Buck on a hot doe..

[Huntrp]

Curious about what actually happens during lockdown? I have been reading about hunting leeward side of ridges during rut and that once the lockdown phase kicks in the activity dies down. Once a buck gets on a doe are they just staying close to the does bedding, the bucks bedding or is their pattern of movement just less predictable? Or do they seek out some other type of land area?

[headgear]

I would just call it less predictable, I have seen them in both doe and buck bedding, basically any secure bedding area could be fair game. Seen bedding areas go hot and cold from year to year. Just a ton of variables out there, why you have to stay mobile and find the deer vs hoping they find you.

[jmaas07]

Iv seen them a fair amount in the open in taller grass. Iv seen them push does into the open like that to breed them and then they lay close to the doe in the grass..maybe if you got that type of terrain trying to spot them and stalk is an option

[elk yinzer]

There's no such thing as a lockdown phase it's something the writers want us to believe because it's easier to compartmentalize. Individually, yes bucks will breed a doe and general stay in thicker cover for a day or two. That occurs throughout the rut, which again is more prolonged fits and starts than neat little phases that make good magazine articles. Hypothetical magazine lockdown is just the peak of the breeding curve but still not even close to all the bucks are locked down at that time in a remotely normal buck:doe ratio.

[greenhorndave]

There's no such thing as a lockdown phase it's something the writers want us to believe because it's easier to compartmentalize. Individually, yes bucks will breed a doe and general stay in thicker cover for a day or two. That occurs throughout the rut, which again is more prolonged fits and starts than neat little phases that make good magazine articles. Hypothetical magazine lockdown is just the peak of the breeding curve but still not even close to all the bucks are locked down at that time in a remotely normal buck:doe ratio.

This makes the most sense to me. Bucks during rut are the man-sluts of the woods. They might hang around to make sure no other bucks hit the doe when she's hot, but then it's on to the next conquest. I can't imagine monogamy lasts very long.