Mature buck return from one season to the next

[Rich M]

Property lines make a big difference. The buck that shows up during the day up until opening day and then after dark from then on is by definition, nocturnal on the land I hunt. He shifted beds for sure.

Learning how to scout and hunt correctly is my next goal.

[Bigb]

Anytime there's a big standing corn field left up till December or January I always hear guys say the bucks are gonna be bigger next year because they are surviving in the standing corn. The only thing I've seen it do is populate the does higher. No difference in bucks from what I've seen.

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Our farmer always seems to leave one of his fields of corn or beans up for the winter (because he gets too lazy to farm it) and it really doesn't do much to produce bigger bucks or more does. I still don't think they bed in corn as much as people think. We walk some of these 10 to 20 acre corn fields are are surprised on how little deer we kick up when we know there are a lot of deer in the area.

[mainebowhunter]

KS one season, there was BIG oxbow that flooded. It was big enough to plant. They did not cut the corn on it. Turned into a major doe bedding area. Created instant cover. We scouted around the edges of it...counted over 200 rubs. I observed it one night. Never got back on it again that year.

[BassBoysLLP]

I actually do not like the terminology "a buck goes nocturnal". Here's a fact most just don't think on enough. ALL BUCKS spend the same exact time in their living arrows - 100%. They don't magically disappear (although it does seem like it) until the sun drops below the horizon and then reappear to run rampant as soon as night falls. True, as they get older, they may travel less and at different times, but very few bucks stay bedded for more then 4 hours at a time. They get up, they browse, they stretch, they reposition, they drink, the defecate, etc... The problem is, getting close enough to where they spend 90% of that 24 hours. If you can think through and then find a way to execute a plan to get within your kill range of where he does that you WILL get a shot provided you escape his senses. It does make the challenge harder when they feel pressure and their circle of daylight travel draws much tighter - but they are still there and you can kill them - just have to think through and find a way to do so. In some cases a nudge may be the only option but usually it is waiting for the ideal time and being close enough to where he spends that time. For me, the biggest challenge has always been find "that spot".

Super post Dave. I couldn't agree more.

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[BassBoysLLP]

Yea I think so

I think the nocturnal think gets thrown around a lot, what hunters really mean is they aren't hunting where they need to be. Maybe they CAN'T due to property lines. If that is the case, yes the buck may be unkillable but don't call it nocturnal he is in daylight somewhere.

Bingo, but I have hunted bucks that don't get 20 yards from their bed until after shooting light. They sit and watch. As do you.

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[KLEMZ]

I would say quite a few in most of my hunting areas. If they aren't killed at 3.5, they typically stick around until the following year. Once a buck hits 4, I see a lot of changes and they become less visible and really start honing in and establishing a secure pattern within a safety blanket that many times becomes their core area/home range. I will venture to say that at least here, I see a huge transition towards general "big buck behaviors" from 2 to 3, and then another equally impressive transition between 3 and 4.

I have multiple years of history with the large majority of bucks that that are 5+ on my hunting properties. They seem to become masters of their environment by that age, given that the environment has become mostly unchanged throughout their growing years. The vast majority of hunters, almost all actually, don't have the knowledge or capabilities to effectively target and kill one of these bucks. The chances of killing that buck aren't necessarily dependent on the amount of hunting pressure on a property either - if a buck matured in the area or on a property where extreme hunting pressure is present, a lot of times they have adapted to it. They are survivors and extremely adaptable, and they can thrive in many environments.

Bigger bucks seem to be shot in waves on the properties I hunt (certain years where several are killed within a particular area or on a particular property) - I can almost always simply accredit it to a food source or the weather.

Just read this thread for the first time.....great post moondude!

[JoeRE]

I think you have laid some good ground work on some of your bucks, it will be interesting to see how your season goes Maine. You have the benefit of potentially able to maneuver more given how hunting rights to a property are interpreted out there.

I know many of the highest pressure states are also extremely parcelized, you can hunt this 20 or 40 or 80 acres and that's it. I think these areas with just a bunch of small properties limit big buck hunting potential just as much as the actual hunting pressure does. If you have high pressure but also large properties to hunt, that is far easier because a Beast knows how to outwork 90% of the competition, but it requires SPACE. If you can't maneuver, can't find where that buck really is in daylight because its across a fence, yep he is un-killable. My earlier posts weren't intended to belittle the efforts of hunters in those areas. They have it tough. I just feel like the term nocturnal is misleading and best not used because that's not what is really going on - that is numerous telemetry studies talking, not just me sitting in cushy Iowa.