Mature stand buck avoidance

[mspaci]

almost All my best bucks have been first or second sits that year, 3/4 first sits. MIke

[Lockdown]

I think this is an important topic. It really dictates how you hunt.

I personally don’t jive with the idea of a resident buck, or being in a buck’s permanent bedroom. I’m hunting low density, no ag, nomadic deer. Maybe it’s different when hunting wood lots or high density.

After running trail cameras for a few years, year round, I’m pretty confident that bucks just aren’t spending that much time in the same spot. Other than cameras over scapes, or prime rut, I MIGHT see a buck revisit the same area once a month.

I guess the question is, how long dors ground scent remain, and how often does a buck even revisit an area to even get a chance to smell it.

^^^^ in general, the above is my experience as well. I no longer feel I’ve completely burned a bedding area if I hunt it and nobody was home.

[Lockdown]

Recently I either saw Dan write or say on one of his podcasts
that just about every mature buck he killed had holes in their hides

If I was a buck and wounded, I think I would be very wary of humans

I suspect the education of mature bucks is not so much about how smart they are
but really about how many holes they have accumulated in their hides or near misses from hunters
especially in areas where hunters are everywhere such as the NorthEast,Wisconsin and Michigan

This maybe the reason why certain bucks react and others do not, by the amount of injuries and near fatal shots at them

Has anyone else noticed holes in the hides of mature bucks they have killed

I killed a smaller buck in 2009 that had its backstraps torn up from a bullet. 2011 buck had a slug in it from years prior. 3.5 yr old.

[mheichelbech]

I think the hardest part of hunting mature bucks (besides finding them) for the weekend hunter, is balancing scouting and hunting. By that I mean, scouting in such a way that you don’t spook them out of the area, figuring out what you think they are gonna do and then hunting them.
Chances are high that he will have changed what he is doing by the next weekend.

[oldrank]

I don't see bucks really change how they travel. I see them change when they travel.

The bedding areas in my areas are small. Bucks have to use one. They will find the most secure one but even than they are probably being hunted by numerous hunters. They will just stay bedded till dark. If they do move or get pushed out they are going to travel predictable routes.

It's funny to see how bucks react to opening day of firearm. During bow season they are usually slithering through slowly and cautiously when I see them. During those first couple days of gun season it's common to just see them running full tilt from one thicket to the next until they find something safe.

As stated above every buck 2 or older myself or family members have shot off the public is wounded. A large percentage of the does and young bucks are also wounded. Nothing is safe.

I hunted just about every day of the season this year other than a little stretch where I was sick. When gun season hit there was shooting everyday. I don't even know how anything lives. The area I hunt is only a couple square miles. Opening day it's not uncommon to hear 100 shots or more. If we say 25 of them are for sure on the public and half kill deer we lose 12 deer. From that point on we have 2 weeks of gun season and 2 week muzzleloader season, give or take a few days. Every day I hear 3-4 shots on the public. So if we say just 1 deer gets killed a day, that's another 30 deer. Now add in another month and a half of bow season. Thats alot of deer getting killed in a small area....... It makes my head hurt to think about it.

My point is, if a mature buck moves he is going to get killed. There is no stand avoidance when every 100-200 yards there is a stand. His only option is to not move.. until the safety of darkness.