Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

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Sam Ubl
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Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:16 am

Does tend to kick their young "out of the nest" so to speak, when they come into heat or when they give birth to a new... So often the case with bucks is that when they are first sent off to fend for themselves the highways are littered with small velvety 1.5 year olds. From what I understand is that these young bucks will often travel up to 5 miles from where they set foot on their own as they search out a new place to call home.

Feedback?

Additionally, let's consider the seasons and roaming during these seasons. If you were to consider summer versus winter and which season would show the most travel, I believe the opposite of what most may thing... I believe that bucks are more likely to relocate during the winter as opposed to summer for the simple fact that they often need to locate new food sources - migration is necessary.

In the summer months, when you locate a buck on your private acres, the odds seem good that he will remain in the immediate area given he isn't pushed away. He finds a food and water source with bedding near by and cover to hide in all the foliage... Why move?

In the fall, can anyone shed some light on roaming habits of bucks OTHER than during the rut when it's obvious they are on the chase and can travel any given distance any given day with no strings attached to any one location, not even their old haunting ground. This raises another question of discussion, how often or why/when/or do these bucks eventually come home if they travel off the beaten path nudging doe's during the rut?

Let's hear all your thoughts on any given season or reason for traveling bucks.


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goldtip5575
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby goldtip5575 » Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:45 am

Last year I would see 2 nubbie buck fawns almost every time hunting always together.So far this year all ive got trail cam pictures of is a 2 smaller bucks looks like they will be forks or small 6's always together and a bigger 8.So im assumeing that the 2 nubbies from last year stayed close.In the 2 years that corn is planted in the neighboring farm no new bucks moved in just before the start of bow hunting.In the 2 years that oats.(not sure guessing)was planted a mature group of bucks moved into the area just before the bowseason.So im just assumeing that the food source oats? was drawing the bucks to this area.This year oats are planted on farm next to ours,so come mid aug-sept we shall see what shows up.
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:07 am

I was recently interviewed for a magazine article on this very subject.
Bucks vary greatly between themselves. I have seen some bucks that never leave a 1 x 1 mile block and others that call 5 or more square miles home.
I have seen bucks use the same bed day after day, and others disappear only to be seen shining the next night 4 or 5 miles away...
Obviously the home body bucks are easier to kill.
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:54 pm

Do tell, Dan- What magazine and when can we read it? :)

Sam Ubl wrote:I believe that bucks are more likely to relocate during the winter as opposed to summer for the simple fact that they often need to locate new food sources - migration is necessary.


In areas of extreme environment, such as the Lake Superior snow belt of Michigan's upper peninsula, whitetails migrate every year. This is many times over a very large area requiring many miles of travel. One of my favorite deer yards has all the deer migrate north to reach it, right on the Lake Superior shoreline. This blows all the hunters minds, believing that deer migrate south to better cover and more moderate temperatures. This yarding area surrounds a small town, and in February you have to dodge all the deer in the road to get gas or eat. While eating pizza the deer walk up to the restaurant windows and watch you eat. The homeowners on the shoreline feed the deer out on Lake Superior ice, quite a sight to see herds of whitetails out on Gitche Gumee.
Sam Ubl wrote:This raises another question of discussion, how often or why/when/or do these bucks eventually come home if they travel off the beaten path nudging doe's during the rut?

In the big conifer swamps I hunt, I often have "local" bucks that seem to live there- and transient bucks that move in during the last days of October. Sometimes I'll have spotted one of the transients a number of miles away from the swamp in the uplands during the summer. The transients I've hunted stick around even after the rut, for the most part. Better cover / food / shelter for the winter there anyway.
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:29 am

One more factor to consider is bachelor group break ups. I think the smaller deer get the hint to move out, as the playful sparring turns to more serious thrashings by the dominate bucks.
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:43 am

Just this morning on my drive to work, a mile from where I glassed a good buck on a property I hunt, the same buck crossed the road in front of me and I'll tell you what, slowing down from 55MPH with my rig behind me wasn't easy - but SO WORTH IT! He's a wide 4x4 with good tine length - hope he comes home and stays off the road.

Singing Bridge - dude, I like the sound of this deer yard, sounds like a gem of a late season spot, or is it after season?

Black Squirrel, that's a good question and BST. Does anyone else have any thoughts on why bachelor groups split up? I understand the motivation to state dominancy when breeding begins, but they split up well before that. Why?
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Re: Roaming - Where Does He Call Home?

Unread postby dan » Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:57 am

Sam, as soon as the antlers harden deer start building up testosterone levels that change there mindset and aggression towards other males.
According to my research deer antlers harden because of the testosterone level increase. This is the same reason that bucks with no testicles (to create testosterone) never come out of velvet.
Do tell, Dan- What magazine and when can we read it?

Hick's wrote the article... But for the life of me I can't remember which magazine. Im sure somebody will post something when it comes out.


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