I have a certain buck that I'm wanting to shoot and I'm wondering who may have some insight into targeting certain bucks like this. He is approximately 7.5 years old, he lives in a relatively small area, and I don't have much information about exactly where he beds. The only info that I have on him is that I got him on camera 4 years ago working a scrape about 15 yards from where I caught him on camera again working my mock scrape this year. That same year I also saw him a couple hundred yards away and found his shed right next to where I saw him. I don't know that he actively pursues does in the rut, because nobody that hunts the property has seen him other than me. I'm attaching a picture of the layout of where I believe that he is living. I believe that he beds in a couple different places in between the red borders. The blue dots are the scrapes and the other dots are the live sighting and the place of his shed. The length of his total area is approximately 400-450 yards. Sorry about the crappy picture, I screwed it up BTW, this is flat river ground and the N side would be towards the top right of the pic, S on the bottom left.
Bucks have a home range of two miles. Especially during the rut. He could just winter there. A bigger arial area would be better.
I don't think that he's a big player in the rut anymore. If he was I believe I would've seen him in the past couple years due to the amount of time that I spend there. He still could be, but there are so many does there that even if he breeds quite a bit he still doesn't have to even leave that area that I have outlined. And I don't think that he just winters there. I'm getting pics of him right now. He has everything that he needs in that small area, and nobody ever goes into it. I really think that because of his age that he has a very small core area that he now stays in. I set up another camera on a fresh scrape today and added a dripper to it as well. I'm going to wait for another week and a half or so and go in and check my cams and see what happens. If he's there in daylight I'm going for him because this could be the last chance that I ever get at him. When they get to be that age it's hard telling how much longer I will have to hunt him. Oh, and one more thing to add. Another reason that I believe that he's claiming that turf for himself and not leaving is that I have no pics of any bucks in there over 2.5. I think that he keeps any other bucks away, but this is just an educated guess, so it could be way off.
I think your bottom red line should be extended more. Personally I chased a 7.5 buck and their home core gets SMALL!!! I would venture to say he's bedding on the bend of the river on the SE corner of the pic. I would venture to say he's bedding with his back to the river and looking out over the fields. If you can access the woods via the river that's how I think you will kill him. With a SW wind it will be ideal for him to get out of bed and work towards his scrape line while keeping the river at his back for security. If your setup is at the top of the bottom red line he will NEVER wind you unless he like to swim! LOL. This would be my setup but I wouldn't pressure him much, be sporadic with hunting him and make sure the odds are stacked for him but there's a little wiggle room for you.
