ORIGINAL: shed33
ORIGINAL: GregH
I believe that a mature bucks core area, which is very small in size, is his and his alone just after shedding their velvet until after the rut. However they definately overlap their home ranges.
two questions Greg? what age do you consider mature in this statement.. because I have watched more 3.5 year old bucks hang and bed with the same 3.5 year old buddy than I can shake a stick at and they do it well into OCt...finally how small of an area do you mean when you say small in size..
here a bucks core living area can be well over 100 acres... big country means big areas... his home range can be up to several miles were he ruts, is pushed by winter snows or travels to and from feed at night or to and from limited water in the summer time..... etc..
I dont know maybe I have the the wrong definition of core area and home range..
Yeah, a lot of times 3 1/2s will hang together, even during the rut. But I've never seen any older bucks do that. Here, where I hunt in farm country a big bucks core area, his sanctuary can be as small as 40 acres. Also, their home ranges are a lot larger during the rut. Sometimes bucks travel outside of their home range during the rut, this can be exciting when two big boys meet up. Things in farm country are usually a lot smaller than where you live. Example, a 40 acre patch of swamp in the middle of a 160 acre farm may be a big bucks core area. I guess you could say the take what they can get over here.