From mid September to mid October

[Super goat]

So after the summer patterned changes. Do you guys find that a stays some what in the same area just on different food sources? This would be given other food sources are close mainly being acorns. Or are acorns the cause of the big shift? After reading on here I've always been hunting rut tatics after the summer Pattern shift. I mean I hunt oaks but they are usually the the typical funnels bottle neck type spots. I do get into some oaks in some real thick spots. The deer I'm after usually disappears for a couple weeks in this transition phase. I just wander if he hangs even closer to what ever bed he is using because he dosent have to travel until he wants to chase does?

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[JoeRE]

I think you are on the right track. In my experience in farm and hill country some bucks do move from a summer range to a fall range (meaning a totally different area, I have seen them relocate a mile away and stay there through the fall and heard of bucks going much further) but many do not, those stay in the same area and just switch food sources. Only way to tell on a particular buck is scouting. Not sure why this happens, often something to do with dominance and bucks interacting with each other I think.

Keep in mind there are many things changing that effect deer movement in that time period. In ag country, beans yellow and deer stop eating them and farmers start picking crops which reduces cover and disturbs patterns. Leaf drop happens in that time period which greatly reduces cover and often bedding used all summer becomes too exposed (and deer feed on maple leaves for a short while), and of course acorns drop like you said. Like you said, probably the biggest hurdle to success that time of year is abandoning rut style tactics. Instead of focusing on heavy doe sign avoid all that and focus on where your scouting tells you bucks should be bedding which tends to be more secluded.