How Far Will This Buck ROAM During the Rut?

[TheLBLman]

Every year I see hunters over-hunting certain spots near where they've either seen or gotten pictures of a particular buck they'd like to kill. It's as if that buck lives only on 10 acres and doesn't do any seasonal range shifting.

Well, here's a buck named "George" hunters are being asked NOT to shoot.
So far, sounds like he's roamed as far as 15 miles from his "home" area.
As a reference I always have in the back of my mind:
One square mile is 640 acres.

https://www.foxnews.com/family/south-ca ... l-pet-deer

 

[Methane]

Read that story this morning and was amazed...15 miles

 

[TDW05]

I can tell you how this story ends lol ole georgy boy might not make it back home! :rotf:

 

[cbhunter]

I can tell you how this story ends lol ole georgy boy might not make it back home! :rotf:

TRUTH, unfortunately. Who ever kills him will keep it quiet and they will keep waiting on his return

 

[Hunter 257W]

I wonder about the statement that the family "Allows the deer to roam freely about their property"? That implies that it is penned up or even sleeps in the house like most people do with dogs at the present time, but is allowed outside periodically to "roam". Surely that's not the case though. Reading between the lines, this is just a wild deer that they fed and handled a lot when it was orphaned as a fawn and it turned into somewhat of a pet as a result. He hasn't got a real big rack so he might survive this year but let him gain another 30 inches and all bets are off next year.

Not really surprised at the 15 mile distance. This is what drives me to hunt as much as possible from mid December on to the end of season because I know that's the time the old bucks from way out of my area are most likely to wander across my land for the one time in their life.

 

[TheLBLman]

I wonder about the statement that the family "Allows the deer to roam freely about their property"?

Obviously, the writers and the family may know little about normal deer behavior. :)

Generally speaking, seems a bad idea to try to "domesticate" a wild deer.

I can understand why sometimes people feel inclined to save a fawn from an otherwise certain death.
It's my understanding this one's mother was killed by a car in front of the family's house.
The fawn otherwise would have soon died from a car collision, dog predation, or starvation.

Shame they couldn't have found a way to just relocate to an area with a good population of nursing adult doe and other fawns.

Not really surprised at the 15 mile distance.

Not shocking, but definitely more linear distance than most rutting bucks typically travel.
Two to five miles more common.

I had a very identifiable yearling buck last week present in two different areas a little over 2 miles apart.
100% certain the same yearling. Suspect he was dispersing, and will likely never see him again, as he'll end up miles beyond anywhere I'd likely have that opportunity.

Had similar happen last year with a near solid white (non-albino) male I had monitored since it's birth, until he was about 16 months of age. One day, he simply left the country. If he's still alive, he should be somewhere in Stewart (or possibly Houston) County, and would be a 2 1/2-yr-old albino-looking buck now, but he is not a true albino, just 95% white.

 

[TheLBLman]

We often get repeated pics of particular deer, and like to think of those particular deer as "our" deer,
over on "our" place, where "we" hunt.

As though we never realize many neighbors may be thinking similarly about the same particular deer
over on "their" places.

How many of us would be hunting beyond our borders simply by going a mile in any direction?

A particular adult buck's weekly range can typically be well beyond one square mile.
He will often "shift" that range seasonally, to other areas, sometimes miles away.
THEN, the rut may expand his range to be larger and beyond his combined other "seasonal" ranges!

Ever notice how often you get weekly/daily summertime pics of particular bucks,
then never see them during deer season?

Ever notice how often the bucks you see during deer season,
you never saw before?

 

[megalomaniac]

A couple years ago, my cam caught a 3.5yo buck at 930am. I saw him at 230 that same afternoon. 1.5miles away.

Some bucks are homebodies, however, and won't travel off a square mile their whole life

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[huntintn]

I killed the neighbors pet deer 20 years ago, the neighbor was my father-in-law. Good eating, carried him his collar back home to him.

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[muddyboots]

this is gonna end badly.

 

[Andy S.]

A buddy of mine from Wisconsin was drawn for a coveted shotgun/MZer hunt on a National Wildlife Refuge (hardwoods, oaks, etc) late season one year. That same year, he had a 160" 10 point using some summer beans behind his house all summer, with mainly ditches and small woodlots nearby for bedding and cover. He had trail cam pics of him early and he tried and tried to kill him with his bow (his preferred method to hunt, both weapon and time of year), but never could seal the deal, and eventually lost him at some point in the season. He ended up shooting him with a firearm on the National Refuge, about 5 miles from his house, as the crow flies, two months later. The exact same deer. Talk about fate, he had it that year, and he was tickled to finally get him. At that point in his hunting career, that was his biggest buck to date.

 

[TheLBLman]

He ended up shooting him with a firearm on the National Refuge, about 5 miles from his house, as the crow flies, two months later.
The exact same deer.

Assuming was post-rut when he killed that buck,
great example of seasonal range shift.

 

[Andy S.]

Either tail end of the rut, or post rut. He likes to kill all of his bucks with a bow before they go rut crazy. When I met him in 2006, it was very interesting hearing his philosophy on hunting and killing big bucks in Wisconsin, as it was 180 degrees from how I had hunted mature bucks most of my life in the south. At the time, I lived for the rut (and still do for the most part), and he was ready to quit hunting once the rut hit. He said it's all luck once the rut hits and the bucks run all over the country, who knows where they will be one day to the next. He enjoyed patterning them early season, slipping in tight on them, and killing them with his compound bow. Great guy to talk deer hunting with.

 

[Stu]

Years ago when i lives in PA the radio collared bucks to track during their life. Found that some roamed up to 100 miles to find home ranges in their first year of life and some about the same during rut. Most stayed inside a 5 mile range but buck to doe ratio has alot to do with it.


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[7mm08]

Who was the guy on here years ago that had the sheds of the same buck for 4-5 years and pictures of that same buck on different farms 6-8 miles a part? He showed all the pics. Really interesting how much these old boys travel looking to sew some seeds!