Hey everyone, This is just my second season hunting and after putting 4 does in the freezer last fall, I'm working on targeting bucks this summer. The last two weeks I've been getting random pictures of big mature bucks moving during midday. Is this normal? Can I expect it to happen in 3 weeks when the season opens? Any advice is much appreciated as I plan my next move. Last pic isn't at midday, just a funky looking rack and a big ***.
that first one is sweet! if they stay on their summer patterns til your season opens, you should have a chance!
If your season opens in three weeks then they should still be on summer patterns. They might not be moving mid day but should still show up in daylight.
Figure out what the winds were prior to the photos taken, weather conditions and crop conditions just to list a few things I'd research. Then if in 3 weeks all or most of them align good chance similar movement will occur. I am strongly opposed to stating deer can be patterned...patterns never change, always repeating. Only caged deer exhibit such predictability every single minute...however factors cause deer to be more predictable, that is where our ability to analyze data can give us the advantage.
Been seeing alot of mid day movement as well, will they still be in 3 weeks? IMO probably not. Once the velvet begins to shed they typically start to mix it up at least in my area.
Seen two bucks working a white oak tree the other day in a very open spot right next to a well traveled road here. Most of my deer are in a shady waterway below a bean field here at the house,but I will be in the oaks on sept 15.
Thanks all! I'm looking forward to my next round of card pulls for sure. I've noticed premature acorns falling for a few weeks from a tree in my driveway, now they are getting close to full size though. This weekend I was at a wedding in New York State and acorns were already hitting the ground there. I need to do more scouting for oaks in the neighborhood. I've set up two stand sites about 100 yards north and south of where that picture was taken, which is an old established scrape, btw. Very easy to get into, and downwind most of the time from most of the trails. I want to shoot my first buck this year, but I'm holding out for a mature deer, hopefully P&Y size. I know they are around, not monsters, but I think they're in the 120-130 range. Last year I saw two nice mature bucks from the stand, and lots of under 3 year olds.
I have seen a few bucks during the day as well but no discernible pattern. I would agree that weather and other outside influences will impact where they are and what they are doing at any point in time. Good luck
