Quite often I hear how very sensitive mature deer are to pressure. That they will only put up with being bumped so many times or picking up your scent so often before they vacate the area. Personally, when a deer gets to 3.5/4.5 and up I just cant accept the idea that they would vacate an area. No whitetail gets to 4.5 years old and older by vacating and turning tail each time they encounter human pressure, or they would be on the run their whole life. All that would do would be to send them into an unfarmiliar area where they are way more vulnerable than their home turf. You might turn them nocturnal or make them avoid a particular stand site, but I just cant fathom a mature deer just moving out. If I bump or spook a mature buck, maybe I burnt that stand, but I feel that deer is still in the immediate area. Thoughts?
I would agree with you, as long as your property has all the essentials they need, good doe population, bedding area, and multiple food sources they aren't going to be going far. Can bucks travel a lot of miles, absolutely, but I don't think its ever going to be a one and done thing where you spook them once or twice putting up a trail cam or something and that's the last your going to see of them.
I agree that one or two human encounters likely won't make them relocate but the big ones don't put up with much before changing their pattern. I doubt they relocate, they just modify their travel to avoid busy areas. Also, I don't know about where you live but around me are small 20-80 acre woods. All of which have guys in them cutting wood. Making horse trails, kids camping, guys hunting, etc. Point is that I doubt they relocate because the deer would just move from one busy woods to the next.
I guessing they wouldn't vacate, but they very likely will avoid certain spots and/or only visit them well after dark.
X2...IMO the older they get the more likely they arnt going to get completely out of dodge...They have there home area that they know well...thats why there old and mature!
I have similar issues however we too have a lot of small acreages that guys are hunting on. If one guy spooks a big one it will just continue to get spooked on the next property. I try really hard to stay off the ground I hunt as much as possible to provide them with a safe haven.
This is accurate. But, they only grow old in certain areas because of the right set of circumstances. Including but not limited to low pressure.
very true and some have to understand what is threatening (or pressure creating) and what is helpful. Time and place to do work on your property, time and place to let it set.
It all depends where you hunt. I live and hunt right outside NYC, and the woods are full of people. The mature deer here have no where to run, no matter where they go they encounter hikers, hunters, kids playing, ect. I learned a valuable lesson last season. I was set up for an all day hunt in a 20 acre thicket that is surrounded by hiking trails. All day long I watched people walking around on the trails, and every so often I would see something move in this one spot in the thicket, but could not make out what it was. About a half hour before dark it moved again, and then I got the biggest surprise. A big mature buck stood up, stretched, and walked off. He was bedded there all day, from before first light. He was bedded less than 30 yards from a walking trail and at least 20 people walked right past him throughout the day, completely unaware of this deer. So IMO deer do not leave their area because of people pressure, they just hunker down in the thick stuff and wait for things to quiet down.
