Our Management Plan

Our sound plan of management enhances our deer's ability to grow to their full potential

A MANAGEMENT PLAN DESIGNED TO FOSTER THE DEER'S FULL POTENTIAL

Western Kentucky has truly remarkable genetics for trophy whitetails. Our sound management plan and commitment to employing it enhance our deer's ability to grow to their full genetic potential. Let's take a look at some key points we strive to attain as we work to provide you with the hunt of a lifetime.

"We believe a buck or doe conserving energy is a stress-free animal that is healthy and able to reach maximum genetic potential. Therefore, we are constantly adding travel passages, both by dozer and by hand."

Travel

Every moment, a whitetail either stores or burns energy. We help ease the energy burden by providing easy passage from known bedding areas to food sources and natural water. When a deer travels free from stress, it conserves energy.

Stress comes in the form of outside influences, pressure, and the simple ability to navigate through woods, crops, or fields. Limiting pressure and providing easy passages, we help our deer conserve energy, promoting healthy growth and overall physical stability.

Rearing Offspring

This is an essential component. Our area has a fantastic climate for growing what we call double-crops. Simply, it means planting wheat in the fall, harvesting the wheat in early summer, and following the wheat with beans. This is important because standing, mature wheat that is near harvest provides one of the safest places for a doe to safely hide young fawns.

The thick wheat aids in scent detection from predators and hides deer incredibly, giving the fawns the edge they need to grow to the point they can evade. The cab of a combine gives us a pretty accurate count of the year's birthing numbers and the overall health of does and fawns. Our fawn survivability rate is off the charts.

Evade

Our area is rural. The lack of everyday human pressure is a significant factor. Our hardwood stands are vast, to go along with long ridges and fertile river and creek bottoms, all of which our properties posses. Our area is agriculture-driven, with the primary crops being soybeans, corn, and wheat. We have a great number of CRP areas. CRP stands for Crop Reduction Program.

The USDA initiated the CRP program to encourage farmers to let their smaller fields grow naturally and not be tilled or farmed to replenish the soil and prevent erosion. In our opinion, this program is one of the key contributors to the resurgence of our trophy bucks. These fields are typically only cut twice a year, and the natural growth is a magnet for mature whitetail bucks. Bucks can bed and roam in these areas relatively pressure-free. CRP stands annually produce some of the biggest bucks taken in our state.

Our Management Philosophy

• We believe a buck or doe conserving energy is a stress-free animal that is healthy and able to reach maximum genetic potential. Therefore, we are constantly adding travel passages, both by dozer and by hand.
• Our plots are selected and seeded with nutrient-rich alfalfa and clover. Alfalfa is a hardy plant that holds its palatability and nutrients well into winter when other green plants are dormant. It is the preferred food of our deer, but it is a plot that requires diligent maintenance. We believe our guests and our deer are worth it.

• The primary reason for our vast amount of acreage is to keep hunting pressure minimal. This practice takes true commitment, but it is necessary to continue producing mature bucks. Limited hunting pressure is key in producing trophy whitetails.
• Our goal is to harvest mature, 4.5-year-old, and older bucks with 5-inch minimum H1 mass measurement and better. This method ensures our bucks have the opportunity to reach maturity.

   To help educate you on how to judge a buck on the hoof, all of our hunters receive a series of email newsletters starting with a Spring newsletter in May, followed by a Summer newsletter, ending with your hunt itinerary newsletter. The newsletters contain important and informative information about your booked hunt that includes websites to visit; these websites will explain how to judge mature bucks on the hoof with comparisons that are illustrated. 

  ANY BUCK HARVESTED BELOW THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN A FINE IN THE AMOUNT OF $1500.00 TO BE PAID AT THE TIME PREMIER OUTFITTERS MEASURES  YOUR HARVEST.  NO EXCEPTIONS!! THIS FINE WILL BE DOUBLED TO $3000 ON THE LAST DAY OF THE HUNT. IN ADDITION TO OUR HARVEST REQUIREMENT FOR BUCKS, IF ANY HUNTER WOUNDS A BUCK AND BLOOD IS FOUND, THIS IS CONSIDERED THE HUNTER BUCK, AND THE HUNT FOR A BUCK IS CONCLUDED.
• Each guest will be asked to sign a hunter liability agreement during orientation that covers our buck quota.
• This hunt is a trophy hunt; we are not looking for hunters interested in just killing a buck. We understand each hunter is investing their hard-earned money to have a chance to hunt managed properties. We want true trophy hunters dedicated to the practice of protecting the integrity of the hunt for the next hunter and for the residents of Kentucky who have neighboring properties. We will not tolerate senseless killing. If you are not able to judge a mature whitetail buck on the hoof, then this is not the hunt for you! We thank you for your cooperation in protecting  Kentucky's natural resources.