Eastern WA Buck Regression

[hunter399]

All the products at the hunting stores.....
Yes you would have to dump a truck load.
Feed store different story, all livestock peeps know what they need to make it bigger and better.

That's all I can say on open forum

[nwwanderer]

Not seeing any regression with the local bucks and as Bearpaw said matures after EHD are showing up.  The succession of what I watch them eat is very predicable and with our current low numbers no shortage exists, yet.  As things mature and dry out a deficit time is coming soon, almost always does. A rare august rain can change that but no such luck here.  The harvest waste this year with very short hard to get in a combine crops will certainly help with the late summer slump and they will change to take advantage.  By next March we should see the real effects of WDFW ban, depends on the winter, could be substantial.   Would love to argue the effects of decades of 3 point plus rule, it is not pretty, genetics does make a difference.

[bearpaw]

This is kind of getting away from the original post but I truly believe extra feed and minerals over the long term (providing feed most or all of the year) makes more difference than many people realize. Case in point, how do you think these game ranches produce such huge antlers? Selective breeding and feeding! Why are Midwest whitetails living in ag rich areas so much heavier than northwestern woods whitetails?

I realize it’s not wildlife management’s goal to turn all our wild animals into game ranched animals. I think that issue and the fact the anti-hunting commissioners want to stop anything they can, had more to do with the wildlife bait ban than disease did, even though disease was the excuse used for the ban.

Another example of the impact extra feed can make on wildlife, we used to kill bear that weighed 400+ nearly every year in northeastern WA. After bear baiting was banned the average weight of bear we’ve taken in eastern Washington has probably dropped by 50 to 100 pounds and once we got more than 10 years past when baiting was ended we have not killed a single bear over 400 pounds in northeastern WA. I don’t hear of many other people taking as heavy of bear either!

When you consider what areas produce the heaviest animals in any species, there are almost always excessive amounts of quality feed, either natural or human provided, available to help those animals grow so large.

Getting back to the main questions in this topic, I think there is plenty of feed this year in the areas I hunt, but the whole season has been earlier, because spring was early I think we got dry earlier, but I think there is still plenty of browse for deer. I will be more concerned if winter starts early and is long and hard.

[teal101]

Your asking a question that most biologist, probably couldn't answer.  Would tell you there personal opinion.

What's the hunting pressure like in these areas.
Private vs public .
Mountain buck vs AG buck
Do the bucks go nocturnal,only eat at night during hunting season.

Big bucks do not eat during the rut. Only one thing they want.

By late December/January most big bucks are starved before winter starts. Running on fat reserve,is why they continue to look healthy. By spring may look half dead.

Then you have genetics from one area or another.
May be that one area bucks will top out antler growth at 4-5 years.
Some 6-7 years . Ten years ,who knows. These are genetic traits.
Growing extra points,trash points,double eye guards,drop times,all that. Pure genetics,seen young bucks with double eye guards.
Sometimes they carry those genetics there whole life,other times it happens as they age .

The only way to know for sure ,is to keep an eye on individual bucks for many years. Look at all the factors in its life,see the genetics for that given area . And make your best guess.

Every buck I caught on camera last year over my pear pile took a bite while he was chasing tail   The small bucks just ate, but the big ones would take a few bites them start chasing again.  Was interesting to see. 

[hunter399]

Your asking a question that most biologist, probably couldn't answer.  Would tell you there personal opinion.

What's the hunting pressure like in these areas.
Private vs public .
Mountain buck vs AG buck
Do the bucks go nocturnal,only eat at night during hunting season.

Big bucks do not eat during the rut. Only one thing they want.

By late December/January most big bucks are starved before winter starts. Running on fat reserve,is why they continue to look healthy. By spring may look half dead.

Then you have genetics from one area or another.
May be that one area bucks will top out antler growth at 4-5 years.
Some 6-7 years . Ten years ,who knows. These are genetic traits.
Growing extra points,trash points,double eye guards,drop times,all that. Pure genetics,seen young bucks with double eye guards.
Sometimes they carry those genetics there whole life,other times it happens as they age .

The only way to know for sure ,is to keep an eye on individual bucks for many years. Look at all the factors in its life,see the genetics for that given area . And make your best guess.

Every buck I caught on camera last year over my pear pile took a bite while he was chasing tail   The small bucks just ate, but the big ones would take a few bites them start chasing again.  Was interesting to see.

I might be wrong,I've never seen them eat much during rut.
I'm talking that week ,dead nuts rut.
Not post or pre rut.

All the bucks that would show on my camera with a doe.
They always would stand in the background,with this crazy look in there eyes.  Where as not rutting ,they would push the doe out and eat.
Then I've had smaller 4pt or something be eating for just a few pics,then maybe ten minutes later a bigger or biggest in the area shows. He doesn't eat at all . Just chasing them smaller guys off.

Those are just trends I noticed,but of course if your bait pile is a good one. There's always that exception .
So your probably correct.

[kodiak06]

This is kind of getting away from the original post but I truly believe extra feed and minerals over the long term (providing feed most or all of the year) makes more difference than many people realize. Case in point, how do you think these game ranches produce such huge antlers? Selective breeding and feeding! Why are Midwest whitetails living in ag rich areas so much heavier than northwestern woods whitetails?

You answered your own question.... The AG field areas have more nutritional foods. The black belt of Alabama is a good example. Richer soils, more ag, more antler...  Research has shown this for decades.