Range Shifter

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RS

RS

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
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1,610
City & State/Province
Mid TN
We've watched this buck for 3 years. He runs between mine and my neighbor's farm until early October, then completely disappears until late January.

Disappeared on Oct. 12, 2014


Showed back up on Jan. 29, 2015
 
Wide rack! I don't know how thick it is where you hunt or about the hunting pressure but is it possible he just lays low and is totally nocturnal during that time frame?
 
Big Pop":3flucrql said:
He should still show up on trail cams during that time frame.
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not really.we have a buck we call timber ghost because nobody sees sign of him.he completely disappears during the same time frame as the buck above with no sightings at all
 
Planking":39f83bsq said:
He's got you boys figured out. ;) Great pics. I know exactly how you feel.
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He's educated. Have a few like that in my neck of the woods. I guess they die of old age.
 
I thought there was an article on here someone linked to about pensylvania tagging and tracking deer? It said, I believe, that the old "broom handle" deer sometimes went WAY out of there typical area the day before season opened. They increased their typical elevation by as much as 1000 ft, and for pa that's quite a change. Thanks for sharing a nice deer pic. Regardless of the reason, I hope you get to harvest him sometime.
 
He very well may be shifting his range but just because you don't get pics doesn't mean he has...unless you saturate the area with cameras and still don't get pics. No way to ever know for sure 100%. How many and how often did you get pics prior to him "shifting"?
 
Mike, I honestly believe he is going somewhere else...where, I don't know. We've not heard of any other area hunters getting pics or seeing a buck with a rack this wide during the season.

We get fairly regular pics of him in velvet and and up to early October, then he disappears until late January. He's done this for 3 years. We have enough cameras out that I would think we would get a pic of him if he were around between late October and early January.
 
go scouting and find his bed...when you find it sit in it and get an image of what he can see so you know how close you can get to him and pick a tree...........summer scout him and spot check fields nearby to get an idea where he is coming out at....sneak in there and kill him before mid OCT. SIMPLE
 
TN Whitetail Freak":84vt32k7 said:
go scouting and find his bed...when you find it sit in it and get an image of what he can see so you know how close you can get to him and pick a tree...........summer scout him and spot check fields nearby to get an idea where he is coming out at....sneak in there and kill him before mid OCT. SIMPLE
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
RS":2pkhgyfh said:
We get fairly regular pics of him in velvet and and up to early October, then he disappears until late January. He's done this for 3 years. We have enough cameras out that I would think we would get a pic of him if he were around between late October and early January.
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I've had a similar experience with a few bucks, and still am not certain what most of these "disappearing" bucks are doing.

My theory is they are greatly reducing their core area (more than "shifting" it), and may simply be individual bucks who are not as interested in the rut as most. Some individual bucks are much more "aggressive" and "dominant" breeders than others, and I don't think these traits have much to do with the size of their antlers. It seems possible these bucks are more "feminine" in their behavior, and may be behaving (during the rut) more like most bucks behave post-rut, exhibiting very little movement at all.

I'd also speculate these particular bucks may be more sensitive to human disturbance than most. Their "disappearances" coincide with an increase in human disturbance; their "appearances" coincide with a decrease? And If my theory has merit, these "feminine" bucks should not be visiting scrapes like more active "rut-participating" deer of both sexes. Even with quite a few cams out, unless the cams are focused on trails in heavy cover, these particular deer may be particularly hard to catch on a cam during the rut.
 
Considering you have several years experience with this buck, and he follows the same pattern each year, he's obviously range-shifting during a particular period of the year. Sadly, there's nothing you can do about it.
 
And at the same time, I think this buck's actions make a critical point. many hunters lament their property isn't large enough to control the movements of any bucks, hence their neighbors have too much influence. In some respects, neighboring influence can be a real limiter. But I often find bucks leaving properties during hunting season and then returning alive, year after year. The point being, a lot of bucks travel across many properties during hunting season and survive just fine. You don't need massive properties to have older bucks in the area.
 
BSK":2ebcsm72 said:
Considering you have several years experience with this buck, and he follows the same pattern each year, he's obviously range-shifting during a particular period of the year. Sadly, there's nothing you can do about it.
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I agree, but I do scratch my head and wonder why bucks like this would want to pack up and leave an area that has abundant food sources (food plots & plenty of acorns the last several years), lots of secure cover, lots of does, and very little hunting pressure...especially when they've spent 9 months there.
 
RS":1sadinv2 said:
BSK":1sadinv2 said:
Considering you have several years experience with this buck, and he follows the same pattern each year, he's obviously range-shifting during a particular period of the year. Sadly, there's nothing you can do about it.
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I agree, but I do scratch my head and wonder why bucks like this would want to pack up and leave an area that has abundant food sources (food plots & plenty of acorns the last several years), lots of secure cover, lots of does, and very little hunting pressure...especially when they've spent 9 months there.
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Keep pondering the question and you'll lose your mind. Trust me on this one! ;)
 
I found him for you RS

IMG_0005_zpsqavp7uxk.jpg
 
Im just Theorizing but what if hes going back to where he was born? Like salmon do or something along the lines of a homing pigeon. Sounds like somebody with more resources than I could run a study.
 
TN Whitetail Freak":1uq9wlmr said:
Im just Theorizing but what if hes going back to where he was born? Like salmon do or something along the lines of a homing pigeon. Sounds like somebody with more resources than I could run a study.
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Those studies are being run. And the answer is, individual deer as so individual that there isn't any clear pattern in why deer shift ranges seasonally, other than to access limited resources in different geographic locations. If widely separated resources isn't the reason for an individual deer's seasonal range-shifting, then the sky is the limit as to why the do so, including for no known reason.
 

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