I absolutely believe in ghost bucks. There was a big buck on a property I used to hunt when I lived in western PA that we would see like clockwork when spotting in the summer up until the opener of bow season. As soon as bow season opened he went all Keyser Soze on us "And just like that. Poof. He's gone." In four years of knowing this buck was around I was the only one to see him while hunting and that was in the fourth year during the rut as he chased a doe. Even then, the doe crunched and crashed away 60 yards ahead of him and he didn't make a sound as he ran through the woods chasing her. They do exist. How to hunt them? Beats the hell outta me.
Yeah, this is true..... but it's still like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There's nothing better than a visual/pic. The clues you've mentioned don't really tell you anything about the rack size, if that's what you're interested in. I once spent more than half a season hunting a buck with a huge track. It turned out to be a large bodied, small racked 8 pointer. Sure wish I'd had a visual before starting that venture.
Ok this happens every year, some novice gets put in a place where he will be ''harmless'' where no one hunts or wants to hunt and then kills the biggest deer around. sometimes it's right next to camp or right next to a highway. The easiest deer to hunt is the one that doesn't know he is being hunted and overlooked spots can be your best bet once he knows hunting season begins. I have seen big bucks bed down in a field with a single tree for cover or cut corn with a small 1 foot ditch to lay down in. I would not call them ghost but they have found out where they will not come into contact with danger and i feel most deer simply let us walk by and then sneak out and find a new spot with less intrusion. The last thing i would like to say is. I have 90 acres at my home that i caretake that there was a lot of deer on until the neighbor boys got some racing atv's and during the hunting season they get home from school and ride until dark on 300 arce wooded and crop land and you no longer see the deer in the fields that were there just a few years ago the added pressure totally changed the daylight movement times of this ground, the deer simply can not handle this constant intrusion during peak feeding times. may i also say how much i enjoy this site and hate to see the some of the post start to go sour with petty bickering over nothing.
I also remember hunting a buck from 2006-2008. He would leave these absolutely enormous rubs on the outside of a prime doe bedding area in a bow only area. The rubs were way over my mid-section and only the cedar trees would take the brunt of those rubs. I hunted this spot many many times over three years only to see zip. In 2008 I stayed out of this spot until November 18th or so and moved in on the coldest day of the hunting season. The first day I hunted the spot the entire year I saw him. It was freezing that morning being it was 20 degree with 20 mph winds. I hatched a plan to hunt the downwind side of that bedding area, right next to where two saddles came together. I did not move the entire morning until around 1100am when I stood up to get a drink of water. As I looked over my shoulder there he was, nose to the rear end of two does. He was probably the oldest buck I have laid eyes upon. He looked to go around 130-135 which for us is an absolute monster. He came by at 20 yards before I could even get my bow. I had a decent shot at him when he hit the 25 yard mark but the wind was blowing like heck. I tried to stop him, but he did not hear me as the wind was howling. I hunted for him the rest of that season and last year, the rubs never returned and I have yet to see him again. So close, but nothing as a result.
'The land of the lost'. I guess some places have these little creeks where you slip in, and it carries you down into a parallel universe. Unbelievable.....lol.
My .02 cents. Because I believe a bucks antlers have more to do with individual bedding rights than breeding rights... I believe you are all correct in your assumptions. But instead of approaching the topic of "ghost bucks" from one perspective wouldn't it be better to approach it from many.. or even all of our collective thought processes? I mean.. according to Germ's theory some bucks have multiple core areas (bedding) and they frequent each one.. never for more than a day or two at a time. Valid. According to Fletch's theory.. they don't move far from their beds in daylight. Valid. Shed says.. you have to know where they bed. Valid. Theme? That's right.. ya'll guessed it. Find the bed and you'll find your ghost. Can we all hunt them? No.. most of us have your typical 100 acres of woods.. or roughly 1/7th-ish of what a deer would need to survive throughout the year. And some grounds are just more preferred by older bucks because of their optimum bedding cover. Hence.. my theory... and why some guys hunting just one single 80 acre woodlot kill GIANT bucks every year. But.. could he bed on our property or move through it at some point in the year? Absolutely.. that depends solely on you though and how you hunt (pressure). And a few minor variables... and some cannnot be controlled.. which is why you must go to him. Which is why 1 rule exists when hunting bigger.. older bucks whether they're ghosts or not.. "Find his bed"!! Good thread everybody. Word.
After 4 years, a few trailcam pictures and finally putting alot of clues together I think I have finally found where one is bedding. Time will tell...
To find a bedding area of a ghost you must look for sign. How do you find the sign and or the bed without bumping him out for good?
Just leave a little chocolate mint on his pillow and he will come back. Seriously, I think we give them a little too much credit sometimes. In my opinion, if you are merely walking around and bump one, he is most likey going to return. It is the area in which he is most familiar and he really doesnt want to give that up. Now, if it happens repeatedly or he is shot at etc., than he is likely going to find a new home.
Hunt as much as you can during the rut and if possible do some all day sits.... It's amazing how many nice deer I've seen moving around during mid-day during the rut....
I too believe if you bump a big guy walking around and not sneaking around he will come back. I have seen it before. If your sneaking in and he sees you go up a tree or if he busts you up in a tree I think he's gone for good.
bottom line all talk aside you cant kill a monster deer sittin in the house dreamin about it, get out there you never know it could happen any given second in the woods. your neighbor could bump a monster out of his bed opening day and push him right past your stand. or not but youll never have known unless you put your time in, wisely.... i have scouted monster whitetails all season long thru velvet and then like a light switch they vanish never to be seen again till you stumble across there sheds in winter/ spring. i agree there is a skill to timing the rut and big buck movements but reality says he can be moved or pushed at any given time of the season or the day. so bottom line we all gotta put are time in and with a little luck that big boys gonna walk within shooting distance of us.
Once you find said sign.. don't stop and take a crap. Seriously though.. be smart about it. Scouting in late winter.. before it rains.. etc. Wear rubber boots... etc etc. If he likes that bedding area.. he'll be back. Just keep the pressure off of him.
