I read that 78% to be of the bucks killed in PA 78% of that number is through hunting as well. Not that 78% of the bucks are killed through hunting each year.

I by no means consider myself a buck expert, but having had my minor in wildlife and fisheries science I can probably answer some of these questions.

1. At 2.5-3.5 years of age bucks establish their home range usually. Considering that most deer will move a few miles from their birth range and have rutting ranges that cover a few miles there is a good chance that many of those bucks will at least cross into your area during the rut. There was a very interesting article on this very subject in the Pennsylvania Game News a few years ago that showed how radio collared deer dispursed from birth by county. In the study all but 1 deer that was collared in the center of the county stay within that county and the core were within 10 miles of their birthing range.

2. To answer this I would have to know the predators in your area. If it is anything like my area there is not much threat to a healthy 1.5 old buck. Coyotes may try, but they prey more on young or sick deer. The biggest non-hunting threat for the deer you describe usually comes from Detroit and frequents the blacktop.

3.Again a wildlife biologist in your area could answer this better for you. NC does not suffer from CWD, so most mortality will be due to infection from injury. This percentage is usually fairly low and in the sub 10% and in many cases below 5% range.

For your purposes, I would say if you saw 10-12 1.5 year old bucks last year you stand a chance of seeing at least 7-8 of them again at some point in time assuming other hunters don't see them first.