Studying hunting pressure

[TheLBLman]

I think some of the problem is simply hunting where hunting is easiest, both physically and mentally (no need to figure deer out when you're hunting over a food plot).

That plus . . . . . .

Most of the deer hunters "want" to hunt where there is a "pretty" field, AND where they can see far enough to utilize the range of their guns (typically up to 200 yds). They also want to hunt where they see a lot of deer "sign", like tracks & rubs & scrapes. You'll find lots of "sign" in & around fields & food plots. Most hunters just seem oblivious to the fact most of this sign is made at night.

Being in one of these large private clubs, I can tell you, we do the pretty cultivated food plots more for the hunters than for the deer. Makes everybody FEEL good. Hunters do "see" more deer in & around those cultivated food plots, but they're mostly seeing young deer during daylight (as the older deer mainly just utilize them at night).

That said, the non-cultivated food plots (ugly as they may look to many hunters) are where the deer spend most of their daylight & nighttime (when in a feeding mode). What I'm talking about is acreage that may have had nothing done to it except for an annual mowing.

Nothing is planted. But these become year-round "natural" food plots of native grasses and forbs, like ragweed. Mother Nature offers a smorgasbord. All we have to do is disturb the soil, and make sure lots of sun can hit the ground. These particular food plots greatly out-produce our cultivated plots in terms of killing older bucks, and in terms of year-round deer food tonnage (mainly because we have more acreage in native plots/fields than in expensive, high-maintenance cultivated plots).

I will, however, try to kill any fescue and johnsongras that appears, wherever it appears. Neither is a native grass, and both are only harmful to wildlife (compared to native grasses & forbs).

Most hunters "like" to hunt where they can "see", to the hunters, typically the farther the better, like to the limitations of one's rifle or shooting ability.
By contrast, older deer typically don't like to move where they're easily seen during daylight.
Most of their daytime movement is in places where human visibility is typically less than 35 yds (often a lot less than 35 yds!).

Often, finding unpressured deer simply means staying away from fields & food plots, and instead opting to hunt thick places where you can't see very far. Commonly, the farther you get away from a field or food plot, the less pressured the deer, and the more they move around during daylight.

 

[TheLBLman]

Ironically, some of the most unpressured deer hunting "spots" are within 150 yds of I-40 and major highways. They are unpressured by hunters, and the deer are habituated to vehicle traffic. Deer often feed & bed just beyond where they could be seen by a passing human.

As a hunter, if you want to capitalize on this scenario, you have to approach the area from the opposite direction and/or from parallel that highway. Not saying its an "enjoyable" atmosphere, but then neither is President's Island (stinks to high heaven, and the noise pollution in high decibels).

 

[BSK]

That said, the non-cultivated food plots (ugly as they may look to many hunters) are where the deer spend most of their daylight & nighttime (when in a feeding mode). What I'm talking about is acreage that may have had nothing done to it except for an annual mowing.

Nothing is planted. But these become year-round "natural" food plots of native grasses and forbs, like ragweed. Mother Nature offers a smorgasbord. All we have to do is disturb the soil, and make sure lots of sun can hit the ground. These particular food plots greatly out-produce our cultivated plots in terms of killing older bucks, and in terms of year-round deer food tonnage (mainly because we have more acreage in native plots/fields than in expensive, high-maintenance cultivated plots).

Couldn't agree more. "Natural" food plots (open areas allowed to regrow naturally) are the bomb!

Most hunters "like" to hunt where they can "see", to the hunters, typically the farther the better, like to the limitations of one's rifle or shooting ability.
By contrast, older deer typically don't like to move where they're easily seen during daylight.
Most of their daytime movement is in places where human visibility is typically less than 35 yds (often a lot less than 35 yds!).

On my place, we've got 9 food plots totaling 8 acres. The largest is only 1.5 acres. We have either condo stands or ladders stands covering all of them. However, they don't get hunted much. Other hunters wonder how our average MZ/rifle shot on a deer is only 35 yards. Because we don't hunt big open areas much. We are in a club-like hunting situation in that hunters are hunting from pre-positioned ladder stands. A lot of them! It took us over 20 years to accumulate them, but we now have a stand up for every 9 acres of property. And the vast majority are back in the thick stuff, where shots beyond 30 yards are very difficult if not impossible. And that's where we kill the oldest bucks.

 

[TheLBLman]

I'll add something else about hunting over food plots.

During the rut, you are in fact likely to "see" an older buck in a food plot or field, in part because they are in fact moving around more during daylight everywhere, thick stuff, and more open areas.

But "seeing" a mature buck is not the same as getting a high-probability shot at him.

Very often, when mature bucks are seen in food plots (and fields), they are flat our "running", offering near zero opportunity for a high-probability shot. They seldom actually "feed" during daylight, but may be attracted to the scent of an estrous doe feeding in or around that food plot.

Many times I've observed a doe feeding in a food plot, then suddenly this mature buck bursts out of cover, flat-out running, and "herds" that doe back into the heavy cover. Have seen this many times, even during mid-day.

I've also many times seen a mature buck simply flat-out run across a field or food plot, never stopping to provide a high-probability shot. Unlike as seen on TV, you often cannot stop these running bucks with a grunt call or loud noise. They often just start running faster or in a different direction.

When I hunt near a field or food plot, I'm typically facing more the INSIDE of the cover around that plot, and typically not set up right on the edge, but maybe 50 yds or so back in the cover. Older rutting bucks will habitually "scent check" food plot/field areas without ever stepping into them, and often stay several to 50 yds inside the perimeter cover while doing this.

 

[BSK]

Agreed TheLBLman.

The video below is an extremely rare event on my place. And this buck isn't even mature (a run-down 3 1/2 year-old), but it is peak of the rut.

 

[DeerMan66]

Most of their daytime movement is in places where human visibility is typically less than 35 yds (often a lot less than 35 yds!).

Exactly. The last two mature bucks that I killed were 12 yds (muzzleloader) and 15 yds (rifle). You can't see over 30 yds in either spot. It was the first in perso sighting on bucks. They don't become old bucks by walking around in the open in the daylight.