Not as far-fetched as it seems...... IF you were a big/older buck.....would you live in the area you hunt? Fully aware that some grounds (mine, included) get travelers, during the rut. But, would you live where you hunt? NO WAY I would live where I hunt. Too many options, within short traveling distance, where a big/old buck could have less human pressure (within a mile or two - sometimes less).
Absolutely. When I'm out and about on my land doing whatever, I often find myself saying "man if I were a big ole brute of a buck this is where I'd be hanging out". Turns out i'm only right about 50% of the time:p. Or maybe 100% of the time and the other 50% I just screw it up!?:D
In my one public land spot, i would say yes due to the surrounding land. All of the others, probably not.
Yes(but to qualify that statement a deer HAS to leave the property I have access to at some point in time, the property aint that big & there is plenty of other GOOD areas around mine that have the rest of what a deer needs to live. All my place has to offer is bedding & sometimes acorns.
You bet I would. At the land I hunt in Wisconsin there is soo much water and cedar swamp surrounding that nobody would be able to disturb me. Our property is surrounded by public land, but it doesn't get hunted very hard, only the spots that can be walked into fairly easily. Big deer live there, i've even caught a few on the trailcam, but have yet to see anything over 115 or so while in the stand.
Not sure I want to live where mountain lions and wolves hunt me all winter and usually at night. I do like the fact that I have big rugged timbered mountains to hide out in. I don't like the fact that for two solid months anyone packing a rifle for bear elk etc can just pull up and shoot me with a rifle. I dont like that during my breeding season that rifle hunters are racing around on all the logging roads in the woods and beating the brush on deer drives. I dont like the thought of harsh winters, sometimes up to 100 inches of snow. I do like the fact that there is plenty of native feed/browse in the low ground and on the southern faces etc. Over all I have a feeling as a big old mature buck there is a better place to make home.
Yes I would, I hunt in a very big woods thats old strip mine ground. It has it all for cover and hard to get to places and is low pressured. NOW if I could just stay away from the ladies that get me killed every November :D
It depends, what do I score??? What is BIG to you?? Like a BIG 8 pointer?? lol Yes, absolutely. Because I leave big chunks of sanctuary that only get stepped in during shed hunting season in the Spring. Plenty of food, water, cover, does, and peace and quiet.
I was thinking the same thing, can I relocate to a big farm that has a sanctuary area completely off limits to hunters ! fletch my buds in Iowa do the exact same thing and it definately makes a difference in how many big mature bucks over time feel comfortable there when the shot gun seasons open up all around their property.
Yes I would. I would live there because there are many no hunting zones spread out across the military base. I can hide out in those large areas and thrive due to no hunting pressure at all. The winters are generally mild as well, and the acorns plenty. The terrain is excellent for me to utilize my nose and eyes to detect any potential predator. Catch me if you can in this rolling, big woods environment...sucker!
I would find it an extremely appealing place to spend to my time during the fall. Tricky wind currents and thermals, lots of natural mast.. on a good year. Good doe groups, nice transition areas, South facing slopes, but not a whole lot of bedding cover, but the terrain would allow me to hide from those two legged creatures rather easily. I'm not sure why any deer would want to spend their summer on my place, but we are working on that from a management perspective
come to think of it out here in Idaho I would just move into a big state park or federal park ... no hunting allowed..ah wait.. predators suck.. I am moving to a sanctuary where the biggest predator is a coyote.
I would run thru every yard in town, maybe a trip around the local grocery store or walmart right thru sporting goods. what a way to go.:D
I really do not see a old buck living in any one single area. They seek out an visit different areas often special as the nights start getting longer. They hole up in lots of different areas when the traffic gets heavier in the woods. Normally in six or seven year old cutovers. You can sometimes set on these cuttovers as bowhunters an watch bucks move around in them. There is no way you can get to them you just sit an watch. They will stay in them alot of times till dark thirty.
I firmly believe it is the single most important factor in keeping big bucks around. I waited until I had a couple of years experience with my property to figure out where they like to bed and spend most of their time and that became the sanctuary. I dont even like to hunt close enough to it that a deer may make it back in there...... until the prerut. Many times, I will not even step foot into ANY of my timber until November. I only hunt the edges and travel corridors. It still amazes me how some of them with nearly zero pressure are just ghosts that I occasionally get a picture of at night. The old ones are part vampire, always back to bed before daylight.
