BM,
I think the reason Alt is saying a lot of immature bucks are breeding is becuase there are very few mature around. That's the same in my area.

Where I hunt in PA, it takes me over an hour to walk in, and there are no roads within a 3x10 mile area, so I feel I get into some pockets of decent age structures.

I general, I'm sure many areas are stocked full of 1.5 year olds, and very few older. It was not uncommon in the farm land I used to hunt downstate, to see 15 different bucks before gun season. One year I saw 17 different bucks, 15 yearlings, and 2, 2.5 years olds. That particular year I saw 1 buck-a yearling, after gun season, and he was one of 2 bucks I saw after gun season in the 11 years I hunted in that area. It wasn't as if the bucks moved, they were dead.

I'm starting to keep a pocket of bucks on my property, and you wouldn't believe the amount of scrapes and rubs this year-more than the other 3 years combined. It's because I had a few 2.5 year olds hanging around, and what a difference.

I'm looking forward to seeing the increased sign, and activity in the future, in PA. John Ozoga, a local deer biologist, told me a yearling will make a few rubs a year, a 2.5 year old might make over a 100, and a 3.5 year old or older could make 100's. Can't wait to see it!!

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan.