If there were the same amount of 2 year old and 4 year old bucks on your land, would you expect to see the same amount of daytime movement between the two?
How many does do I have? What is the pressure like? I can take you to a place in MI right now 2 days after gun and look at 4 year old bucks and does grazing at 1:00 PM. 3500 acre no hunting ranch. I tried to buy land next to it, they wanted 4000 an acre and got it Daytime movement has to do with pressure, the less pressure the better. In Aug I got a ton of daytime pictures of deer, by Sept and into Oct the pace slowed.
So with an average amount of pressure, daytime movement of a 2.5 year old buck is significantly greater than a 4.5 year old? Even during the rut?
You didn't mention the rut in the OP. And yes, they move more during daylight hours. More 2.5's get seen/shot at/killed than 4.5's, regardless of where you live. It's not just becuase there are more of them, they get up and move in the daylight.
But statisically in many places, there are a ton more 2.5 year old bucks that 4.5 year olds. In theory, what about place that had the same amount 2.5 year olds and 4.5 year olds?
You are bound to see more 2.5 yo bucks if there are more, I understand that. If you had a place that had an equal # of 2.5 and 4.5 yo bucks, which do you think would be easier to kill? The 4.5 didn't get old by being stupid.
without a doubt . I have hunted the last 9 days with one particular mature buck as my target. I know what deer the property holds from trail cams. After 9 days I passed every buck on the property several times (including a 3.5 yr ten&a couple 2.5s) except one. The old buck never once showed himself. Trail cams proved he moved, but only under the cover of darkness. I tried everything, I even went into his bed at 3 am, but he beat me plain and simple. This property is small and sees pressure from every gun season Iowa has from youth to late muzzy. If a buck makes it to 4.5 and past around here, he is doing something much different than the rest.
exactly... This has been a big discussion within our hunting party the last few years...amazing how a buck changes from 2.5 to 3.5 and then even more so to 4.5 and older. At 4.5 they are just a different creature...I pay lot of attention to trail cams of friends, and their harvest pics, and also to local outfitter website success photos...it's amazing how many of these nice bucks everyone wants to shoot are just very nice 3.5's (great deer that I would take as well)...just gets so much harder at 4.5, and sure there are obviously less of them, but even by %'s just not as many are taken - and the cams prove they are out there and moving in darkness (and in my experience have very small ranges often in which they feel safe)
