Where they at?

[JCDEERMAN]

Hickman county yesterday afternoon 2 does. Hunted all day today and not a deer.

Yea it's strange in parts of Hickman. I took the little girl out Saturday morning in hopes to get our first doe together. Didn't see a deer. Then drove about 2 miles moving and checking cameras. Never saw a deer

 

[gobbler32]

Yea it's strange in parts of Hickman. I took the little girl out Saturday morning in hopes to get our first doe together. Didn't see a deer. Then drove about 2 miles moving and checking cameras. Never saw a deer

Thats where I live and hunt, last 10 hunts in a row with 0 deer seen at all

 

[gobbler32]

Thats where I live and hunt, last 10 hunts in a row with 0 deer seen at all

I know there are a ton of acorns but I'm sorry but imo the population is way down in parts of Hickman co. I don't care what statistics say or scientific reasons assume. There are way less deer period

 

[BSK]

Things really quieted down on my place in Humphreys after Dec. 5/6 (last chases). However, the older guys started checking scrapes again in the last 24 hours.

 

[DeerCamp]

It certainly happens. And the most likely time for it to happen is just before and during the rut, when some bucks make long-distance forays into new areas.

At the same time, placing cameras is both a science and an art. The more you experiment, the better you get at it. I've been running cameras since the early 90s, and I'm still learning new things. And I would highly, highly recommend checking cameras from the back of an ATV, side-by-side or even a truck. Deer react very negatively to cameras people are walking to. But they don't react anywhere near as negatively to cameras that are checked from a vehicle of some kind. This relationship is so strong that I no longer place cameras anywhere they I can't drive an ATV to.

When you say "during" are you including that period right after peak breeding when the bucks are still looking for does but they are harder to find so they set out on excursions?

 

[BSK]

When you say "during" are you including that period right after peak breeding when the bucks are still looking for does but they are harder to find so they set out on excursions?

There have been several studies that find most older bucks (2 1/2+) at some point during the rut just take off on a straight-line excursion out of their normal range, usually traveling a couple of miles. They stay at that new location for 24-48 hours, and then return to their normal range. No one really knows why they do this. Obviously, this behavior is triggered by the rut. But how could they possibly know a hot doe is a couple of miles away? Or do this just pick a direction and start walking until they eventually encounter a hot doe by random chance? Is this something that is learned? But as more GPS-collar studies are being conducted, these "excursions" are being documented more and more, and they appear to be common to most older bucks.

 

[DeerCamp]

There have been several studies that find most older bucks (2 1/2+) at some point during the rut just take off on a straight-line excursion out of their normal range, usually traveling a couple of miles. They stay at that new location for 24-48 hours, and then return to their normal range. No one really knows why they do this. Obviously, this behavior is triggered by the rut. But how could they possibly know a hot doe is a couple of miles away? Or do this just pick a direction and start walking until they eventually encounter a hot doe by random chance? Is this something that is learned? But as more GPS-collar studies are being conducted, these "excursions" are being documented more and more, and they appear to be common to most older bucks.

We've had 2 brand new bucks come through in the last week. One we missed our only opportunity on at 7:30am when he came through a food plot. Then came back through at midnight. Presumably still alive.

The other came through at 3AM and got killed at 6:45AM on the neighbor about 600 yards away.

The period after preak breeding is still our best chance at a mature buck, but the hunting is grueling, slow and mostly full of no deer sightings.

 

[philsanchez76]

We've had 2 brand new bucks come through in the last week. One we missed our only opportunity on at 7:30am when he came through a food plot. Then came back through at midnight. Presumably still alive.

The other came through at 3AM and got killed at 6:45AM on the neighbor about 600 yards away.

The period after preak breeding is still our best chance at a mature buck, but the hunting is grueling, slow and mostly full of no deer sightings.

That's a good point. People dont talk about the mentally tough part of hunting for a mature deer this time of year. I always lose patience and end up shooting a doe after several days of waiting for a big one.