“It has been said that one man’s cull is another man’s trophy”. For most beginning hunters, taking an animal of any size is an exciting conclusion to a day spent in the great outdoors. For more seasoned hunters however, a beautiful trophy often becomes a family treasure, an heirloom handed down for generations, and a source of inspiration to young hunters.

Picture a group of youngsters sitting around grandpa’s rocker in front of the fireplace with a shoulder mount hanging above the mantle.

They look at the height and width of the antlers, count the number of points, and carefully measure each one. They also measure the length of the main beams, the inside spread and the greatest outside spread.

These elements and others combine to score the trophy; but they also tell a story of the property where the animal was born and how his habitat was managed. The three basic factors that determine antler size are (1) genetics, (2) nutrition and (3) age. Other things come into play as well, and some that we probably have yet to learn; but we know that habitat and stress factors also play an important role.

We plant hundreds of acres of supplemental feed in spring and late summer, providing a variety of nutrition sources designed to produce a healthy heard. We manage our harvest with the goal of maintaining a 1.4:1 doe to buck ratio.