size picture of the deer head at different ranges. Look at the life-size photograph through your deer hunting gun scope or binoculars.

Pay attention to how the corner of the deer’s eye and the tip of its nose fill your lens. Make a mental note of what this looks like.

The next time you are out in your deer hunting tree stand and a deer walks in front of you, remember what you saw looking through your deer hunting gun scope or binoculars when you were viewing the photograph.

This has helped me target only the mature animals here on my deer hunting land.

Good Luck and Great Hunting!

Marty Prokop

http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com