ive noticed on my trail cams that the bachelor groups of bucks are starting to split up. instead of getting 3-4 bucks at once im only getting 1-2. as we approach the rut, the deer will start to keep their territory as their own. how far will they push the other deer. i have my eye on several big 8's but im wondering how far the smaller 8's and 6's will go? will they be gone from my property(40acres) or will they still be around just out of the way of the bigger deer? anybody with info have any ideas? Thanks!

i saw a study where it said, a buck will leave his "home territory" once during the rut and can travel up to 19 miles out of his usual route, but will come back home eventually.
it said something like 10% of the bucks could do this twice during the rut.
so basically, the rut is your chance to shoot someone else's game cam trophy

and unless its all plot, with just the right amount of cover fer bedding, and fresh water alll the time, then the chances are, you're not really holdin these deer on 40 acres.

I will agree with Halfbaked to a point.

The does determines which deer stays and which deer leaves.

Last years button bucks and spikes are chased away due to the fact that they realize that they don't want to be inbred by one of their own offspring. So once the doe determines that this little buck does not belong here anymore, she gets down right mean and ornery with him until he leaves.

The other thing is - if big daddy is around, he doesn't want this little buck competing with him for breeding rights with his does - so he will chase the little buck away also.

My guess is that the little buck will travel 3 to 10 miles away until it can find a place where it is accepted. As the larger bucks are shot off the smaller bucks takes over the breeding chores. Each doe will come in heat once a month until a buck gets her pregnant.
Some does don't get pregnant until spring. I have seen fawns in December before - but I don't know what the mortality rate is for fawns born late - but I would guess that it is as bad as or worse then ones that were born in the spring and had all summer to grow and all fall to fatten up.

Last winter, with its deep snows and cold weather for months on end had to have a large impact on the deer herd. Many of the turkeys did not make it through the winter season either.

The yearling bucks will disperse once they are in hard antler. At this point, bucks ain't friends anymore and the yearlings have to go out and find their own home territory.

Same age bucks may stay together a little longer, but will get more and more intolerant of each other the closer we get to the rut.

Newbies find out it is -here today and gone tomorrow. Gives hope to the "nineteen year old archer" that he's got a shot at the neighbors' advanced aged, QDM buck that got raised by scientific methods.