Andy S.":1otzr0m0 said:
One of the key take aways from the article is this: "Trail camera photos from around the area showed the giant roamed over an area of several square miles."
Actually . . . . .
"Since taking the deer, Andy has met three people who have trail camera pictures --- and several were snapped miles from the kill site."
It's not just an issue of "several square miles" but also one of bucks typically traveling several
linear miles in one direction.
IMO, the majority of deer hunters greatly underestimate the range of bucks, especially during the rut.
Think about it:
3 miles x 3 miles = 9 square miles = 5,760 acres
4 miles x 4 miles = 16 square miles = 10,240 acres
In most circumstances there is no such thing as
"we've got a buck over on our place that . . . . . "
"My" buck becomes "your" buck, and this is part of why the North America wildlife model considers the wildlife to belong to the "people" rather than an individual landowner.
A few years ago (and someone on here can post the exact details) someone posted about a buck seen with a bunch of survey ribbon tangled in his antlers (I believe this may have been in Fayette County, TN). The buck's pic was obtained on a trail cam, and within something like 24 hours, it was killed about 11 miles away.