Was reading an interesting article on QDMA regarding a rather expansive GPS study they did on mature deet throughout the U.S. The article itself is a summary of a presentation, so you don't get ALL of the information that was originally presented, but they highlighted some interesting key, and even controversial points. I especially found the mention that they found no correlation between weather patterns and deer movement. They also found that the deer in their study moved EARLIER in the day following a full moon. Anyways, the article is here: 10 Things We Know About Mature Buck Movements | Quality Deer Management Association What do you think? Do you agree with their findings based on your personal observations? Is this a skewed perspective, or do you think it may change the way people perceive hunting mature deer? Share your thoughts.
Great article, but I feel it's similar to a lot of articles I've read that's basically regurgitation of stuff we already know. Bucks move most at dusk and dawn - check. Bucks respond to hunting pressure by moving less during the day and more at night - check. Bucks spend most of their time in their "core" areas - check. Bucks are most active and travel on "excursions" most during the rut - check. The only piece of that article that I found somewhat surprising was the lack of impact that moon phases and weather has on deer movement. I wish there was a little more elaboration on that. All in all I think that article is loaded with good info that most of us know, but tend to forget about, once hunting season comes. Specifically the one about pressure. Staying out until the time is right is about the hardest thing to do, but it can often be the most rewarding.
Everything in that article is basically pointless to 99% of us. The one paragraph tells us everything we already know. Soon as hunting pressure hits them they change. What they do as they travel along those large ranches while being collared and unpressured is interesting to read but that will not help anyone's hunting unless you are one of those fortunate people to access of untold acreage of unpressured deer. If I followed only those guidelines on the lands I hunt I can honestly say I would have had a lot more tree time over the years because my tags wouldn't have got filled as early.
Agreed on the regurgitation of MOST of the information (the other even mentions that). The piece that I found interesting was the impact on moon phases and weather related movements. This contradicts MUCH of what many people have been preaching (including long time members here). It's not what I've observed personally, so that's what I thought was so odd. Maybe because I'm in the 99%:D
Really these radio collared unpressured deer studies should be filled away in the fantasy section of hunting library's. Right next to how to tag opening day unicorns. These scenarios are just not very common in real hunting situations.
Scott, so hunting pressure, in your opinion, trumps all? Moon phase and weather related patterns/movement out the window? Here's why I find it interesting. Most hunters (including myself) will see deer movement affected by weather patterns, pressure systems, temperatures, etc., It makes sense. What would an unpressured environment have that a "normal" hunting environment doesn't to cause these observations?
No. Most of my best hunts have come during or directly after fronts. (I believe i have made a few threads about weather fronts over the years)I believe the bucks will move during the fronts in pressured areas knowing the likelihood of encountering a human is rather low. In an unpressured environment they do not need to use fronts as times to travel or feed because they are not pinned down by pressure until dark.
decent article with a lot of information that should already be known by most hunters. What i would really like to see is using this technology to test attractants. Once you learn a mature bucks "home range" place a mock scrape just on the edge of that range to see if he focuses more on that area. just do multiple tests like this with multiple products. why not right?
We all know when a mature deer starts to feel the pressure when deer hunting season in full peak that they rarely keep their same patterns. Throughout my years of hunting I have killed almost the same amount of deer between 2 and 4 than I have killed at dusk or dawn. It is true that animals form habits but all this research doesn't help me much at all. Look at the rut. During these times god only knows where the mature deer are because they have those heads down and their nose pinned to a doe or her scent on the ground. This is an intersting article to say the least though.
Just to add a little to this, I do happen to hunt an area that receives very little to no pressure other than myself. The deer there consistently use fronts for movement, especially mature bucks. I have seen very little affect buck movement like a front coming in. This goes for any time, not just a cold snap in November. And the more drastic change that front brings the better. I love seeing rain in the forecast, I can almost always bank on seeing a good deer either in a misty rain or right after a downpour. I would imagine this would always be one of your best bets to kill a mature deer on public or heavily pressured ground. When a front comes in, especially if it brings some rain, I would be as close as I could to a mature bucks bedding area for an evening hunt.
