I have seen bucks locked down with does as late as mid December, as well as chasing and sparring going on during the same time frame. I think a lot of it has to do with everything coming together, and is more a rare occurrence than the norm that late however. It seems like every year during this time new bucks hit my farm. I contribute this to 2 factors: 1) The first gun season wrapped up Sunday. Bucks from neighboring lands have been pressured hard, and are now trying to find a safe haven to lay low. Albeit, our ground was hunted as well, and the pics of the bucks from October and November will decline until they feel safe coming back, or cruise through again. 2) The bucks range is starting to really expand as they search for every last doe they can find. Food plots and the such are not very prevalent in our area, so high concentrations of does rarely exist. Thus causing the bucks to "cruise" between groups. November 21, 2011 I got a shot on a buck I had never seen before, despite having 1000's of trail cam photos from the farm. He responded to some tending grunts I did blindly just before dark and came in on a string. Had my aim been more precise I would have solved my first "post lockdown buck" riddle. But I digress. This time of the year has always interested me. I don't think it is a true post rut style yet. I think the bucks are still wanting to get down and dirty with a doe if they can find one, and are going to search a bit farther as there are not as many around. If you can couple that with an area that has not seen much pressure to this point, some thick cover, and a doe group keyed in on a good food source, then you may have yourself a good ticket.
My office at work overlooks a pretty good sized nature preserve in the Chicagoland suburbs. Today with this snow I've been able to see pretty well into the timber, and watched a decent buck chasing does for the better part of 3 hours.
It's basically the same bedding pattern, just the food source has changed....which could/will alter the location somewhat. Right now, I like to focus on bedding near the food source that the doe's are locked in on.
After the last 3 days, I'm going to say I suck at hunting right now lol. Hoping for a Turkey Day buck in the morning before the big meal.
My observations of thanksgiving week from being in the woods and what we are seeing on cams. Small bucks are still cruising and chasing does, bigger bucks are hammering food sources.
Had 2 small bucks chasing a yearling doe yesterday morning around a cut bean field for a few minutes. Big bucks are ghosts. Cam pics are all under the cover of darkness.
