Over the past decade or so, landowners and hunters have done a remarkable job on a grass roots level to protect younger bucks. We've come a long way, but we still have far to go.

Of the three key components to producing big bucks, nutrition is clearly the most important. With that in mind, I began our new series last month by discussing the importance of nutrition in producing trophy whitetails. This month, we'll talk about the second-most-important component to the management trinity, and one that you easily can do something about: age. As a good friend of mine once said, "You may have the genes of an all-pro linebacker, but if all you have to eat as a child are turnip greens, don't plan on making the draft!"

I think I can safely say that every B&C buck on record was once was a yearling. If this is true, how many potential world-class bucks have been taken away in the back of a hunter's truck long before those deer reached their potential? Sadly, the truth is that the average buck harvested in the U.S. is still no more than 2 years of age, and many are still yearlings.

Unfortunately, the average whitetail hunter sees a deer for about three seconds before he pulls the trigger. Whenever I give presentations on deer behavior at hunting shows, someone in the audience will invariably proclaim, "I've never seen a deer do that!"

Obviously, the hunters who make these kinds of statements never get to witness certain buck behaviors because they pull the trigger so fast there is no time to observe them. So, here's my point: Once you improve the nutritional level for the deer on your land, the next step is to try to help them reach maturity.

THE DOOLY COUNTY PROJECT
I've mentioned this project many times before in my writings. In the early 1990s, there was a grass roots effort by Dooly County, Georgia, landowners to deal with the issue of over-harvest of young bucks. Since hunters often can be their own worst enemy, this grass roots movement pushed to develop ways to protect yearling bucks. The project -- co-sponsored by the Georgia DNR and the University of Georgia and funded in part by North American Whitetail -- would require participation not only from landowners and hunters, but also from professional biologists and game wardens alike.

Examining antler data from the area's bucks, the decision was made to impose a 15-inch outside-spread limit for legal bucks taken in Dooly County, beginning in the 1993 season.

According to our data, a 15-inch outside-spread limit would protect over 98 percent of yearling bucks, as well as the majority of 2-year old bucks.

The Dooly County Project was a huge success. Garnering unprecedented public support, the word got around quickly. But did the project achieve its goal of producing an increased number of older bucks? A study conducted by biologists Mike VanBrackie and J. Scott McDonald in four Georgia counties clearly showed a positive impact. Sixty-three yearling bucks were radio-collared in Dooly and Macon counties, where the 15-inch spread antler limitation was established.

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