---

Okay - the title was just a means of getting you to open this thread, but, I do intend on turning this into a LEARNNG EXPERIENCE for all of us - provided you play along.

I originally got interested in deer research in 1987, after reading several deer articles and books, and talking to, my good friend Dr. Ken Nordberg.

To further my knowledge of deer, and learn how to conduct a valid deer research project, I contacted well known and well respected deer biologist and rsearcher, and outdoor writer, Dr. Larry Marchinton, who was a professor of wildlife at the University of Georgia, and who I consider the "father of whitetail biology and behavior as it applies to management, and to hunting".

Larrry sent me dozens of his research papers, and then put me in touch with many of the top deer biologists of the past two decades, and they each taught me something. And they all received my 10 or so deer and elk research papers ofmy 10 year deer research project, and commented on them - and asked me to keep them updated.

Although I have not personaly met most of them, we have all become friends as a result of our interest in deer biology and behavior. I enjoy learning about deer biology and behavior...

Anyhow, here is a question - that you can all answer, and we can come to some conclusions on deer behavior and biology at the end of it ...

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE DAYS IN NOVEMBER - DO YOU THINK ARE CLOUDY IN YOUR AREA???
10% - 30%
31% - 50&
51% - 70%
71% - 100%

God bless,

T.R.

---

---

ORIGINAL: WildlifePhoto
Hey guys,
T.R. says we need at least 20 responses to make this a semi-reasonable study project, help us out here.
He says he has gotten many moreresponses on the "Ontario Trophy Bucks Forum" -
As the best Hunting Talk Forum on the Internet - can't we show them up???
Justmake an informedguess as to your state....

---

---

Hey guys, PLEASE remember that I am posting these ideas on 25+ Talk forums, and answering " so and so has responded to your post at ... " every day. It takes me 8 hours every day do post and respond, and answer e-mails.

SO - it takes me a while to get around to each forum ... PLEASE be patient with me. ________________________

Ok, here is an answer to some of the several points I was trying to make: Every "deer movement" study I've ever seen (whether using electronic location/timer devices, electronic deer "gates" [on penned deer], or deer sighting study - I have ever seen - show 2 peak activity times for white-tailed deer and elk; one at roughtly sunrise and one at roughly sunset, with very minor peaks at midday and midnight.

Whitetails are what scientists refer to as "crepuscular" meaning they are active primarily at sunset and sunrise.

The studies all show that deer often begin moving earlier in the evening than normal when there is cloud cover, and that they genearlly stay out longer in the morning than normal when there is cloud cover.

The conclusion we can come to is that "the amount of available light" (from the sun each day, and possibly the moon each night), probably triggers a deer's urge to get up and become active - or at least makes it feel seucre enough to become active. My personal studies, and those of others confirm this idea.

The reason being, that - because deer are crepuscular - indicates that they are most comfortable being active when there are low light conditions, and that anything that alters the available amount of light each day, can, and may cause deer to beocme active when there are low-light conditions, or at least conditions the deer feel secure in.

This probably does not apply as much in heavily wooded areas, where leaves or needles may "alter" the amount of "available light, because of the shady conditions - and because the deer often feel more seucre in wooded areas - than in open areas.

So, when it is cloudy- you might want to get out earlier in the evening, and stay out later in the morning.

May God bless you and yours,

T.R. Michels

_________________

There is still one more point to make:

How many days- during the full moon phase (those 7 days) - do you think there is full moonlight at night - in your area???

---

---

Hey guys, PLEASE remember that I am posting these ideas on 25+ Talk forums, and answering " so and so has responded to your post at ... " every day. It takes me 8 hours every day do post and respond, and answer e-mails.

---

---

ORIGINAL: WildlifePhoto
Jag Mag,
You do know that T.R. had his own board here on Hunting.Net, and that he had forums on whitetails, waterfowl, turkey and elk, and that he was the first moderator of the "Religion" forum - don't you??
If he is correct - then he had over 150,000reads on those forum in the first six months he was here.

---

---

Here is one way:

I've learned - through my research and the research of others - that the weather is basically the main factor that determines "when" and "where" deer are most active "every day". Knowing where and when deer are most likely to be - helps me locate deer on a pretty darn regular basis.
Say it is raining cats and dogs, and the wind is howling at 30 mph. I KNOW the deer are probably not gonna move much - so there is no sense sitting at a stand at the edge of a cut cornfield waiting for the deer to come to me - I have to figure out where they are most likely to be - and get close enough to them to get an opportunity. So, I get up and go look for areas where I think the deer will be holed up.

And, I've learned - through my research and personal experience that the deer are likely to be in heavy overhead cover if they can find it, and be in a spot that is out of the wind, maybe on the down windside of a hill or wooded area, or a low-lying area. I know this, because I've researched deer for 10 years, and hunted them since I was 12 years old. I've learned a few things in that time. Not all of it, but some of it.

Reading Seer Sign
Next, and this is very important, I've learned to know where to look for deer sign, and I've learned to understand what it means, which can tell me "when" the deer was in the area ('cause I understand why the deer was there - through scientific reseach), and when it might be in that general area again. I scout literally dozens of hours before the season, and all during the season (generally every few days).

And I look for the trails "buck" use, because in many areas they use the same basic routes each day as they come and go from their daytime core areas/bedding sites - to food sources and look for does.
Knowing bucks often use the same travel routes (and often the very same trail every day) especially the closer they get to their daytime core areas - I know that I can "pattern" their movments (predict on a semi-regular basis - just about where they will be every few days, at approximately the same time every day, as long as the rut is not on). And I look for their rub-route, and the scrapes they make, 'cause that tells me the buck spends some time along those areas. And that they will still use those same areas, even if the rut is on, on a less regular basis - as long as they don't find an estrus doe, and that as soon as the doe is out of estrus - they may still use those areas, especially the closer they get to their daytime core area (bedding site) once the doe is out of estrus, 'cause they may want to rest up for a few days.

So - the area where a buck spends the most amount of time - during daylight hours (legal hunting hours - and up to 75% of the DAY -not night) is in or near its "daytime core area". That is where you should spend the most amount of time if you want to take a "particular" (large racked???) buck.
And I find that buck's core area, by either seeing it or getting photos of it, and then reading sign, finding its rub route, and either back-tracking (usually) its rub route in the evening - until I actually find its core area, or I follow the rub route in the morning to locate the core area.

Then I setup - in a likely location - play the wind, and ambush him when he walks by. I might use scents, calls, rattling and decoys to get him in close. But, usually I can setup where he will walk by withing 25 yards of where I setup - and use nothing.

It takes bit of work, and a lot of understanding of deer behavior, which I've gained as a result of reading research papers and doing 10 years of deer research myself.

And I've learned (and devised) several ways to "cut down on the amount of time spent scouting", which can be used by the average Joe hunter - who does not have the time to spend scouting like I do. It is all in my book. But, I'm gonna give more of it away here.

"Patterning" is one of the most productive ways to kill "particular big bucks" you may see.

God bless,

T.R.

---

---

ORIGINAL: WildlifePhoto

I'm not. Just friends from another website.

---

---

ORIGINAL: WildlifePhoto

I'm not. Just friends from another website.

---

---

NOW as to hunting tactics - here is my favorite way to go about guiding for trophy class bucks.

Because:

1. I am always looking - not just for any deer - and not just for bucks - BUT, for bucks that will score above 140, and above 170 if possible (in that area) -

2. as a result of reading the research papers of several top biologists, and the experience of my own 10 year research project into the biology and behavior of deer - I have a fairly good understanding of how they will react to the weather each day, and what activities they will exhibit during the different phases of the rut -

3. I understand the whitetails in most areas have traditional home ranges every year, with a "daytime core area" where they spend the majority of the day, and that bucks in particular, have preferred "very lightly used trails" (because there is generally only one buck using the trail, none direction, one tine per day),that they use as they leave their core areas in the evening to go out and feed or look for does, and often another "lightly used trail" they use as they go back intro their core area in the morning -AND that bucks often leave evidence of where they travel - by leaving rubs and scrapes (which is why we call it a "rub route"; and that these buck trails or rub routes often parallel the more heavily used doe trails, but may be up the hill, down the hill or in heavier cover, and that these buck trails can often be found near food sources -

4. I know that the terrain and type of habitat the deer are in often governs where they have their daytime core areas, bedding sites, travel routes and trails, and where they feed and water -

5. I realize that the hunting pressure - and type of habitat (particularly food sources) on adjacent properties - often governs when and where deer may enter or leave the property I hunt

6. I realize that the weather each day - governs to a great extent how active deer will be that day, and when and where they will be thaqt day

7. I realize that by glassing the property, from one or more areas where I can watch the enitre property to actually see deer, from high spots or roads and open areas - and by actually "field scouting" the property to look for deer sign and determine where the travel corridors, trails, buck trails, rubs, scrapes, core areas, bedding sites and food and water sources are -

THEN:

I realize - I just can't gain enough information about a piece of property - from an aerial photo and a topo map - to determine the best places to hunt for deer, none the less a particular large racked buck.

So -I would not hunt a property going in cold - without doing some glassing and/or field scouting - first. And at least taking into scout where the preferred food sources are that week, which phase of the rut the deer are in, and the weather conditions that day.

No matter where I hunt - I want to take into account the habitat and the wind, also the rut phase the deer are in, the amount of hunting pressure there might be in the surrounding areas, which might affect "where and when" the deer come onto the property I am on, ande Anything else that may affect deer activity that day.

I've not had a situation where I could not scout (at least a bit - say "all day" before the hunt). BUT, if I were going in basically blind - I'd choose a site - depending on what the weather was doing the day of the hunt. I'd go to low-lying, protected or wooded areas if the wind was above 10-15 mph - and I'd set up closer to where I think downwind-bedding areas are (the downwind side of the hill). If there was medium to heavy precipitation - I'd look to hunt near areas with overhead cover, and expect the deer not to move too far. If it was hot I'd expect the deer to be in or near the heaviest overhead vegetation (for shade, and possibly in areas where the wind might cool them off in the shade, or in or near water (the lake or swamp if there is one). I'd also expect them to move during the cooler part of the day, with them (and me) playing the wind and thermals for morning and evening hunts.

My plans depend on how much time I have - to glass, field stalk, and the sign I see - both before the hunt, and while I'm hunting - and my plans and hunting locations may change based on what occurs each day, and what I find, or see each day.

First thing I would do is, pick as many spots (up high - like I do elk hunting) as needed - to see as much of the property as I could, and glass it both sunset an sunrise - several days (or weekends) just prior to peak breeding in that area - then I'd narrow down my field scouting to the areas where I saw the biggest buck. Or - if no buck shows - possibly where I saw the most amount of doe activity, or I might just go with my "gut".
Next I'd try to hunt the week of peak scraping, or the week before peak breeding - when the bucks are still fairly predictable.

If there are food cources, and if the wind in that area is primarily out of the northwest, and if I could scout the area around the property, and knowing that older bucks like to bed down on the downwind side of hills (during the day), I'd look for a rub route leading up onto any of the ridges in the area, look for a buck core area on the downwind side of those ridges, and if a stand site was close to the core area (but not in it) I'd setup there in the evening to see if the buck walks along it's rub route and get a shot at it.

Just my initial way of choosing a spot, if it doesn't work, I do more field scouting (actually looking for sign).

Although I rely to a great deal on the type of habitat and the topography - I also rely to a great extent on glassing, and a ton of field scouting - to locate prime travel routes, rub routes, scrapes, and daytime core areas (especially those of bucks).

If I can't scout at all before the hunt, I rely much more on my general knowledge of deer core aras, bedding sites and travel routes, and combine it with
the use of a topo and an aerial - then choose a spot. If I don't get anything the first day, I quit hunting about 10- noon, and "still hunt/stalk" the property to look for sign - until about three hours before sunset. If I see something while "still hunting" - fine - if not I choose the best location based on what I've seen that day while scouting.

I also want to know what is in any agricultural fields, and were they cut/harvested lately - ie, if there is an alfalfa field; is it still growing up, or has it been cut and baled within the last week; or has it been cut, baled and has started to grow back - with new, lush, tasty, green growth in it? Makes a difference where I may setup.


God bless,

T.R.

---

---

ORIGINAL: WildlifePhoto

When T.R.had his own board here, several years ago, with forums on whitetail, waterfowl, turkey and elk, and he moderated the first "Religion" fourm on thistalk forum, there was a "falling out" between him and the administrators. And headmitssome of it was his fault.

If you want him back,tell the administrators.He told me he'd be gladto come back.

---