Selling Shooters

Just wondering what everyone else has thought about the shooter buck industry this year? How everyone is making out with selling their shooters.

I've sold all of mine earlier than usual.

We sold ours early.


A lot of calls late.  Still don't want to pay anything for them.

I've sold a few. I think the auctions were a little low, but it's great exposure! I've done better going word of mouth, but I also try to work with some preserves to get hunts booked AND supply the deer.

Had six that all sold to one preserve earlier than normal for me. Had a few calls from other preserves looking for bucks after mine left. Yes the prices that they are offering is low but if you were in their shoes wouldn't you do the same. As long as there are farms out there that sell there's for less than others they are gonna search them out first.

Thats where this business gets tough. 


There are people that will sell their bucks for next to nothing because they are getting out of the business, testing, poor quality, etc. 


There are some preserves  selling hunts at all time low prices it seems. Once they set that hunt price early in the year they have to stick pretty close to their prices. What they are forgetting is that the farmer is taking risk for 2-3 years on every animal they raise.  Now, if you don't get hit with ehd you can probably make money at a little lower price.  Probably 2/3 of states raising WT are  getting hit by EHD every year.  Preserves are getting hit by EHD so they are not buying and moving until right before they want to shoot the animal (which I don't blame them), which creates more risk and management issues   for the farmer.  I think for the most part in the north we are at risk until the end of Oct for ehd. 


Couple this with the fact that unlike most businesses,  most of the producers do not really know what the end product needs to be.  There are no  places you can go and get any data on the numbers of how many deer are sold in each class.  How many typical or non-typical.  How many hunts.  If you do some research you can find what most are charging for hunts on their websites and look at pics of what they are shooting, thats it. Are people raising deer that the preserves don't want due to looks? when a hunter goes to a preserve what look do they want? all questions we do not have answers to as producers. Any smart business person is going to try to produce a product that can be sold.


Maybe there are some on here that raise most of their bucks for their own preserves that could provide some of this information.  I know that it may vary from one preserve to another somewhat because some are known for selling the higher dollar hunts.

I think they forget at times our losses and that the price of raising them has gone up because of feed prices, but yet we forget that they are running a business and have to make money too while keeping their hunters happy. This is part of the reason I am steppnig my genetics up another notch. It is going to cost me the same to feed but if i can grow a class or two higher shooters and get a little more for them then that helps us all out.  

Ben may I suggest you raise bigger framed typical bucks that the hunters are wanting or you will be in the same boat but spent more money to go no where. If your goal is to sell breeding stalk shot for 600 inch genetics and hope you are accepted in the auctions, if you spend enough money. But know you will always have a market for big typicals in the hunting market. One day we will realize the hunters drive our industry not the breeding. Because 100% of the deer that don’t die in our pens are shot.
This is just the opinion of an Ol deer farmer who has been put out of the breeding business

Vast majority of our hunters wanted to hunt big framed typicals. In some cases, we lowered the price on nontypicals. Even the boys that hunted smaller bucks still chose the typical over non-typical.


Improve your genetics and sell most of them at two rather than three, less death loss too.

The only problem with raising BIG typicals is.................................The does that produce these kind of  deer are disappearing from the landscape in folks quest for INCHES!

Too many people fell for the sale to get rich in the breeding for inches business. It's the loss of the end market that will make or break this industry.

Whitetail Sanctuary897671389716289



The only problem with raising BIG typicals is.................................The does that produce these kind of  deer are disappearing from the landscape in folks quest for INCHES!




Some of us smart ones now have a pen full of those throw backs that people threw away because all they made were big, framed deer. lol     Funny because thats all i could afford at the time and now that i can buy better i cant find any better. Funny how things turn out!   


 


Wayne i know you still have double digits in does, in the only can make big framed deer dept.  Untill you find out what your states future brings...Smart money says none of them or any daughters leave the farm!   Priceless!!!!!!!

Whitetail Sanctuary897671389716289



The only problem with raising BIG typicals is.................................The does that produce these kind of  deer are disappearing from the landscape in folks quest for INCHES!




Hey Wayne we know whre they can by those kind of does don't we?

One of the post above says that hunters want to hunt the big framed typicals.  I love the look of them also. 


My questions are these: 


What do we call a big framed typical?  Does a clean 170" qualify?


If so how much can you sell that buck for?  Can you produce it 2 years or does it take 3?  Can you make a profit selling a buck like this?


 


What are your thoughts?

Typical for the preserves are a big main frame typical. And thats what my herd is revolved around wide (to me is 24-28") main frame typicals with stickers and flyers. Yes you can do it at 2yrs old. I sold all my 2 yr olds but 2 this year for good money. I also sold some deer for other guys and all I can say is "wow" and these guys know they made a mistake a few years ago because they could not give there messes away. What my guys want his big mainframe with the extras for inches. Dont matter if the deer is 30-35 inches wide they have to have tine lenth!!

We both raise deer and have a hunting preserve. The main thing is to have a balanced frame. You can have stickers and kickers and extra brows but the main thing is that it looks balanced. There are a few guys that ask for a clean typical, but it is funny how many say that and walk away with something entirely different. A lot of hunters really don't know what they want until they see it. That is why it is important to have ALL styles of bucks out there. How many hunters are going to come back year after year to shoot the same buck??? Variety is the spice of life. We raise both typical and nontypical bloodlines just for that reason. A lot of hunters have never seen a deer that scored 225 for example and have no concept of what to expect.


If you want to keep people coming back you need to offer them something different. Maybe one year they want mass and the next a drop tine, etc. As long as the deer has a balanced look we think there is a hunter for it.

Well said Wild Rivers. In this forum we are not talking totally typical. Like Wild Rivers said a balanced frame is foremost, even on typicals. Yes stickers and drop-tines are a plus if they are in the right places and do not exceed 15% of the total score.


What to eliminate is xtras below the G1s, multiple G1s, inside points, double beams. These can add several inches to a 200 main frame but once they exceed 15% or 230BC they are harder to sell for a higher price.


Just my opinion

Have to say double beams are something a lot of hunters love  -mostly because it is unusual and something they don't see.  There seems to be a hunter for every deer, no matter how unusual it may be.

I have been burnt in the past by purchasing double beam bucks. When fighting with other bucks the weaker beam has broken off and then have to sell the buck at a lesser price. But you are right they do have character if there is interest

I must say in 2009 we had a goal.  That was big beautiful typicals with character.  I must say this year we hit a homerun.   Just wish we had a lot more 2yr olds that looked the same.  He is going to be our breeder this year. We will be breeding our Hunters Tea (297 7/8") fawns out of very typical does to Exon this year.


 


I must agree with other post.  The Typical doe is hard to find.  We were lucky when we started as well.  We could afford what others were trying to give away. Big Typicals can be achieved at 2 yrs old.  Just do your homework and be patient.