Deer Management | Deer Hunting & Management

What is a Cull Buck?

Cull Bucks

You’ve heard the term before, but what exactly is a cull buck? Sure, white-tailed deer managers and hunters often talk about “cull” bucks. The topic always spurs lively debate among a group of hunters, but which bucks are cull bucks and which ones are not? There is an important factor to keep in mind: A cull to one person is not a cull to another, whether it be related to whitetail bucks or something else.

A cull, by definition, is something that is considered inferior or inadequate — not as good as the rest. As such, the topic of cull bucks comes about when property managers and hunters want to make a determination on which bucks should be culled or removed in an attempt to improve the quality of the local deer herd. After all, deer antlers are highly heritable. Otherwise, no one would ever be able to select for antler quality through buck harvest.

A possible cull buck?

Cull Buck: A Relative Term

Cull bucks are bucks that are deemed genetically inferior in antler quality to other bucks in the area. With that said, a cull buck on one property may not be a cull buck on another property based on measurable or non-measurable attributes. Culling is best described as shooting older bucks with less impressive antlers first rather than younger-aged bucks with more impressive antlers. A buck could also be culled because of an injury.

So, what is a cull buck on your hunting property? Cull bucks are deer that are removed for management reasons. Some refer to them as management bucks. So which bucks get culled, or managed, this season? The answer depends on several factors — and those factors vary by property as well as on past management objectives and future management goals.

If you don’t have a management plan for the property you are hunting then arbitrarily shooting bucks that you don’t consider “trophies” is not really going to get you anywhere. Whenever a cull buck is removed from a herd, it should be based on some predefined management parameters, which often includes a combination of age and antler quality.

Culls Vs. Keepers

When considering annual harvest, whitetail bucks can be judged relative to other bucks of the same age that are using the property. This is how culls, keepers and “good shooters” are ultimately sorted out for potential harvest. After all, there is no guarantee those deer will be shot or even seen.

Ideally, all bucks should be evaluated on an apples to apples basis. For example, if most of the bucks at 3 1/2 years of age on a property have 8+ antler points, then a 3 1/2 year old buck with 6 or fewer antler points would probably be considered a cull buck.

Cull buck or management buck?

However, a 2 1/2 year old buck with 7 points may not be considered a cull because he has not had the benefit of an additional year of skeletal and antler development. Other bucks commonly considered for culling are those with very short or missing brow tines or very short tine-length overall. These traits are genetically based and can be observed in a particular buck year after year as it ages.

In short, a deer that is considered a cull varies by property/area, and most importantly by who is calling the shots regarding buck harvest, whether that be a manager or deer hunter. In the absence of competent direction culling is not recommended.

Maintaining Perspective on “Culls”

A property that has been under intensive herd management for years may consider a 5 1/2 year old buck with a 130-inch Boone & Crockett score as a cull, regardless of the number of antler points. On the flip side, this may be the best buck ever seen on another property, especially those at the early stages of deer management.

Culling “inferior” bucks is not a viable management strategy for many properties. The action does not make sense on smaller properties because not enough area can be “treated” to make a difference. A hunter can not expect the removal of an (undesirable) buck a year to make a significant change in the local deer herd.

Culling Whitetail Bucks

It would benefit a hunter to shoot a old, gnarly 6 point buck over an up-and-coming 10 point buck that would likely be significantly better in another year or two. The result is the same whether you call this culling, management or just deer hunting.

Looking at it from the other direction, it’s also difficult to implement selective harvest (which is what culling is) on extremely large properties; it’s just too labor intensive because not enough hunters can be deployed to remove enough undesirable bucks to make a difference. Besides, if you own/control enough property (very few of us) there will always be good, mature bucks available for harvest.

As you can see, the culling whitetail bucks is discussed much more often than it is successfully implemented in the field.

When to Cull? Management in Action

Culling typically takes place around 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years of age, although the earlier the better in more intensive management situations. Some of the hunters reading this are probably like, “Dang, I’d love to SEE a 4 1/2 year old buck.” If this is you, then culling is not something that you need to address other than possibly switching your focus from harvesting a good, younger deer to maybe an less desirable same-age or older deer.

We can’t discuss cull bucks an not talk about spike bucks. On intensively managed properties with robust deer populations, it’s not uncommon for some managers recommend the culling of spike bucks at 1 1/2 years of age. Whether someone does this or not depends on property goals:

Have a lot of deer, including bucks, and need to remove deer at all age classes to maintain proper deer carrying capacity? Consider shooting spikes.
Have a low number of bucks, a high number of does and just want to have the opportunity to shoot a mature buck? Do not shoot any yearling bucks!

Besides, spikes do not remain spikes. Research has suggested that spikes generally do not develop as large of antlers later in life as the multi-point yearlings within their cohort, but that’s not important if there are very few mature bucks in your area. You need those bucks to grow older. And at maturity, a spike-antlered yearling will be a nice buck.

Culling: Selective Hunting, Management

Since a cull buck in an area is relative to other bucks at the same age class, accurately aging bucks on the hoof becomes of great importance. Typically, the manager and hunters that are most comfortable with aging bucks and selecting culls are those that have experience and knowledge about individual bucks over multiple years. You have to put in the time to become proficient at sizing up a buck.

Culling is simply selective harvest, and all hunters are selective of the bucks that they harvest in some manner. The practice of culling from a manager’s standpoint can best be thought of as delayed gratification, where less-desirable bucks, often older, are harvested so that younger bucks with more potential have the ability to age and develop into really impressive deer.

White-tailed Deer Versus Exotic Deer

Axis bucks in the shade.

Many exotic big game species, such as sika, fallow, and axis deer, prefer and consume the same forbs and browse as white-tailed deer. Keeping this in mind, it’s then obvious that white-tailed deer and exotic ungulates compete for limited resources on the lands in which they live. This may not be of great concern until habitat conditions become degraded, which you never want to happen. In overpopulated areas, or during periods of stress such as drought or winter, this further increases the competition both between and within these different species in the same area — whitetail compete with whitetail, exotics with exotics, and whitetail with exotics. Everyone has to eat! Continue reading “White-tailed Deer Versus Exotic Deer”

Harvest Rates for White-tailed Does

A deer herd should be managed as two separate populations. The female segement of the herd must be managed to maintain productivity. The number of new deer added to the pre-hunt population is a function of the number of fawns born and their survival until until the fall. The number of fawns born is primarily determined by the number of does, but the survival of fawns, however, is mostly dependent upon the physical condition of does, although predation is certainly a factor is some situations. Continue reading “Harvest Rates for White-tailed Does”

When Do White-tailed Bucks Shed Their Antlers

White-tailed deer shed their antlers every year prior to the re-growth of new ones. It may surprise you to find out that the entire shedding process takes only two to three weeks to complete, and of course the re-growth phase takes place over the summer up into very early fall.

Bucks have antlers throughout spring, summer, and most of the winter, but shed them sometime between January and April (depending upon the animal and latitude), after the rut and breeding season comes to an end. A buck can carry-on without antlers post-breeding because they do not need to fight-off other bucks for territory and does.

Antler Loss

Deer antlers differ from the hollow horns of cattle in that they comprise solid bone tissue with a honeycombed structure. Pedicles, the skin-covered nubs protruding from a buck’s skull, serve as a base for antler growth and support the deer’s antlers. However, keep in mind that the pedicles are permanent fixtures on the deer’s forehead, and are the point at which antlers separate from the deer each year.

During the first 6 to 8 months of age, the pedicles grow and begin to appear on a buck fawn‘s forehead. These young bucks, born earlier in the year, are commonly referred to as “nubbin bucks” by hunters. A whitetail buck actually begins antler growth as a yearling buck (first set of antlers) at about 1 year of age. Each subsequent year the buck will go through the antler growing process and loser its antlers, over and over, annually. As the deer matures, the antlers typically increase in mass, beam length, and point length. They also will add points in many cases, but not always.

Growing Antlers to Use, then Lose

During growth, antlers are covered with a sensitive skin commonly referred to as “velvet.” This velvet is filled with blood vessels that constantly feed the antlers the vitamins and the minerals necessary for bone building. Antler growth demands a lot of vitamins, minerals, protein, and energy, so adequate native forage and/or supplemental feed must be available to meet these requirements for maximum antler growth in bucks.

Antler growth can range from two to four months depending upon the individual buck. After this time, a hardened ring forms at the base of the antlers (burr) that shuts off blood flow to the velvet-covered antlers. As a result, the velvet deteriorates, dries up, and falls off, often assisted by the white-tailed buck, which rubs his antlers against tree bark.

At this point, the antler growing cycle of a whitetail buck is complete. The buck will prepare for the breeding season, and then antler shedding cycle will resume after the fall and winter breeding season. After the weather warms and Spring green-up, bucks across the whitetail’s range will start a whole new year of antler growth.

Antler Restrictions on Deer: They Work!

If you’re not familiar with antler restrictions, let me just say that they do work! In Texas, certain counties have restrictions on white-tailed bucks, meaning only bucks with inside spreads equal to or greater than 13 inches OR bucks with at least one unbranched antler (i.e. spike on at least on one side) can be harvested. Growing up, I spent a considerable amount of time hunting a parcel of land located in Colorado County.

From the time I was old enough to hunt up until 2000, the county bag limit was 1 buck per hunter. After that time, antler restrictions were implemented. Why, you ask? Well, under a 1 buck bag limit apparently only the best young bucks were harvested each deer hunting season and the cull (inferior) bucks were left on the range.

With legal bucks now limited to unbranched antlered bucks and those with an inside spread exceeding 13-inches, many young bucks now enter older age classes and inferior spikes are harvested. Of all those years I spent hunting that tract of land in Colorado County, rarely did I see a buck over 2 1/2 years old. Now, to see several high quality, young bucks in a hunt is common place. In fact, the hunter pictured above was lucky enough to harvest the 4 1/2 year old 9-point buck on that same parcel of land.

All About Antler Restrictions Regulations in Texas