saw this on tv

[AZHunter]

You would win that bet sir! :drink2:
So, my next question then is how exactly does one manage a herd? You have no way of knowing what genes are retained in any given deer. The best you can do is improve the environment and nutrition. I would think it matters not what deer you take when.

One thing to keep in mind is that Texas deer hunting and management is a completely different ball game than anywhere else. Take what they say about it on TV shows (or in person) with a grain of salt. I've hunted with my BIL in south Texas off and on for 7 years now and they emphasize trophy antler size over anything else and you CANNOT talk genetics (real world genetics) with them. Its almost like you have the genetics you learn in college and then there is "Texas Genetics" that doesn't apply anywhere else, but will cause heated arguments if you try to explain real-world genetics. High-fence operations are notorious for this because big antlered bucks bring big money and they see everything in terms of $$. I know of at least 2 instances of a guy paying $30k to shoot a 200" deer in south Texas. Deer herds on high-fence operations are not really wild deer herds (IMO) because there is no natural genetic flow and they manage every buck to be BIG. If its not BIG, its a management/cull buck and its removed.

I won't be hunting on my BIL's lease anymore because the landowner took his gas/oil royalties and high-fenced the 300 huntable acres and then paid a grotesque amount of money to buy both bucks and pregnant does that are bred from 200" bucks. I tried to talk genetics with my BIL and it went nowhere (and he knows I have a genetics background).