Bachelor group question...

[G_Man]

Pulled pictures for the first time this past weekend...first time hunting this lease, so I didn't know what to expect. BUT a bachelor group showed up on camera and I am more excited than ever to get in a stand. Got 5 on camera, four 8 pointers and one 10. I'll post pictures as soon as my brother emails them to me.

I'm curious if anyone has some stories/experience with seeing bachelor groups early, and what happened come deer season? Ever see them again? Or did they break up and chased doe tail all over the county? I know they aren't all gonna stick around for me, but just wondering what yall have dealt with in the past.

 

[BSK]

I'm curious if anyone has some stories/experience with seeing bachelor groups early, and what happened come deer season? Ever see them again? Or did they break up and chased doe tail all over the county? I know they aren't all gonna stick around for me, but just wondering what yall have dealt with in the past.

It is EXTREMELY common for bachelor groups to break up soon after velvet shed and all bucks go back to their fall ranges. That can leave some, none, or all of the bucks in the same location. Unfortunately, that just means you will have to find out what these local bucks patterns are from summer to fall. None may leave, some may leave, or all may leave. Wish I could be more helpful or succinct, but summer to fall buck seasonal shifts are highly, highly variable.

 

[TheLBLman]

I'm curious if anyone has some stories/experience with seeing bachelor groups early, and what happened come deer season? Ever see them again?

It is EXTREMELY common for bachelor groups to break up soon after velvet shed and all bucks go back to their fall ranges.

About all you count on.
Often, most may occasionally re-visit the area, but their "fall" range is typically centered so far away that the summer range may just end up being a small part of a particular buck's rut range.

I do commonly "see again" most of them, just commonly not in the same spot where most of the summer pics were obtained. And not too uncommon for my next "see again" to be from the kill pic of a friend who took one of those identifiable bucks over a mile from the spot I had obtain lots of summer pics.

I kinda consider the shift from summer to fall range much like flushing a covey of quail regarding where they may go. Both are unpredictable, and the main difference is the bucks will land much farther away than the quail.

 

[G_Man]

Yeah that's what I was afraid of... I figured that this might be the only time i see them, but wanted to hear others' experiences as well. Who knows tho, maybe one might stick around long enough for me. Thanks guys!

 

[BSK]

Yeah that's what I was afraid of... I figured that this might be the only time i see them, but wanted to hear others' experiences as well. Who knows tho, maybe one might stick around long enough for me. Thanks guys!

I've not been able to determine a predictable pattern to why bucks in some areas disperse from their summer range more frequently and greater distances than bucks in other areas. But I absolutely have seen individual properties that see no summer to fall dispersal at all. So don't give up hope! All you can do is watch and learn. Do these bucks hang around after antler velvet shed or not? You will find each individual property will have its own unique pattern of when or if bucks seasonally shift. Some properties see a lot of seasonal shifting and some see none at all.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I've seen the bachelor groups over the years up until about September then they vanish for good. On the positive side though, your neighbors are probably all looking at trail camera pictures of nice bucks hoping they stay on their property and THOSE bucks will be the ones you will be seeing come Fall.

 

[bowriter]

On the flip side of BSK's comments, in urban and suburban settings, bachelor groups may not break up as expected. It is quite common for only the dominant buck to withdraw from the group and even then, he may not go far at all. Often, he stays within relatively close proximity to the others. He does however, move a receptive doe out of the area for up to 36-hours.

On one of my properties, the bucks simply do nopt break up at all. On another, it is slight but it is noticeable.

In hunting backyards, almost all of the rules of whitetail behaviour should be thrown out the window. They do what they need to do. Nothing more. The habits of the big woodland deer are of no import and neither are the habits of the broken cropfield/woodlot deer. That is why they are so dang much fun. You never know what they are going to do or where they are going to go.

I promise, I can somewhat pattern a swamp or woodland buck 10X faster than a backyard buck. Notice, I said "somewhat".

 

[G_Man]

This is our first time on this lease so I really have no idea what to expect. I'm definitely holding my breath tho haha

The lease is 80 acres, there is a big ol corn field to the south of our property line and a small pond 200 yards into our property. I placed a trophy rock close to the pond and a trail camera over it. Seems they're all hitting the mineral lick, getting a drink, heading the opposite way they came straight to that corn field. Every picture is the same thing, so hopefully some will stick around the area and kinda repeat the same process.

Still waiting for my brother to email me pictures..when he does, i'll add a link in this forum to the pictures that i'll post in the trail cam side of TNdeer

 

[bowriter]

Better start figuringout what to do when the corn is gone. Eighty acres is not much. You should be able to have it "mapped" pretty well in a couple days. Forget bedding areas, forget what your camera says and for sure, forget water as an attractant this year. Look for food sources, i.e. mast and fruit to start with, green browse next.

Then map each fence or creek crossing if there are any and memorize just where they are. That can be invaluable if you lose a blood trail. Your map should then show you, how the trails interact with the food sources. Then, why heck, just hang some stands.

 

[Winchester]

Like stated, its a total guess as deer react differently in different areas! Only YOU can answer this come October?

 

[BSK]

Like stated, its a total guess as deer react differently in different areas! Only YOU can answer this come October?

Yup. You're just going to have to watch and see.