BSK
Well-Known Member
I've posted this data before, but it's now updated with data from the 2022-23 season. This data is also meant more for bow-hunters as stands in this study were set up for very close-range shots (20-40 yards), even during MZ and gun hunting. The data includes 18 years of hunting with 1,692 individual hunts.
The gist of the data is that the more times you hunt a stand, the lower your chances of seeing older bucks. Not that the chances ever fall to zero, but they certainly decline the more times you hunt the same stand in the same year. Older bucks pick up on the fact the stand is being hunted and begin avoiding it during daylight. The best chance to see an older buck is the first time the stand is hunted that year, and the chances of seeing older bucks - on average - declined by around 63% by the fourth time that stand was hunted in the same year.
Again, this has little relevance for those who are shooting hundreds of yards across open fields, but for those who hunt - even during gun season - back in the thick stuff where visibility is very limited, something to think about.
The gist of the data is that the more times you hunt a stand, the lower your chances of seeing older bucks. Not that the chances ever fall to zero, but they certainly decline the more times you hunt the same stand in the same year. Older bucks pick up on the fact the stand is being hunted and begin avoiding it during daylight. The best chance to see an older buck is the first time the stand is hunted that year, and the chances of seeing older bucks - on average - declined by around 63% by the fourth time that stand was hunted in the same year.
Again, this has little relevance for those who are shooting hundreds of yards across open fields, but for those who hunt - even during gun season - back in the thick stuff where visibility is very limited, something to think about.
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