Becoming a mature buck

[Stanley]

MHO Luck leads into longevity. A lot of the bigger bucks I have taken have had arrow heads, slugs bird shot, .22 bullets. They get harassed no question.

[jonsimoneau]

In areas with heavy hunting pressure, and rediculously long gun seasons during November...it takes mostly luck for a buck to hit 3.5 years old. But after that...the bucks have a good chance to make it.
Alot of people talk about how hunting pressure makes mature bucks nocturnal. This is simply not the case. Hunting pressure may make them MORE nocturnal...and it surely makes them smarter...but once a buck hits 4.5 years old...he will be 90% Nocturnal regaurdless of whether or not he is being hunted...and regardless of whether or not he lives in close vicinity of humans. I know this because I studied wildlife biology in college, and we watched deer do this everytime through radio tellemetry both in hunted and non-hunted areas.
I also read a recent study by working wildlife biologists that pretty much mirrored what I just wrote.
Alot of people like to believe that deer used to walk around in broad daylight all the time before they were subjected to hunting pressure by humans. This is simply not true.
Deer are crepescular animals...which means they mostly move at twillight hours...though the nigh...and just after sunrise 90% of the year whether they are hunted or not.
The exception to this can obviously be durring the rut....even then...most major movement will still be after dark. This is the main thing that makes them so difficult to hunt!
I have hunted in Africa 3 times...and I can tell you that there are animals over there that are MUCH more warry than even mature whitetail bucks. Not many...but there are a few.
Probably the smartest animal I have ever hunted are zebra. They ain't horses! About the ONLY time they are caught moving during daylight hours at all is during the dry season...where they are pretty much forced to come to water during daylight for survival reasons.

[Stanley]

In areas with heavy hunting pressure, and rediculously long gun seasons during November...it takes mostly luck for a buck to hit 3.5 years old. But after that...the bucks have a good chance to make it.
Alot of people talk about how hunting pressure makes mature bucks nocturnal. This is simply not the case. Hunting pressure may make them MORE nocturnal...and it surely makes them smarter...but once a buck hits 4.5 years old...he will be 90% Nocturnal regaurdless of whether or not he is being hunted...and regardless of whether or not he lives in close vicinity of humans. I know this because I studied wildlife biology in college, and we watched deer do this everytime through radio tellemetry both in hunted and non-hunted areas.
I also read a recent study by working wildlife biologists that pretty much mirrored what I just wrote.
Alot of people like to believe that deer used to walk around in broad daylight all the time before they were subjected to hunting pressure by humans. This is simply not true.
Deer are crepescular animals...which means they mostly move at twillight hours...though the nigh...and just after sunrise 90% of the year whether they are hunted or not.
The exception to this can obviously be durring the rut....even then...most major movement will still be after dark. This is the main thing that makes them so difficult to hunt!
I have hunted in Africa 3 times...and I can tell you that there are animals over there that are MUCH more warry than even mature whitetail bucks. Not many...but there are a few.
Probably the smartest animal I have ever hunted are zebra. They ain't horses! About the ONLY time they are caught moving during daylight hours at all is during the dry season...where they are pretty much forced to come to water during daylight for survival reasons.

Big bucks are mostly nocturnal the key is getting close to the bedding area where they do move in the daylight. Most deer move to feed in the twilight hrs as they are crepuscular. if you hunt open fields deer won't show up during the day much. If you hunt in the thick cover, deer move all day long browsing and move out to feed at dusk.

[jonsimoneau]

Yep. I agree with what you said Stanley. But it's so much easier said than done is it not?
Still I'd like to help people understand that deer are crepescular animals, and nocturnal movement is the norm whether they are being hunted or not. That is why they have survived so well despite the damage we have done to their world, and why they can survive right under our noses. As Gene Wensel once said....its also what makes them the greatest big game animal on the planet!

[Stanley]

Yep. I agree with what you said Stanley. But it's so much easier said than done is it not?
Still I'd like to help people understand that deer are crepescular animals, and nocturnal movement is the norm whether they are being hunted or not. That is why they have survived so well despite the damage we have done to their world, and why they can survive right under our noses. As Gene Wensel once said....its also what makes them the greatest big game animal on the planet!

Yes it is easier said than done. Even during the rut the big bucks are still hit by cars during the night hrs.

[BigHunt]

In areas with heavy hunting pressure, and rediculously long gun seasons during November...it takes mostly luck for a buck to hit 3.5 years old. But after that...the bucks have a good chance to make it.
Alot of people talk about how hunting pressure makes mature bucks nocturnal. This is simply not the case. Hunting pressure may make them MORE nocturnal...and it surely makes them smarter...but once a buck hits 4.5 years old...he will be 90% Nocturnal regaurdless of whether or not he is being hunted...and regardless of whether or not he lives in close vicinity of humans. I know this because I studied wildlife biology in college, and we watched deer do this everytime through radio tellemetry both in hunted and non-hunted areas.
I also read a recent study by working wildlife biologists that pretty much mirrored what I just wrote.
Alot of people like to believe that deer used to walk around in broad daylight all the time before they were subjected to hunting pressure by humans. This is simply not true.
Deer are crepescular animals...which means they mostly move at twillight hours...though the nigh...and just after sunrise 90% of the year whether they are hunted or not.
The exception to this can obviously be durring the rut....even then...most major movement will still be after dark. This is the main thing that makes them so difficult to hunt!
I have hunted in Africa 3 times...and I can tell you that there are animals over there that are MUCH more warry than even mature whitetail bucks. Not many...but there are a few.
Probably the smartest animal I have ever hunted are zebra. They ain't horses! About the ONLY time they are caught moving during daylight hours at all is during the dry season...where they are pretty much forced to come to water during daylight for survival reasons.

Big bucks are mostly nocturnal the key is getting close to the bedding area where they do move in the daylight. Most deer move to feed in the twilight hrs as they are crepuscular. if you hunt open fields deer won't show up during the day much. If you hunt in the thick cover, deer move all day long browsing and move out to feed at dusk.

i strongly agree stan

[Zap]

I think the first two years is a lot of luck seeing as how 1.5 and 2.5 year old bucks are the dumbest animals in the woods.

I would have to say that i have seen some people out there with guns and bows that will give them a run for there money for that title.

Yup.

[PLB]

Deer have a much easier time making it to maturity on managed land. Because that is usually the goal of the landowner anyway. They get free passes for the first couple seasons so does this make them smarter than a public land buck that makes it to maturity under heavy hunting pressure?? A topic to discuss in the future I think!!

[NatureBoy]

...Alot of people talk about how hunting pressure makes mature bucks nocturnal. This is simply not the case. Hunting pressure may make them MORE nocturnal...and it surely makes them smarter...but once a buck hits 4.5 years old...he will be 90% Nocturnal regaurdless of whether or not he is being hunted...and regardless of whether or not he lives in close vicinity of humans. I know this because I studied wildlife biology in college, and we watched deer do this everytime through radio tellemetry both in hunted and non-hunted areas.
I also read a recent study by working wildlife biologists that pretty much mirrored what I just wrote.
Alot of people like to believe that deer used to walk around in broad daylight all the time before they were subjected to hunting pressure by humans....

Interesting study. I hadn't read that one. Thanks for sharing.

[Wrinkleneck]

I would think the age of the mother doe that raises the young buck fawn is a big factor. A buck fawn following a wise old doe probably learns habits that help him become a wise old buck.

I believe it has a bunch to do there survivial methods. Just follow mama, but as a buck gets to that 3 -4 age they have found a good bedding spot to help keep them safe. So I would say they also live and learn alot on there own.

[cornfedkiller]

Living in a place where hunting is not allowed probably helps as well