A buck dose not consciously seek out and established a core, a buck has no idea what a core even is. In reality, the core is a subconscious manifestation of essential needs. And established by consistent behavior surrounding said needs. These needs and consistencies create systematic logic that leads to predictability. In your opinion, what do you believe is the most essential need?
I’d say security is first. Depending on the environment and time of year though there are several things he’s going to look for with preferred security/bedding location. It could be wind direction, elevation, line of sight, proximity of doe family groups, proximity of food, or possibly even sun exposure.
If he's anything like me he just wants a little peace and quiet. Hence the reason you often find mature bucks living alone in areas of low deer numbers.
Well I asked this very question of a buck once and he said he looks for a quiet area with little human pressure for his core area. And he did say "core" so I assume he meant "core" and that he knew what core meant but I didn't ask him specifically if he knew what "core" meant...never thought to ask that specifically. I'd go ask him now but I can you see cause...well...he dead.
This reminds me of those small bits of wisdom you get and don't really know what they are at the time. I once had an old guy tell me "Son, a mature buck won't go hungry and he won't be harassed, you can take that to the bank".
don,t forget a decent buck wants nothing to do with does and family groups at this time either, so finding seclusion can be difficult at first, he needs to be able to see downwind, smell easily upwind, here danger also, not move far for water, and food reasonably close, Shade in summer is a good thing also, wind block in winter, that's about what it takes for a core area, Many times a younger buck takes over another bucks core area, either by owners demise or just plain old age.
Another good point...not only seclusion from people, dogs, predators, ect...but also seclusion from other deer, outside his partner in crime, if he has one. I do see them all converge on the same food source...but usually from different areas and offten at different times.
Sanctuary seem to be a recurring theme, and I agree. Without sanctuary or seclusion of some kind, it's hard for a buck to reach maturity and develop any type of consistency. I sometimes wonder if pressure with no repercussion isn't better than no pressure at all. I once knew of a buck that lived on a golf course. The golf course was his sanctuary and no one could hunt there. He was never killed....he was never even seen off the golf course during daylight.
I've seen this as well. A good friend killed a 175" buck last year in a 20 acre wood lot surrounded by suburbs and industrial businesses last year. The deer had interactions with people on a daily basis, but he was quickly able to determine what was a threat vs. not a threat. The Lakosky's talk about this as well, they actually interact with their deer on those farms quite a bit and have indicated they feel it's an important part of their success.
I’m in on this debate, and I have a point to argue as far as “security” and what the average deer hunter views as “where a buck lives”. I have found in the last decade of hunting my farm (120ish acres), that a good chunk of mature bucks time is spent in relative close proximity to human activity. I can back this up with trail camera activity, sheds, sightings and even a 200” buck that was killed within 200 yards of two houses during the last day of gun season. I firmly believe in my area, which isn’t density populated (80 people per square mile), the mature bucks like to spend time where they can observe human activity from afar. I’m not saying they won’t bed at the farthest reaches of civilization, but they won’t hesitate to bed within 100 yards of a house either. Food/Other deer seem to be the number one factors here. If a bean or alfalfa field is prime for feeding, they are going to come to it every evening regardless. And usually bed within sight of it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've started to pick up on patterns that I once believed were random in regards to the core...repetition in location (A) makes location (B) repetitious also type stuff....which is obvious I know. But why? what's the common denominator? There are some loose ends I can't quite tie up and it's driving me crazy, lol.
I truly believe there is a cycle. In the summer, bucks hang out together close to where they feed in the evenings. Usually either in green beans or alfalfa. Their beds are usually within 250 yards of the food and on a ridge top. The leaves are on the trees so they can see far in the bottoms. Once fall rolls around (pre rut), they stop bedding together but get on a pattern of checking food sources, hitting scrapes, ect. During this time I find they bed alone, usually away from human activity. The oaks are also dropping and they will feed on them at all times of day, and this is usually in the big woods. Of course, they will move into the farm in the evenings and hit scrapes, ect before dark. During rut there are no rules. They will walk anywhere, bed anywhere, rub trees in yards, it’s a free for all. Post rut, and winter time, the bucks get back together and bed near food again. In late season, a lot of times this is a corn feeder or pile, within a few hundred yards of houses, and they will bed nearby. They get used to ATVs and humans bringing food, they are still wild animals that will approach from downwind, but they will watch you dump it out from far distances (no leaves, snow on the ground). I know my basic observations don’t necessarily apply to areas with less human pressure (canada/Minnesota/ect) or more traditional settings (iowa/Kansas), but they are pretty much clockwork here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And for the record it still boggles my mind that I can have totally different deer on camera than my neighbor and our farms touch. Why do come buck never cross certain imaginary lines? But still share ranges? It’s very odd to me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I always try to make things fall into place through purpose and reason...I even lose sleep until I can connect the dots, lol. Your response makes me think that maybe the common denominator I'm searching for can't be found. Maybe I'm as close as I'm going to get and the lose ends are the personalities, tendencies and preferences of individual buck's. This is a sad thought, but it's also sound logic...And, it's the easy way out. I'm not giving up just yet, lol.
I believe you hit the nail on the head...each buck is a unique character. I could list certain patterns of individual deer I’ve chased for days. This buck killed by my neighbor was very unique. One of his sheds was found 70 yards from a house and the other (the next year) 200. He would routinely cross a county road and use a private bridge in between said houses, even in daylight. Yet he was only seen during the season a handful of times. He was killed less than 150 yards from a year round campground. He had certain trails I could get pictures of him using like clockwork, albeit always at night. My other neighbor on the opposite side got less than 10 pictures of him, yet I got THOUSANDS over a 4 year period. . This buck had no pattern. None. He lived simultaneously with the first buck his whole life, sometimes running together, sometimes not. He would spend 3-4 days in one area than move his range a mile and stay there for 2 weeks. A lot of people knew about him but were unable to get a pattern, and after he was killed we all compared notes. It’s fascinating. My neighbor had him on camera 3 days in a row during Ohio gun, the day after the season ended I moved in and sat. He showed up at my place in daylight. Twice, 2 years apart, 3 different people saw him within an hour of each other. If you connect the dots you would get a large triangle around 500 square acres. How can you pattern a deer like that? You can’t. The lesson to learn is simply spend time in the woods on days that are good for hunting. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I concur with those stating safety. Continual survival in an area will slowly build a buck's core area (whatever that encompasses/includes or does not). As for the intrusion aspect, I believe it is all relative to a property...consistent intrusion in which a deer survives and begins to be conditioned to will over time not be deemed a threat. Which is why you hear of some folks over the years begin to see no impact of running a quad to check cams...touring the property during scouting times or planting season...those activities begin to be a normal aspect the area bucks have witnessed since being a yearling or 2 year old and have matured yearly with these things and remained safe. I say this not as a 100% thing though...each deer is different and some will "live with and learn" somethings are not threats while others won't.
