Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

How much do deer learn from year to year?

I’ve got my eye on a certain buck for next year…..and I’m thinking he’s going to be a bit more difficult to harvest…..just because he’s getting older. My guess is he’ll be four or 5-1/2, this year. I had him trot by me in ’05 with my ass in the seat and my bow on the hanger. I had him at 0 yds. at one point this year……and couldn’t get an ethical shot at him. I also had him walk by on the last day of bow season……and I with NO buck tags left. So….in all 46 hunts…. I saw him 3 times, this past season.

I think they get either smarter or more nocturnal (not that there’s a difference…..but a correlation) as they get older. I “Think” my (OUR) best chance at a buck is likely the first encounter with him. I also think they learn things throughout their lives that make them a more difficult adversary. I don’t think anyone would argue that a buck who is 3-1/2 is harder to kill than when he was when he was 1-1/2.

What do these bucks learn that makes them so savvy? Is it how/when to avoid human contact? Does anyone disagree and think they’re not getting smarter as they get older?

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

Def. get more intelligent with age. Staying out of the woods spring and summer, as much as possible, gets them all more relaxed but the minute they smell you or any person they become leery again and scarce.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

THey definitely get a little more wiley with each season, but that's not to say you can't get him. I would stay away from that area as much as you can in the off-season. IT doesn't seem to take much to make old deer go nocturnal, so don't give hima good reason before the season starts.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

Nothing is more difficult to kill than a buck who is 4 1/2 or more years old. This is a whitetail that has survived into his 5th hunting season and certainly seems to know what the "game" is all about. This mature animal has graduated with a PhD in survivial tactics and human aviodence. Gone is ANY naivity that gets many lesser animals tagged every season. I don't believe that they have some sort of super powers as some would have you believe but by the time they get to be that old they no longerhaveANY curiousity and it's strictly about survival. When alerted or even remotely suspicious of anything they resort to survival mode.... hide, either by laying low or slipping away. Of course, as mentioned, the most common way to do this is by going nocturnal. I've personally been fortunate enough to hunt a few whitetails that we KNEW lived in the area but yet once the animal matured, no one seen them during daylight.... ever! The only thing that could ever seem to catch them were trail cams and, as to be expected, the photos were always in the middle of night. Without the trail cams the only proof we would have every season was the occasional shed antler. A couple of these animals were 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 before they finally vanished forever. They are simply amazing survival machines once mature and the reason my respect for them seems to grow even more every season. Tougher to hunt once mature..... YES SIR!

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

I have a theory that the deer that get older do so BY BEING harder to kill. I am not sure that they actually get smarter as they get older. I just think that the smarter ones get older.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

huntingson:

I've heard versions of your theory before. I've heard it said, quite frankly, that deer that get older aren't necessarily getting smarter or harder to kill. I just find it hard to believe that an animal that's been around for as long as the whitetail deer has......doesn't have the capacity to learn VERY WELL. I don't dispute what you're saying (or what I "think" you're saying).....I just disagree.

I think they get a LOT smarter with age. I watch the 1-1/2 yr olds do things I won't see the older deer do.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

they definently get smarter. exspecially in areas of high pressure. in areas of high pressure deer dont get old by being dumb and they learn more and faster because of the high pressure. and in areas of high pressure where QDM is hard to practice bucks will get bigger only if they are smart and learn how to escape danger. PA is a prime example. before antler restricitions if you didnt shoot that spike and it made its way down the ridge it was most likely dead. it honestly took me 4 years to see a buck BEFORE antler restrictions. the first year of antler restrictions i killed a legal buck. how that happened i dont know lol. but he was only 1.5yo

i dont know about the pressure of NC...i think you are lucky and have alot of land to yourself from the sounds of everything i hear from you..but could be mistaken. i dont know how older bucks will act in areas like that. there is no reason for them NOT to go about their day like the rest of the herd if pressure is low. if thats the case id say you got a very good chance at him. bucks generally follow a summer pattern until about october. then they seem to go nocternal until the end of october/early november when things heat up with the rut(here in PA atleast) i been reading books about hunting mature pressured bucks..they go along with that too. said that early season and the rut are the best chances to kill mature pressured bucks. but also mid day can be good, and rainy days can be good as well. my bow stand i hunted all season i will be honest and say i never hunted passed 10 or 11 am. i either hunted mornings or evenings. i made alot of mistakes. hunted it way too much and went in a half hour before the sun came up...spooking deer. the first day of rifle came..i was excited as heck because pressure from other guys SHOULD had the deer moving by me all day. i got in there WAY early. close to 2 hrs before sun up. i had deer moving around me all morning before the sun came up that i probably kicked out of there when i was going in in bow season. come 11 am both bucks came back. 1 was WAY mature. the other i couldnt tell i was focused on the big boy. never got a shot, but a kid killed him later in the season...he was a brute. i never seen him in bow season though he lived there. i just messed up way to much to even have a chance at him. then i didnt hunt for 2-3 weeks and let up the pressure..he went about his normal routine and i seen him because i was in stand longer. now for next year i just gotta find me a mature buck and hunt him properly. you gotta learn about the deer in your area..i really have no idea about areas of minimal pressure like i think you hunt..my areas are hunted hard from october-january. by me an tons of other people..thats what i learned about mature bucks in my area so far...got alot of learning to do but i think im doing good so far..good luck...i definently think if you play your cards right i will be hoping to be on your team again next year!!

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

GMMAT, first off, don't worry, I have no problem with people disagreeing with me. I have been wrong before and will be again I am sure.

I didn't mean to say that they don't ever learn things. For instance, they might find an area where they feel safe and may hide out there when the pressure in the woods increases. The thing is those deer learn from their mistakes, and many times don't get too many to learn from before WHACK! I feel like the ones that make it to 4.5 or 5.5 just haven't made many, if any, mistakes.There are some deer that are just born nocturnal, while others have to learn to be so. I don't know if that makes sense, but in most areas one mistake can be one too many as far as a deer is concerned. The ones that make it to maturity are therefore either extremely lucky or are "smart" to begin with.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

Huntingson:

I've just heard it said that deer that have a chance to be taken (say.....a 2.5 yr old that I passed on this year)....aren't any more an accompishment when they're 3.5 than they were last year.

I tend to disagree with this line of thinking.

RE: Do older deer become harder to kill?
 

I do too. I agree 100% that killing a 3.5+ year old deer is much harder and a much bigger accomplishment than killing a 1.5 year old deer. I didn't think I was arguing that point at all. Heck, if nothing else there are fewer of them. Add that to the fact that they have to be doing something right to live that long and it is basically a miracle to ever get one.