The sun was fading away in the West and I knew that my time left in the stand was limited.
With the temperature reaching into the 80s, I was rejoicing with a nearby squirrel when the heat vanished for the day.
With only 15 minutes of shooting light remaining, I caught a glimpse of a deer across the field.
The deer was feeding on the leaves of a willow tree, which was something that I found unusual, before entering the food plot.
The young buck had four-points on one side, but his other antler was missing. I didn’t know whether the buck had injured his antler during the velvet stage or if the undeveloped antler was a genetic trait.
As the deer entered the field, he looked suspicious. He didn’t stay in the field long before he ran off.
Although I never got a good look at the buck, I felt that the deer was a cull deer, or a deer that could potentially pass on poor genetics.
After climbing down and meeting up with the landowner, I asked him what his rule was about cull deer.
“If you see a cull deer, then shoot it,” the owner replied. “We are trying to grow trophy deer out here and those type of deer just hurt the overall population.”
I had a feeling he would respond with “shoot it.”
The particular land I was hunting had a strict management rule. Only Pope and Young bucks and mature does could be killed, so I assumed the landowner would want all bucks that would pass on poor genetics out of the deer herd.
Like all good management properties, cull bucks are removed when the opportunity presents itself, but smaller bucks with good genes are passed up until they mature.
Places like King Ranch and Triple 7 Ranch don’t grow trophy deer without controlling the deer herd. They set up strict managing guidelines to ensure quality bucks in the future.
Other local hunting clubs are not as strict on what their members can shoot, but they do have regulations. Most hunting clubs have an eight-point rule or a rule that states that the antlers must be outside of the ears before it is shot.
In order to improve the quality of deer in Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks passed a rule that prevented hunters from taking a buck with less than four-points.
Although the rule inspires different opinions, I believe that this will help public land bucks mature before they are taken. Therefore, hunters will have a better chance to take a trophy buck on public land.
So whether you are hunting public or private land, think about the future before you shoot that basket-racked eight-pointer. How big will it be next year?
When the adrenaline starts to pump, it is hard to say “No” to a nice buck, so set guidelines for yourself before taking to the field.
Jake Fagan is a senior communication major. He can be reached at [email protected].