I called Tim (TJF) yesterday and he gave me his take on this subject, what he said made allot of sense. Thanks Tim!! Just thought I'd ask the rest of you to see your take on It. Does a mature buck call home to the same exact area every year? In area's such as mine some of the deer leave the woods I hunt come winter and find other area's to feed at. I think most deer return when the food runs out or when spring starts showing It's face but I've always wondered If a mature buck always goes back to where he established his home core area? If he does always return to the same area what are the chances he will bed In the same exact spots he did the year before? They bedded there the year before for a reason right? Why wouldn't they bed In these same spots again? The reason I'm asking these questions Is the buck I chased around last fall dissapeared right around the end of December and at about the same time a guy I know that hunts some other land 1.5 to 2 miles north of me saw a buck In his food plot that sounds exactly like the buck I was hunting. They actually found a shed of the buck In question the other day and I'm trying like hell to get a hold of this guy to see the shed and see If It's the buck I was hunting last fall. Tim gave me his take on why he thinks the buck I hunted left, It was good stuff. I searched high and low for signs of this buck this winter, I didn't find a thing telling me he was here anywhere. I 100% believe he dissapeared all winter. Thanks!!
We've seen a mixed bag on this subject over the last 5 years. I say 5 years because thats how long we've been running cameras and can actually say for sure what is roaming the property on a regular basis. In a very non scientific way we say that it is a 50/50 chance we'll see a mature buck the next year. With that said we've had a couple that disappear for year just to return the following bigger and badder than ever. My property doesn't hold bucks well during the winter months so I'm not sure if we are a good example.
In my area, the mature deer will usually return for the next season. We have had some slammer 2.5 year old bucks on camera though, and by the time they are 3 they are nowhere to be found. The mature bucks may move over a property to feed during the winter, but they are still in the immediate area.
When it comes to deer, "always" is a word I never use. In most instances, a mature buck seems to continue using a spot that suited him well the previous year(s) unless something has changed to make the area less appealing to him. EX. human pressure, lack of food, predators etc.
A whitetail buck is a slave to his stomach for more than 90% of the year.....and a slave to his johnson for the other. He's reclusive. He's efficient. Rule out pressure....and I'd follow the food. Introduce pressure, and I think a preferred food source would be one in which he felt safer.....v. one where he could eat more easily/readily. Efficient = BEST practices (to remain breathing).....not always the easiest path. An amateur's theory
I agree with Greg, "always" is something I can't come to terms with when it comes to whitetails. But like so many have already stated, if your place supplys all his needs, if he's really comfortable there during the hunting season, then it would not surprise me to see him come back. He sure seemed to be around all season last year. How much snow did you get this year Steve in comparison to normal years. That would be one factor that would push him out for feeding purposes. Then again he may be on a pattern to and from your place seasonally for the past couple years once he dispersed out as a kid. Right now, he is in his prime age to breed and I do know that many studies have been done on whitetail bucks, in that they know exactly where to return to to find doe families from the past, they even know when to show up since does are triggered by a specific photoperiod window/estrus date...of a couple days consistently year after year. The photoperiod is the ONLY constant when it comes to a doe coming in. I have documented/witnessed specific bucks returning to an area year after year when it comes to the doe groups they show up on. You have so many pix of this guy and dates on him that it will be very interesting to see if and when he does show up on your cams if he runs about the same timeline as he did last year. Thats what I see out here with the older bucks, they will work one doe over in a doe group and then move onto the next group. My doe familys are almost always just a doe and her fawns.. sometimes a couple doe familys overlap.. IT MAY BE completey different where your at and due to the fact that your doe familys are much more plentiful in #s and that they share doe family areas in large groups. It's very distinct out here to because the deer have so much room to make an area their own.. They are spread out and easy to place to specific areas. Did you have any pix of him or evidence of him from the year prior to this one? He may also be a buck that moved into your area this year and found a pot of gold, it sure seems like it due to the fact that you had him staying around long after you shot at him, had many encounters etc.. I would be suprised.....if he's still alive ....that he doesnt return. I think you will see him again.
Troy, I've got a good number of pictures of him In 2008. Ranging from late July till the end of December. I might even possibly have pics of him as a 2.5 In 2007, not sure It's him though.
Very True!! I have often said the exact same thing. In 08 I had several pics of a Nice buck that had a forked G2 on his left beam. He was easily upper 140's. Then during season I only saw him from my stand one time, mid morning and out at about 60 yards. There was never a shot opportunity. In 09 I did Not get a pic of him during late summer or early fall and feared the worst. Then during peak of Rut I got a pic of him at lunch time. Same Buck only bigger! I never saw him out of a stand this year nor did I get another pic of him either. I'm wondering what 2010 will bring. Hopefully he is spending a little more time in my area and I'll get a chance to let the air out of him. Running Trail Cams the last few years and then hunting the same area and comparing what I see has been very educational I Love the challenge of hunting Mature Bucks. It is what gets me going Dan
I feel like mature bucks roam a great distance during the fall months, when terrian, food or cover permits. I have a hard time believing that a mature buck will bed in one single area for a long period of time. Except the rut when he is tending a doe or holed up because of excessive pressure. I have gotten pictures of bucks that were a mile apart. I feel like a lot of there traveling is at night. Will they frequent the same area through out the year? Yes, I also feel like they will shift according to food, pressure an etc.
Finally today I saw a cell phone pic of the shed from the buck In question. It was very hard to tell by looking at the pic through this guys cell phone. He doesn't know how to send pics through his cell phone otherwise I'd show a pic. It looked to have some characteristics of the buck I was hunting. The main beam Is real long like the buck I was hunting but to be honest the buck I was hunting looked bigger (taller tines). Supposedly this shed scores out at 74 Inches, I find that very hard to believe. Tomorrow afternoon the guy with the shed Is suppose to stop over during his lunch break and show me the shed In person. That will tell the story for sure and I plan on scoring It too being I'm having a hard time believing he's 74 Inches. Who knows though, maybe the cell phone pic Is making him look much smaller then he Is.
While there is never an absolute always... we do see quite a few bucks using the same area from 2.5/3.5 - to the time they are killed/died even when they wintered in different areas of a 1 mile and greater. In the last 6 years we have watch, found sheds to, filmed quite a few bucks that came back to there core areas every year or never left them. Here is just a list of a few of them. Lewis John buck- He bedded in an old cow pasture/big slough. We had found his sheds when he was 2.5, 3.5, 4.5... some else found his 5.5 sheds. All sheds were within a half mile of his bedding area. He was killed when he was 6.5 in that immediate area ( within a1/4 mile of his bedding area ( core area ) . Strand buck- Bedded in same pasture. We found his sheds when he was 3.5, 4.5 years old. The farmer found him dead when he was 5.5 years old. Alls sheds and the dead buck with in 3/4 miles of his bedding area. His sheds now reside in Idaho. Dagger- Bedded in a grove of trees or nieghbor's cattail slough ( 1/4 mile ) We found his sheds when he was 3.5, 4.5, 5.5. All sheds were found within 300 yards of each other. We saw him at 6.5 years old and Tyler almost got to shot but it was wreck by someone else on a 4-wheeler. A neighbor shot another deer at the end of bow season and pushed it instead of waiting. He chased it through Dagger's bedding area with 3 other guys helping him track that night. It was the last we ever saw of him. They did get the deer. Big 4x4. Bedded in a big slough. We saw/filmed him. We have his sheds when he was 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 ( 1 side at 4.5 ). Tyler had him at 70 yards this fall when he was 5.5 years old. Another guy killed him a little later in that immediate area. Big 4x5. It was the buck Troy and us filmed when he visited. We found one side that winter when he was 4.5 years old. Other side was picked up on the property next to it. The sheds were 1.5 miles from his summer bedding/fall bedding area were we filmed him. We saw him the next summer back in same bedding area. He was killed 1/2 mile from it that fall the beginning of bow season. The old 4x4... his story will be in another post. End of an Era. Got some bad news about him today. While there are no absolutes... I wouldn't over look tendencies. Tim
Excellent stuff there Tim!! Thanks for the great post. As for the old 4x4, doesn't sound good. Damn hah.
In my experience each individual deer will do the same things time after time based on pressure, food and breeding. Some things can change with a deer such as bedding if events occur such as a tree falling in a bedding area or human intervention of the habitat. Overall I believe the deer will follow a lot of the same habits they always do. It's just they are so hard to pattern and predict because they live out there 365, we hunt them much much less than that. They will look to breed the same doe groups, they will use certain travel patterns at certain times based off of weather, food sources and doe group locations. I believe they bed in certain spots for certain situations and I have deer that continue to bed in the same spots that I jump them from over and over. I think when you find a deer inhibiting a certain area for spring and summer and then goes to a fall range 2 miles away is that it's based off of food, pressure and breeding. Certain spots on each farm are killing areas, they are that way because of food, bedding and breeding. I am no expert.
