Good pull (no pictures)

[deerhunter10]

I still old school and don't like posting pictures of the deer I've got on camera. But first pull of the season is the best pull I've ever gotten. Still have one farm to go thay we will pull in 2 or 3 weeks. But so far so good. Also switches to several browning cameras last year and very impressed with them.

 

[BSK]

Were these pictures from Maury County? I ask because I'm trying to get a feel for how the West TN drought effected antler growth, if at all.

 

[Andy S.]

Good start. Do you expect these bucks to remain in your area, or on your property, once they shed velvet? Over the years, the majority of my mature velvet bucks photographed in Jul/Aug shift far enough to never be seen again in hard horn.

 

[BSK]

Over the years, the majority of my mature velvet bucks photographed in Jul/Aug shift far enough to never be seen again in hard horn.

Very common

 

[rem270]

I'm usually right the opposite. With the exception of 2011 (first year I started running cams) and 2012 I hardly ever get pics of good deer. 2020 one day I got about 20 pics in August of the buck I killed that December but that was the only pics I got of him. Most of the mature bucks don't show up for me until mid October. Hoping that's the case this year too because I've seen nothing remotely good.

 

[UCStandSitter]

I'm usually right the opposite. With the exception of 2011 (first year I started running cams) and 2012 I hardly ever get pics of good deer. 2020 one day I got about 20 pics in August of the buck I killed that December but that was the only pics I got of him. Most of the mature bucks don't show up for me until mid October. Hoping that's the case this year too because I've seen nothing remotely good.

Same here. My best targets never show themselves until after archery has opened. I still keep my cams out in summer and watch em like a 14 yr old boy does Only Fans but, I try not to get too worked up. More than anything in the summer I use them to ensure I'm seeing plenty of does and to keep an eye on predators/hogs.

 

[BSK]

Same here. My best targets never show themselves until after archery has opened. I still keep my cams out in summer and watch em like a 14 yr old boy does Only Fans but, I try not to get too worked up. More than anything in the summer I use them to ensure I'm seeing plenty of does and to keep an eye on predators/hogs.

I'm in the same boat. Last year was an example to the extremes. Because I was interested in if deer were using my new summer food plots, I had the full complement of cameras running from mid-July onwards. In July and August, I had a grand total of four bucks using my property. Two yearlings, one 2 1/2 year-old and one 3 1/2 year-old. Yet by the end of the season, I had picked up 52 unique bucks on camera, almost all of those being after mid-September.

 

[TheLBLman]

Do you think summer to fall range shifting is typically more than or less than 1 mile?

Based on my geographically limited observations (in Stewart Co.), seems to typically be less than a mile, but often more than enough that someone hunting most private properties will lose access to being able to specifically hunt a particular buck observed during summertime (such as in a soybean field or food plot or salt lick).

 

[BSK]

Do you think summer to fall range shifting is typically more than or less than 1 mile?

Based on my geographically limited observations (in Stewart Co.), seems to typically be less than a mile, but often more than enough that someone hunting most private properties will lose access to being able to specifically hunt a particular buck observed during summertime (such as in a soybean field or food plot or salt lick).

I would agree with this. A have a client right across the lake from my place. They have exact same terrain, but are a much larger property. With their 3,500 acres compared to my 500 acres, they see FAR less losing/gaining bucks from summer to fall. In essence, the bucks' seasonal shifts do not take them on/off the property. Of course, it helps that my client's property includes some of the bottomland agriculture where many bucks spend their summers. My property does not.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Do you think summer to fall range shifting is typically more than or less than 1 mile?

Based on my geographically limited observations (in Stewart Co.), seems to typically be less than a mile, but often more than enough that someone hunting most private properties will lose access to being able to specifically hunt a particular buck observed during summertime (such as in a soybean field or food plot or salt lick).

One of the bucks I shot last year left our property in early September, or so I thought. I had been getting pics of him for over two months and then he just vanished, only to show up directly under my stand on November 13th over a mile away. I had already "written him off" the list. Funny thing, where he ended up being found, he had cut that distance in 1/2. I have 20 cameras running that time of year. I believe he shifted off, but I just happened to be sitting just inside that bubble of his fall range that morning.

 

[deerhunter10]

Were these pictures from Maury County? I ask because I'm trying to get a feel for how the West TN drought effected antler growth, if at all.

Yes in maury county. We are I'm a drought as well surprised me.

 

[deerhunter10]

Good start. Do you expect these bucks to remain in your area, or on your property, once they shed velvet? Over the years, the majority of my mature velvet bucks photographed in Jul/Aug shift far enough to never be seen again in hard horn.

We got pictures of 6 shooters on the piece. 3 of the 6 are deer we have been hunting for at least a year and seem to stay year round, for the last 2 or 3 years. 2 are ones we let pass last year (or think they are the deer) they were consistent last year so who knows. 1 is a deer I haven't got a pictures of in 2 years show back up. He was very consistent til two years ago I thought he died. Generally we keep 2 or 3 good shooters on this place. Have had as 4 consistently through the year in 2015. They do seem to replenish pretty decent as well. Quite a bit of acres and it lays very long. With a ton of food bedding and water. Will they stay they tend to but I always believe it when I see it.

 

[megalomaniac]

As far as range shifting from summer to fall...

In my experience, about half of the bucks I've photographed in the summer and recaptured on different farms shift more than a mile (2.5 miles not uncommon), half stay locally (less than a mile).

The buck I killed last ML I saw during the velvet hunt 2 miles away. Another buck I was hunting during the velvet hunt last year shifted 2.5 miles to another one of my farms by late October. Had one that was killed on a farm beside me in November that spent every evening in a bean field late summer exactly 5 miles away.

One of the main reasons I get so excited about the velvet hunt... for many of my bucks, it will be the only chance I have to hunt them before they shift away.

 

[BSK]

In my experience, about half of the bucks I've photographed in the summer and recaptured on different farms shift more than a mile (2.5 miles not uncommon), half stay locally (less than a mile).

The buck I killed last ML I saw during the velvet hunt 2 miles away. Another buck I was hunting during the velvet hunt last year shifted 2.5 miles to another one of my farms by late October. Had one that was killed on a farm beside me in November that spent every evening in a bean field late summer exactly 5 miles away.

That is fascinating info Mega! I've talked to some researchers, who do a lot of GPS collar studies, who believe seasonal range-shifting distances are farther in mixed ag/forest habitat than in primarily forest habitat. It is known that yearling buck dispersal distances increase the more open the habitat. Extensive forests produce the shortest average yearling buck dispersal distances, while wide open ag country the longest.