Interesting observation on big bucks........

[Dean Parisian]

To continue an earlier thread on genetically engineered big bucks, (see here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=341097 ) I thought I'd share with TNDEER readership a rather interesting observation. In no way, shape or form am I plugging this hunting camp but dang, I was impressed with how they conduct their operation. For me it has zero interest. I am a DIY'er at heart. But, I like to ask questions and am fairly good at it. My Dad always said "you never learn anything with your mouth open so listen up". For some background, about a month ago I attended the Dallas Safari Club annual sporting expo. Met a great guy who worked for this company: http://www.dakotaoutfittersllc.com/index.html Fast forward a month and this past week was in Las Vegas on business and attended the national Safari Club International expo and again had the opportunity to talk to the same gentleman. He remembered me and we again started chatting about this deer, who he said is "only" 4.5 years old and NOT 5.5 years old as he had mistakenly told me. This deer is still alive and they are very interested in what his horns will look like this year. He told me that previous to this year the deer had an extremely ugly rack it's first couple of years and they were very surprised at how much he had grown between 3.5 and 4.5.


So the great guy I was talking to is a very experienced guide and retired from one occupation to guide. He has been a life-long hunter. Their operation maintains extensive camera's at feeders. Once they release big bucks into their hunting areas there is no turning back even though it is a high fence operation. What he shared was rather interesting in that more than just a few but a good number of their bigger bucks that were free-ranging, once they were released, never showed up on game camera's at the feeders and were not seen during daylight by hunters. He said some of those bucks went absolutely entirely nocturnal and he couldn't believe that it would be months after a deer was released and they would think they had either lost their "investment" to coyotes or disease or they had somehow escaped the farm that the deer would just "show up". Remember, they hunt that property twice a day for months. So it again reinforces to me when I often ask myself just where did that big buck go to remember that he may be near my backyard after all and to hunt the thick stuff harder. A good lesson for us all.

 

[tree_ghost]

They are amazing animals. A mature buck has an uncanny ability to "disappear" right under our noses. Beats me how they do it but I'm gonna try and figure it out as long as the good Lord will allow me too!


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[TheLBLman]

. . . . . once they were released, never showed up on game camera's at the feeders and were not seen during daylight by hunters. He said some of those bucks went absolutely entirely nocturnal and he couldn't believe that it would be months after a deer was released and they would think they had either lost their "investment" to coyotes or disease or they had somehow escaped the farm that the deer would just "show up". Remember, they hunt that property twice a day for months. So it again reinforces to me when I often ask myself just where did that big buck go to remember that he may be near my backyard after all and to hunt the thick stuff harder. A good lesson for us all.

Exactly.
I'd simply add those observations are not just for "big" bucks, but for "older" deer of both sexes.
Truly amazing.

IMO, one if not the biggest mistake most hunters make is selecting hunting spots where they can "see" a bit further (perhaps to utilize more of the potential range of their weapon in hand), instead of hunting the thicker cover with more limited visibility. Those older deer may never be seen, but they're more likely to be seen during daylight in heavy cover, rather than in food plots or places recently disturbed by human intrusion.

I've personally been amazed at how just minimal human intrusion can cause older deer to avoid a specific preferred food source, salt lick, trail, etc. One of the prettiest green food plots I could hunt, the deer have literally worn the ground out around it (very heavy cover), but rarely will a 2 1/2-yr-old or older deer (of either sex) step into that plot, even under the cover of darkness.

 

[Rjratliff1975]

Very interesting.

 

[muddyboots]

Very interesting. They just burned a pretty big section of our lease and one of our members drive in and right off the bat spotted a shed. It was huge with a drop tine. No one on our lease has ever seen or took a trail cam pic of any buck with a drop tine. Amazing

 

[fairchaser]

By the time a buck reaches 4.5, they have a phd in human avoidance. Even with our game cameras, ozonics, scent control and camo, we can not beat them in this chess game. Their one downfall is the rut. Without the rut, they would never make a mistake. This behavior is ingrained in them but they also learn quickly.

 

[Mike Belt]

If I could do anything involving deer hunting/research it would be to capture a few mature bucks IN MY HUNTING AREA and monitor their movements over the course of a hunting season. They each may have their own quirks about how and where they stay out of sight but I'm guessing they generally use the same evasive tactics. I can only imagine how they use cover to their advantage!

 

[catman529]

They are slick for sure

 

[fairchaser]

I've watched enough of them to know how they avoid getting killed. I've seen them stand still for an hour just looking and smelling. The only thing they move is their ears and head. When they lay down, they disappear. Even though you watch them lay down, you still can't see them anymore. They won't move until they have to. You could walk within feet of them and unless you stop and look them in the eye, they won't move. Sometimes they will just flatten out on the ground like a dog. If they get caught, they will play ring around the rosey with a tree and you will never know it. If they do have to cross the woods, they often will run, because they know they might be exposed. Mostly they just stay on their bellies until after dark. It does you no good to be sitting over their bed unless you can see in the dark. I suspect many that make it to maturity will die of natural causes.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I've watched enough of them to know how they avoid getting killed. I've seen them stand still for an hour just looking and smelling. The only thing they move is their ears and head. When they lay down, they disappear. Even though you watch them lay down, you still can't see them anymore. They won't move until they have to. You could walk within feet of them and unless you stop and look them in the eye, they won't move. Sometimes they will just flatten out on the ground like a dog. If they get caught, they will play ring around the rosey with a tree and you will never know it. If they do have to cross the woods, they often will run, because they know they might be exposed. Mostly they just stay on their bellies until after dark. It does you no good to be sitting over their bed unless you can see in the dark. I suspect many that make it to maturity will die of natural causes.

I think most of us have seen the part I highlighted in RED proven when we've accidentally paused while walking through the woods and jumped a buck. The hunter has no idea the deer is there but by sheer coincidence we happen to stop close to them and facing towards them to the point that the deer thinks it has been discovered and it breaks cover and runs off. The times I've done that it has always amazed me at just how little cover the buck was using to hide. There's no telling how many we walk right on by.

 

[Boone 58]

To continue an earlier thread on genetically engineered big bucks, (see here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=341097 ) I thought I'd share with TNDEER readership a rather interesting observation. In no way, shape or form am I plugging this hunting camp but dang, I was impressed with how they conduct their operation. For me it has zero interest. I am a DIY'er at heart. But, I like to ask questions and am fairly good at it. My Dad always said "you never learn anything with your mouth open so listen up". For some background, about a month ago I attended the Dallas Safari Club annual sporting expo. Met a great guy who worked for this company: http://www.dakotaoutfittersllc.com/index.html Fast forward a month and this past week was in Las Vegas on business and attended the national Safari Club International expo and again had the opportunity to talk to the same gentleman. He remembered me and we again started chatting about this deer, who he said is "only" 4.5 years old and NOT 5.5 years old as he had mistakenly told me. This deer is still alive and they are very interested in what his horns will look like this year. He told me that previous to this year the deer had an extremely ugly rack it's first couple of years and they were very surprised at how much he had grown between 3.5 and 4.5.


So the great guy I was talking to is a very experienced guide and retired from one occupation to guide. He has been a life-long hunter. Their operation maintains extensive camera's at feeders. Once they release big bucks into their hunting areas there is no turning back even though it is a high fence operation. What he shared was rather interesting in that more than just a few but a good number of their bigger bucks that were free-ranging, once they were released, never showed up on game camera's at the feeders and were not seen during daylight by hunters. He said some of those bucks went absolutely entirely nocturnal and he couldn't believe that it would be months after a deer was released and they would think they had either lost their "investment" to coyotes or disease or they had somehow escaped the farm that the deer would just "show up". Remember, they hunt that property twice a day for months. So it again reinforces to me when I often ask myself just where did that big buck go to remember that he may be near my backyard after all and to hunt the thick stuff harder. A good lesson for us all.

 

[Mike Belt]

I wonder what that rack weighs. Deer aren't designed to carry that weight on their heads. Genetically engineering deer like that almost seems like animal cruelty.