Mature Buck food for thought

[GMMAT]

If you're targeting that specific deer you've seen in your area.....there may be hope. According to Deer and Deer Hunting magazine (January '08).....a whitetail buck's home range DECREASES as he gets older. That's good news!

It was also noted that a deer's "range" changes (sometimes drastically) from season to season. So.....if you're not seeing deer on certain areas of your property(ies) you're hunting.....it's NOT unusual to see them on a more regular basis at certain times of the season (a phenomenon I've witnessed, here).

Great magazine.......really good info.

[Rob/PA Bowyer]

Same here Jeff, half of the bucks I've taken in the last mature run of bucks have never been seen before the day I shot them, the other half had been.

[GMMAT]

According to the article........his (buck's) range increases (again....sometimes drastically) when the rut kicks in. It was also notable that this change (increase) in home range was "regional" (on a national level).

Again....to me it indicates the LACK of "absolutes" in chasing these critters!

[MK M GOBL]

I would agree with those findings. I've seem some really old bucks there were homebodys...they had a really small core area. I've also seen mature bucks with summer and fall core areas that are up to 2 miles apart, yet they spend 80% of their time in 80 acres of timber.

[buckmaster]

ive thought about subscribing to that magazine but never had, love the show, expecially Vital Information portion, i get Field and stream, got a free year and renewed it for $5.00. cant beat it, even if for every page of info theres 3 pages of advertisements...

[Schultzy]

I can say this much that where I hunt and I'm guessing most places are like this depending on the time of year bucks and doe's will change patterns allot. Allot depends on available food sources, summer patterns, fall patterns, winter patterns. They change with them all. Bucks will venture from there home territory or I should say will venture allot farther from there home territory during the rut. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if a buck didn't travel two miles in just one night if not farther. I do know they venture allot farther during the rut then any other time.

[GMMAT]

Sometimes much further than that, Schultzy.

I have to wait for the deer, here, to get off the ag crops. That's where they "summer", here (nearER to them). We're still talking inside a square mile.....but I can tell you their CORE is smaller than that from what I've witnessed (at any given time of the year....and according to what food source they'r eon at that particular time of the year).

Just my observation.

[Schultzy]

I wouldn't put it past them!

[atlasman]

ORIGINAL: GMMAT

a whitetail buck's home range DECREASES as he gets older.

This is true for every deer in every situation??.......if so please explain how they proved it.

It was also noted that a deer's "range" changes (sometimes drastically) from season to season.

Another way of saying they really don't know what any given deer will do from 1 day to the next.........let alone year to year.

Great magazine........really good info

That info is pretty much useless unless they provided a TON more detail that you are leaving out........I haven't read it yet.

[GMMAT]

They captured and radio-collared a "control group" of deer in differing US regions and studied their movement patterns (and movement patterns amongst different age groups of bucks).

Only way I'd think you could come up with anything other than a "guess".