Our property is all about does, they travel through and bed. We do not see bucks in the early season, but once things start to crank up, bucks start coming out of the swamp cruising for ladies and come right to us. IMO hunting right before, during and right after the primary rut is all about the does.
BINGO. This mirrors my situation. I can count on one hand the number of bucks I saw last year prior to the pre-rut.