@fulldraw
Well-Known Member
My reply was to slabhead.
I don't care what others do. I challenge myself to kill mature bucks. I'm ok with tag soup. It's not fun for me just to go out and kill any deer. Sorry you didn't see my reply was to slabhead.
Where do the bucks go every year?
- Thread starter slabhead
- Start date
I don't care what others do. I challenge myself to kill mature bucks. I'm ok with tag soup. It's not fun for me just to go out and kill any deer. Sorry you didn't see my reply was to slabhead.
@fulldraw
Well-Known Member
BTW, my reply never mentioned antler inches either. SMH
Watched this one buck all summer and he leaves my place Oct 20. My buddy got a pic of him last week 3.5 miles as the crow flies from my place. He returns back to my farm 3 days after that. Stays home for a day and now back 3.5 miles away again. Why ? Lol who knows . This buck is 4.5 minimum. As of last night he was still alive.
themanpcl
Well-Known Member
responding in general to what I see today vs years before social media...
Soft Talker
Well-Known Member
Most go from doe group, to doe group, until they are all bred, all the while staying clear of where you and your cameras have been 
Crappieaddict
Well-Known Member
I certainly don't know the answer, but if I see a nice buck and he breeds some of my does, well, I like adding that to the gene pool. After three years of this philosophy, and eating chicken instead of venison, some nice bucks stay around.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Every property is different. Some hold bucks all year. Some only hold bucks in the summer. Some only hold bucks in the fall. Some only see bucks around the rut, as bucks from neighboring properties suddenly expand their ranges and begin travelling into areas they only use during the rut.
That's why I run so many season-long photo censuses - to see what patterns a property has. And to confuse matters more, alter the habitat and everything changes.
That's actually pretty normal, in my experience. That's why I always say if you have a buck daylighting in your hunting area then get in and kill him immediately because he'll be gone soon. If you're going to hunt mature bucks you've got to do it on his schedule, not yours.
Lots of hunters get sporadic pics of a buck in the middle of the night and by default assume he's nocturnal. That's not necessarily true. More likely is he was moving all day long but so far away that he didn't get to your place until after dark. We think in terms of acres but they live in terms of miles.
BSK
Well-Known Member
In some parts of the state, I GUARANTEE that is the case. Mature bucks are darn hard critters to see and kill. In some areas, more die of natural causes than hunter's arrows or bullets.
BSK
Well-Known Member
It's one of those things: "To each, their own." I enjoy hunting and being in the woods. In fact, I just went out for a couple more hunts. Don't know why I carried a rifle, as I wouldn't have shot anything I saw, no matter how big (already took a nice buck in MZ season). At the same time, I do want to be successful every year. I spend too much money and time on my place not to hope for a good deer. I have standards and don't want to kill just any buck. My standards aren't crazy high. In fact, they're quite realistic. But that doesn't mean I'm always going to be successful. But when I am, I'm thrilled.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I think social media has an influence on hunter wants and desires. But what really fueled the desire for trophy bucks was actually growing them. Up until the early 2000s, mature bucks were few and far between. But hunter restraint has changed all that. Now, it's exceptionally rare for me to run a photo census anywhere in TN and not find mature bucks. In the past, they didn't exist. Now, they do, which drives hunters focus on them. Killing one has become a realistic proposition.
JeepKuntry
Well-Known Member
I have seen areas where once season starts they're on the next farm over. It could be food. Does. Shelter.
BSK
Well-Known Member
GPS-collar studies find this behavior is fairly normal. Most older bucks, at least once during the rut, go on a long-distance excursion. They often travel several miles, stop in a location for 24-48 hours, and then return to their normal range. Why bucks do this is unknown. What they are finding (what makes them stop) is unknown. Why they travelled in the direction they did is unknown. But most older bucks do this.
All of that and some. For me it's been about big antlers ever since I got good enough at killing deer that it wasn't fun or challenging. At some point it has morphed from big antlers into older age class, which aren't mutually exclusive. Big antlers often accompany old age but that old age has replaced big antlers as my priority objective.
I enjoy studying them, scouting for them, manipulating the habitat to attract them, etc., then putting the pieces of the puzzle together to effectively hunt them. I don't have to kill one to enjoy the experience. But when I do it very much is like winning a trophy. Same as any other sport. I enjoy the game regardless but winning means getting a trophy. And social media doesn't nor ever has influenced me as I've never had it. This site is as close as I've ever had and I was hunting big old bucks way before signing up here. In fact I'm here because of others like myself who enjoy the same topic of conversation. Chicken before the egg.
themanpcl
Well-Known Member
True.
Some properties also have higher mortality rates. I've had properties that the older deer over 3 survive pretty well and I've had others that they don't hardly survive past 3.5 and I find them dead after the season when I shed hunt. Some areas are more susceptible to EHD, ect....that can cause this. I did have a great property go from a high survival rate to a 100% mortality rate for bucks over 3.5. That mortality rate lasted 5-6 and was never observed before in 25+ years. I will tell you what I speculate was a MAJOR cause. A new neighbor moved in and started feeding thousands of pounds of corn year round. The mortality rate started that exact year and had never been seen before in that area, it just recently started to regress as they slowed the feeding down to out of season. Maybe BSK can weigh in on that observation but I HATE CORN!!! I just had an argument the other day with a guy that bought a bunch of corn to feed the deer for late season "to fatten them up". CORN SUCKS
Brings to mind that supposed poached Ohio buck. I believe the buck could travel 15 miles . Not saying it was or wasn't but If miles traveled is the question then it's very possible .
I think you nailed it! We hunt 3 different tracks in two counties. These two properties I mentioned are only a few miles apart but it seems the bucks leave this tract when they reach 3 1/2. For the last two years we've had a good number of 2 1/2, 6 and 8 pts, then they leave and a new batch is back that next year.
I'm sure there are some lurking that we never see, has to be, but we are not seeing the number of mature bucks I'd think we should.
***Edited to say our standards on mature aren't that high either. I'd shoot a good healthy 3 1/2 8pt in a heartbeat. We just aren't seeing any of them here. Oh well there is always next year, I plan to move around more on this tract and hunt new areas and see what that brings.
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deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
No idea. I think some deer have big ranges and we have had a couple deer that even when they were young I swore they only had like a 30 acre home range. I think does take deer off we never know where. And not only that it's impossible to keep 100 percent of what you pass. We have majorly switched our management practices on our places to habitat, it started for turkeys and have helped our deer a ton. It takes all of it. I would say this, the this year and last year are have abnormalities compared to the last 10 to 15 years at least for us. Last year was a wash. And this year with the mass crop is just majorly different. We generally keep around 12 to 15 shooters this year we had 5 on almost 2000 acres scattered on several farms. I think with all the marketing we have had with food plots and everything else we have neglected natural habits and food I think it needs to be a top priority.
