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RE: Great Mature buck thread
ORIGINAL: Sliverflicker ORIGINAL: Germ On Michigan forum. Eberhart jumped in:) http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246381 Michigan's mature buck to breeding doe ratios being so out of whack is another reason our mature bucks move less during daylight hours, even during the rut. Matriarch does in heavily hunted areas will seek out one of the, if there are any, dominant mature bucks (usually a specific one) to breed her, they definitely know where they live and frequent, so the mature bucks do not have to travel as much. The chase phase still occurs, but it is in a much more confined area during daylight and that area obviously expands during the security of darkness. I have witnessed this type of doe activity on many occassions. I posted about this last year or the year befor, when someone had a topic on how many times a Doe would come into heat. May have to get right into Mr Mass bedroom to get a tag on him ;). Who is Thunderhead on the other forum? Cant think of but a couple people it could be. Speaking of Eberharts stance on the Xbow, looks like they made it easier for handicapped or disabled to get a Xbow permit, which was a good thing, old regs were quite harsh. I really thought last year I was in his bedroom, but a cornfield up late I think cost me. I saw him run out of it on Nov 11th when they started to combine it. I was hunting as close to it as I good, but a rash of east winds killed me. Opening day I am going right after him, I am hunting opening morning and that is it until the rut. Yes he is alive;) |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
ORIGINAL: Germ ORIGINAL: Sliverflicker ORIGINAL: Germ On Michigan forum. Eberhart jumped in:) http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246381 Michigan's mature buck to breeding doe ratios being so out of whack is another reason our mature bucks move less during daylight hours, even during the rut. Matriarch does in heavily hunted areas will seek out one of the, if there are any, dominant mature bucks (usually a specific one) to breed her, they definitely know where they live and frequent, so the mature bucks do not have to travel as much. The chase phase still occurs, but it is in a much more confined area during daylight and that area obviously expands during the security of darkness. I have witnessed this type of doe activity on many occassions. I posted about this last year or the year befor, when someone had a topic on how many times a Doe would come into heat. May have to get right into Mr Mass bedroom to get a tag on him ;). Who is Thunderhead on the other forum? Cant think of but a couple people it could be. Speaking of Eberharts stance on the Xbow, looks like they made it easier for handicapped or disabled to get a Xbow permit, which was a good thing, old regs were quite harsh. I really thought last year I was in his bedroom, but a cornfield up late I think cost me. I saw him run out of it on Nov 11th when they started to combine it. I was hunting as close to it as I good, but a rash of east winds killed me. Opening day I am going right after him, I am hunting opening morning and that is it until the rut. Yes he is alive;) |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
WOW! Good stuff!
Things I took from the thread...... Mature bucks in the types of areas they hunt are, I am ready to take a hit on this, simple to kill. - J.E. The quantity of mature bucks in lightly hunted areas also make them less nocturnal during the rut phases because their rut is so competitive for breeding rights. "Crepuscular"? Never heard the phrase.....but it makes sense. More pressure (AND individual buck "personality") would also lend to more of them being perceived as "more nocturnal". I haven't read anything that makes me believe they get to that point by nature, alone, though. Do "I" think some of them are more nocturnal than others? Sure. Can we pinpoint "why" (Definitively)? I don't think so. Age? Maybe they get more "efficient" with age. Does pressure make them become more nocturnal.....OR....will pressure simply force them to displace to a less pressured area. I can't recall who asked this....but it's a hellva question. Hunting pressure (in my eyes) isn't even relevant to an "area".....if you're not going to include property lines into the equation. A40 acre woodlot that has NO (or very little)hunting wouldn't have ANY/much "pressure". Would the deer, there, adapt to this and become more "at ease" during daylight hours? I think we all know of instances where this would be true. I see it. That hunting pressure is absolutely critical to bowhunting success on mature bucks in most areas, however, has been largely ignored by the well-known whitetail “experts”. The reason for this is simple. Recognition as a whitetail expert in the hunting community usually comes in direct relation to the number of large bucks a hunter has killed, or following a career as a wildlife biologist. Killing the number and quality of bucks required to do this is easiest in areas with light hunting pressure, and the vast majority of well-known whitetail hunters hunt in those areas. They do not have to deal with hunting pressure, and therefore have no idea how to hunt in such circumstances. Their advice is usually as follows: if you want to kill mature bucks, travel to the places where big bucks are easy to kill. This is realistic advice, but impossible to follow for most bowhunters. We are not in any way suggesting that the “experts” lack the desire and dedication for what is needed to take big bucks in the areas they hunt, we are simply saying that those same practices will simply not produce big bucks with any regularity in pressured areas. |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
Crepuscular is the correct term for dusk/dawn movement. Diurnal describes daytime movement, such as squirrels, and everyone is familiar with nocturnal.:D
There is a wealth of information over on that michigan thread. Good read. |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
Excellent thread. Thanks for sharing Gary. Much of the content in that thread is easily translatable to here in PA since we have much of the same kind of pressure as MI.
It's also refreshing to hear others refer to a 3.5 year old as "mature." I know around here a 3.5 year old is a wise old man. |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
Lots of good stuff........
Deer know the difference between hearing or smelling Joe farmer vs Joe hunter. Guys leaving scent: Wood cutters, farmers, hikers etc. The deer know the difference, at least the older ones do. I firmly believe that they know when a guy is picking mushrooms and when they are being hunted, or about to be hunted. Super Bucks go undected most of their lives, even the farmers don't know that he exists alot of the time. He won't particapte in the chase phase, at least during the day and he'll only breed does that come to him, if he breeds at all. The survival instinct is so strong in these types of deer, that survival overrides the urge to breed. The super buck will live a life of secrecy. There are more of these bucks than you might think. They just go undected. I'll lay good money down that there is a super buck haunting your hunting ground too, you just don't know it. The only way that I've found to locate and hunt these bucks is to walk AROUND the property and cut his track. That's the only thing he can't hide. Then, I stop. Back up. Take a deep breath, clear my mind and look. Think. Observe. An old wise buck will know that your there before you even get out of your car. He's already got you patterned. He wants to be able to see you comming and know where you are at all times. That buck already has his " stand " set, keeping a wary eye on you. Change up your route in. Places you park. Being mobile in your treestand placement etc.... anything that throws a monkey wrench into his surveillance and keep him from patterning you is what a guy needs to do. If you can do all this and not mess up bad enough to spook him out of the area completely, you stand a chance of killing a buck of a lifetime. You need to be carefull doing this. Hunting these old boys is a game of chess. Just because you haven't seen a big buck doesn't mean he's not there. Chances are he's right under your nose. |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
Just because you haven't seen a big buck doesn't mean he's not there. Chances are he's right under your nose. The super buck will live a life of secrecy. There are more of these bucks than you might think. They just go undected. I'll lay good money down that there is a super buck haunting your hunting ground too, you just don't know it. |
RE: Great Mature buck thread
"Ghost elephants" exist, too. Prove me wrong.;):D
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RE: Great Mature buck thread
Ghost Elephants are bigger in the Midwest[8D]
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RE: Great Mature buck thread
Great read. Guys like John will always have "haters" no matter where he goes. Not only is he successful, but he's opinionated. Two things people love to hate.
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