mi bachelor's degree

[aceofspades]

Alright ... I wanna know from the guys that see "big mature" bucks early (summer glassing and shining or trail cams whatever) ... especially those michigan guys on here (you know how hard it can be to find a target 130+) ... do you see those older bigger deer with or without other bucks in the summer ... meaning do they like to be apart of bachelor groups or do they tend to be more loners and shy away from the bigger groups of bucks ... just curious if this is something other guys see ? My experience with the last two deer I have shot (both mi 3 1/2 year Olds) .. my scouting showed these bigger more mature deer to be somewhat loners just curious if this is a trait as they get older or if it's just different bucks with different temperament/personalities??

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[Hawthorne]

I see them together I'm in southern mi. I got two pics of two giants in June not fully devolved I think will grow over 130. Summer time I see them hanging more way from does like in a small open wood lots on the edge of beans or bedding on the edge of crp in the shade near crop fields. Does tend to bed the same areas year around usually thick cover they do it to protect their fawns. I found a bachelor group of seven bucks this 4 are shooters. That's odd tho for my area. Usually I only see bachelor groups of two. One mature buck and one immature

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[aceofspades]

Now that we have had the antler restrictions up here for a few years... it's nice to see better numbers of more mature bucks ... and I have seen like what you said Hawthorne about a older buck and younger buck running together (summer months) and obviously bachelor groups of all sizes from time to time ... do you ever see loner older bucks though not part of a summer time bachelor group or a buck that just tends to stick to his lonesome in those early summer months

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[Hawthorne]

Now that we have had the antler restrictions up here for a few years... it's nice to see better numbers of more mature bucks ... and I have seen like what you said Hawthorne about a older buck and younger buck running together (summer months) and obviously bachelor groups of all sizes from time to time ... do you ever see loner older bucks though not part of a summer time bachelor group or a buck that just tends to stick to his lonesome in those early summer months

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I haven't seen it in summer. I'm starting to hear good things about the apr area. Wish they would of done it by me

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[oldrank]

I usually see the bigger bucks together in the summer. It could be because they have claimed the best bedding. The scrub bucks seem to come in from the most hunted areas. The mature bucks come from the safest areas.

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[aceofspades]

Ya the antler restrictions have really made a difference in producing some mature bucks ... I think it was a good first step for hopefully future movements to produce bigger deer and help balance the northern michigan deer heard a bit... def a noticeable difference so far ... but ya I guess I was hoping to be onto something with finding those deer that roam by themselves in the summer ... mainly cause I think if you could locate a big anti social buck he would be much more patternable for an early season ambush if you did your homework and learned about his haunts and hideouts and the summer route he was on and what bedding areas he was partial too

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[aceofspades]

But I like what you said old rank. .. I guess especially for an early season hunt or two by paying attention to bachelor groups with a couple big bucks in it ... makes sense what you said about them probably using a safe bedding area and laying claim to it ... good thought

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[Mibowfreak]

Most of my summer trail camera pics of big bucks show them with others. The key word there is MOST. I have had a buck over the last three years that is ALWAYS by himself during the summer. Im a big believer in that every buck has his own personality. So it truly just depends on the specific buck. I do find that most of the time, once they leave the cover and head into the fields, the bigger bucks stay a bit farther back, closer to the transition lines, or the tree lines in my area. Feeling a bit more safe than the others.

[whitetailassasin]

I've saw both actually. Most of us in Mi would classify a 3.5 year old a shooter here. But when it comes to what experts to consider mature 4.5 is the standard. Many times I see bachelor groups it's 3.5 year olds and under and the 4.5 and above comes into the field after they've and other deer have been on it. Usually the last 45-1 mins/hour. I've also saw them come as one group too. I think the deers personality has a lot to do with which one you get.

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