Maybe more to the heart of the question of this post. I get night time trail cam pics of some bucks that I never see during the day, even hunting hard all season. If I do see them, it's most likely during the rut.

Shotgun season sends the deer "under ground". Big deer don't get big by being stupid no matter where they are.

Also, hunters are starting to slack off the younger bucks. Even the DNR is encouraging hunters to take a doe instead.