RE: Why to take does....and does it affect buck sightings?
I think this issue, while as a whole has merit, but to an individual not so much difference.
So many factors come into play that I don’t think a definitive answer can be made. The guy in the example has obvious success, but I doubt much if any of it can be attributed to him not shooting does until after he’s shot a buck…..UNLESS the area available for him to hunt does not allow for him to shoot a deer without causing great impact to the area.
On an individual basis I don’t feel enough does can be taken to affect a bucks travel patterns unless the act of taking those does, dragging etc spooks the resident big bucks that live there.
However, on a wide scale basis, if you have say a 20 doe per sq mile population on September 1st but by Oct 20th, there’s only 12 per sq mile, and your buck population has stayed the same, you’ll probably get a good bit more cruising activity and competition.
One thing I do know is that at least regarding young bucks, if there’s an old doe gut pile, even if its been gone for weeks, a buck passing nearby will come over and check it out if he smells it.