How Many Bucks Can I Harvest? | National Deer Association (2024)

FAQs

How Many Bucks Can I Harvest? | National Deer Association? ›

Properly licensed hunters are still limited to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased. Season bag limit is two deer—only ONE may be antlerless and ONE may be antlered. Hunters may NOT harvest two antlerless deer.

Statewide: Oct. 5-Nov. 16, Sunday Nov. 17, Nov. 18-22 and Dec. 26-Jan. 20, 2025. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlered deer, and an antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.

In general, you can produce about three to four 3½-year-old and older bucks for every 500 acres of high-quality habitat. I have helped manage lands where this number of bucks was difficult to reach and others with twice that harvest rate.

So, before you venture out into the woods, you might be wondering: does the buck to doe ratio really matter? You can have a successful season no matter what the ratio is, but an “ideal” ratio is as close to a 1:1 ratio as possible. The importance of the ratio of bucks to does can also depend on where you live.

Population models used by many state wildlife agencies across the whitetail's range suggest a harvest of 20 to 30 percent of the adult does in a given population will stabilize the herd (“adults” are 1½ years or older).

Deer season regulations

In most WMUs, a buck with three points to a side, counting the brow tine, is legal to harvest. But in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D, a buck must have three points not counting the brow tine.

All deer farms in Pennsylvania are required to be surrounded by a minimum 8-foot fence, although 10-foot fencing is recommended. Fencing should be of woven-wire construction (sometimes referred to as "game fence") or similar design.

The correct answer depends on your soils and associated plant communities, the habitat management history of the property, rainfall as well as the current management practices. Some properties can safely operate 1 deer for every 8 acres while others must keep their deer density closer to 1 deer per 15 or 25 acres.

Conversely, taking a buck eliminates only that deer and not necessarily potential offspring because other bucks will breed in its place. Doe harvesting helps balance the buck-to-doe ratio, which makes it easier to hunt trophy bucks.

Can you realistically manage the complete life of a mature buck on a 40 acre parcel? No. But you can definitely manage for them! Although 40 acres is truly too small to attract, hold, and effectively manage a mature buck's entire world, that does not mean that you can't have the opportunity to shoot one every year.

How long will a mature buck stay with a doe? ›

During the peak of breeding activity, most mature bucks will stay with a receptive doe for about 24 hours. This is called the Lock Down phase of the rut. During this time, mature bucks typically only move when they are finished tending one receptive doe and are seeking another.

Shorty says, “In a controlled environment like ours, we feel a mature buck can breed 10 to 12 does per year before running himself down and hurting his body condition, which in turn hurts his antler growth the following year.

For example, on King Ranch, Kingsville, TX, a “cull buck” is defined as any buck with at least one unbranched antler, any buck >3 years old with 7 or fewer antler points, any buck >4 years old with 8 or fewer antler points, and any buck >5 years old that scores under 130 B&C inches.

Early harvests provide a more energetic high, peak harvests offer a balanced high, and late harvests deliver a more relaxing and sedative effect.

If you wait too long, your buds will be overripe and possibly ruined. If you harvest too early, the buds may not have finished growing (and developing their potency). Ultimately, the goal is to harvest when your plants' trichome and resin production is at its peak.

Preparing for Cannabis Harvest

For this, you'll want the temperature to be around 20°C and the humidity at about 50%. The best time to start the harvesting process itself is early in the day, on a dry day. If you're growing outside, you have less control over environmental variables.

In most of the state, hunters are required to find three points on an antler for the deer to be a legal buck. On the western fringe of Pennsylvania in Wildlife Management Units 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2SD, those counties require bucks to have three points including the main beam, but not counting the brow tine.

Since hunters statewide may hold up to six antlerless deer licenses at a time, and hunters may obtain no more than three antlerless deer licenses during the initial mail-in rounds, each hunter will qualify for at least three additional licenses at the time over-the-counter sales begin, although licenses in many WMUs ...

Deer and turkey harvests must be reported within 10 days (five days for turkeys or deer taken by mentored hunters, or persons required to make a homemade tag). A successful bear hunter must, within 24 hours, take the animal, along with his or her hunting license and bear license, to a Game Commission check station.

An Agricultural Deer Control permit authorizes landowners or lessees to enlist the aid of hunters for the purpose of removing deer causing damage on agricultural lands, outside of the regular deer hunting seasons. The permit is valid from August 1 to September 15 and February 1 to April 15, excluding Sundays.