What do you think sq mi wise is a bucks home territory? I have pics of various bucks but rarely the same one outside of a two day span... Do you think it changes based upon surroundings or weather? I live in a heavy agricultural area so it makes me think their always on the move bouncing from small areas of cover to the next. Also there is plenty of food everywhere. This is my first year with trail cameras and second season hunting. Would love some expertise.. Thanks!
I'm not an expert, but i think for the most part bucks rome during this part of the year. Mainly looking for a good safe food source with plenty of cover and water near by. If the corn is high enough they just stay there until harvest. In previous years I've gotten trail camera pics of bucks in July and never see them again until late October. I know once they rind their happy place they stay put. Sounds like they found their happy place away from your cameras. A couple of things to avoid 1. Leaving scent on the cameras. If a buck smells you he'll avoid that area like the plague. Make sure you fully wipe down any thing you leave behind. 2. Setting up on main trails. Mature bucks don't normally travel by them so find a intersection of multiple trails to set your camera on. 3. Put something in front of the camera that'll make them stop long enough for a picture. Try making a mock scrape. They work during the summer moths too. A lot of times the delays on these cameras are too slow and you'll just get pictures of a whole lot of nothing. I think the deer just walk out of view before the camera snapped the picture's. Hope I'm not wrong and best of luck to you.
The bucks around here make a 3-5 day rounder sometimes staying for 2 days on the plots here and then moving over to my brothers about a mile away...other guys see/get pics of the same bucks 3 miles south of me during the 3-5 days they are away and have seen the same bucks 2 miles north and west. Not definitive exactly but seems to be about a 2.5-4 mile radius that they will range about for most the summer. Come fall they seem to tighten it up to inside 2 miles radius that they are rutting in and depending on the does...later on when snow starts and most does are bred they can really open that back up and range farther than 5 miles easily and about half our deer still migrate 12-15 miles to the deer yards for the balance of the winter though before all the feeding started(early 90s) they all did.
I agree with all you said except I don't necessarily feel they tighten up in the fall, I think what you see them do is quicken the pace they do these cycles depending on weather conditions, upcoming breeding, and such.
A buck's core area with vary in size due to many factors (terrain, food sources, predator/human activity, weather, water sources, buck's preference, etc...). I do think that they can shift around quite a bit throughout the season. There are some areas here that we never see a buck, until mid October.
I think that is one of the most difficult questions out there to be honest. Here in WI where I live and hunt, we see them make two day trips on the average, they'll be on one area for a full day then you'll find them 10 miles away by trading pics and talk with other hunters, but then they are back again. They like to make a full progression is what I think, walk certain areas and trails, hit food plots etc that they have become accustomed to.
Agreed...love all the factors you put in there. Yes a buck's many circuits will change during the year, and yes there is typically a small core area he seems to frequent always, but his range will be quite larger and change as the year changes. No two bucks will be exactly the same as to what they prefer bedding wise, food wise, terrain wise, safety wise, pressure wise, weather wise...hence why it's nearly impossible to give an exact answer. It's all circumstantial, just like a murder mystery, one must become a detective to figure out what a buck may do next based upon all factors and past sightings, signs, or pics of him.
All good stuff. Well the cameras have been up for a month and half now and I got a couple more months of checking. I am sure I will start seeing some return here soon.
I agree with every deer is different and I think a huge factor that determines the ranging is the area the buck is in. Hunting in Mass the deer range a little bit especially in hunting season but for the most part couple miles tops. When I hunt in maine I remember years ago hunting the same buck for 3 years and jumping him within 50 yards of the same area evry single time I hunted him. You would think I would of figured him out and got him after 3 years of not leaving his home territory but nope he drove me nuts. Another buck about 15 years ago in Maine a group of us hunted for basically a week straight with my uncle me and my dad getting shots at him and he never left that area of woods. It was like he knew we were coming but knew he would outsmart us. They really are incredible animals!!!!
