Will a buck push a hot doe back into his bedroom during rut?

[Natenlsn2]

I had a scenario, a was hunting a buck near his bedroom (unknowingly - pre beast) 2 years ago. I was biking in on a road in the dark that morning, got a whiff of musky buck scent and seconds later I hear a big deer crashing through the woods really close and what appeared to be another deer with it (potentially a doe). This all happened within 150 yards of the bucks bedroom.

Is it possible that buck may have been pushing a hot doe back into his core area? Have you ever seen this happen before?

[Ghost Hunter]

I feel like when he starts showing interest in a particular doe. He will push her some what. But, after she gets tired of him. She will lead him into areas trying to break his interest. That's why you see them in middle of fields, edge of roadways, yards and in roads on WMA's. She will just stop an stand and he will be waiting on her next move.

[headgear]

When I started bed hunting I started running into some early hot does and bucks together, I saw more rutting in 5 years of beast hunting than 20 in the bigwoods. Now we are all told bucks only chase does but I have seen enough to say that isn't always the case, does can and do seek out bucks when they know they are coming into heat so you might even say its a mutual thing under the right circumstances. If it wasn't you would probably see a lot more chasing and running around, the older deer know the ropes a bit more so they don't do as much of the crazy chasing and running around. Now I don't see this every season but I see it enough to know that it happens more than we might think.

[magicman54494]

I've never seen a buck successfully push a doe anywhere. They try to cut them off and chase them but they really can't control where the doe goes. I have never witnessed a doe going to a mature buck but won't say that it doesn't happen.
I do know that the more mature does don't run as far while being tended. they choose to stick to thick cover and circle around. young does will run a long ways when being tended.
also, young bucks will push does a lot more than older bucks. Older bucks tend to give the doe a lot of room and wait until the doe is ready.
I do know that does will travel more while in heat. I suspect it is to try to find a buck if one hasn't found her yet.

The doe will usually leave her fawns while breeding but I have seen the fawns stick near her.
Mature bucks will do a lot of searching. I have tracked many, many mature bucks putting on miles and miles in search of hot does so I know that they dont just sit there and wait for the does to come to them.
Mature bucks are still cautious during the rut and often only move at night. I have found some daytime movement but the majority is done at night.

[KLEMZ]

Here is a link to a Penn State gps collar movie that includes tracking of both a buck and a doe in the same area, at the same time. I am not sure on the age of the buck (but all their collared bucks are 2.5 or older). It sure looks like they hooked up for 24 hours starting on November 15th. It seems like the doe (pink dot) would periodically wander over to the bucks ridge but not once did he wander over to the ridge the doe spent all her time. On November 15th, she came over to his ridge and he followed the scent stream right to her. At least that what it looks like. Wunderground says the wind was from the north that day.

In this interaction, it seems like the doe had more to do with them meeting up than the buck did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4HwERXBQs

[Twenty Up]

Sometimes the doe will lead the buck to her place because all her friends are out of town

[magicman54494]

Here is a link to a Penn State gps collar movie that includes tracking of both a buck and a doe in the same area, at the same time. I am not sure on the age of the buck (but all their collared bucks are 2.5 or older). It sure looks like they hooked up for 24 hours starting on November 15th. It seems like the doe (pink dot) would periodically wander over to the bucks ridge but not once did he wander over to the ridge the doe spent all her time. On November 15th, she came over to his ridge and he followed the scent stream right to her. At least that what it looks like. Wunderground says the wind was from the north that day.

In this interaction, it seems like the doe had more to do with them meeting up than the buck did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4HwERXBQs

what is also interesting is the bucks range does not seem to increase for the rut.

[First Sit]

Yes all the time. Contrary to popular belief mature bucks in heavily pressured areas don't run around like idiots chasing does all over during the rut. Sure an occasional mature buck and some nice sized younger deer do. However in heavily pressure areas if a buck did much cruising it would probably be shot, mature bucks have lived years in those areas and have likely encountered negative encounters moving in daylight in their life.

Mature bucks are usually the first back to the beds not always sometimes they stay out a little longer. However they typically have areas they like to sorta set up and stage on the down wind side of where the does will be entering. This way they can scent check most the does and not really run around at all. If any danger comes they just slink back into the bedding. Once they pick up on a hot doe they will follow her back into the bedding and try and hold her there during daylight. This is for multiple reasons they don't want to move outside of the bedding in daylight but also they don't want to attract competition too. I'm not sure if this applies in hill country but farm and marsh it sure does.

[JoeRE]

I have heard others say it, and tend to agree, that mature bucks don't push does anywhere. Does take them where they want to go to mate. What I have seen most often is they seek out isolated cover away from other deer to do this but Dan and others have talked about sometimes seeing a doe go to a big buck's bedding area and waiting for the buck when she is ready to breed. I have not seen this but don't doubt it particularly in areas with fairly low deer densities and or really bad buck to doe ratios. So Nate your observation might be accurate, just remember the doe leads not the buck.

As Gene Wensel once said on a podcast I heard the doe controls the rut not the buck. The doe goes where she wants and decides when she wants to mate and the buck follows along like a lovesick puppydog. Same with humans usually

I think the confusion stems from observations of bucks "chasing" does. If the doe is running she is not ready to breed and that is all it is. Chasing and the doe running away. I have seen plenty of chasing, mostly by young bucks, but I have never seen a mature buck push a doe in a specific direction.

[Ashreve93]

I've never seen a buck successfully push a doe anywhere. They try to cut them off and chase them but they really can't control where the doe goes.

Im with Magicman on this. I've seen a lot of buck pushing doe, and to me it looked like the doe pretty much always decided where to go.

Now if the core area bedding you found was the bucks rut bedding, and the doe wasn't bedded too far away, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that doe ran through his bedding area. Especially if she was right at peek heat and was ready to lay down.

[Brian1986]

I haven't personally seen a buck push a doe into his bedroom, but I have seen mature bucks attempt to re-direct a hot doe to an area he thinks is safe. There is one public hunting parcel in Ohio farm country that I have seen this first hand. The property is very thick and gets heavy hunting pressure. There is a portion of the property that is a no-hunting zone. Before that no-hunting zone was overran with horse trails, mature bucks would bed there. It was a perfect setup for the bucks as it was due east and north of the adjacent hunt-able parcels (prevailing wind is SW). The bucks would wind check the doe groups in the hunting zone from the safety of that area and also be able to smell any hunters. There were regular hikers thru this area so the deer did tolerate human scent if it was in the right areas. The mature bucks did not like coming into the hunting zone during daylight. Numerous times I saw big bucks crossing the road after dark. But on occasion if a doe was in heat a big buck would have a moment of weakness and venture over to the hunting side after her. Without fail if the buck was mature he would try to direct the doe towards that no-hunting safe zone. I'm convinced those mature bucks knew there were hunters in the woods and probably had previous bad experiences with those hunters when they were young. Most of those guys had fixed stand sites and hunted them regularly. I think the bucks were betting that they had these guys pegged & their nose was good enough that it was worth it to risk their backside to go after the doe.

[Lu Rome]

Here is a link to a Penn State gps collar movie that includes tracking of both a buck and a doe in the same area, at the same time. I am not sure on the age of the buck (but all their collared bucks are 2.5 or older). It sure looks like they hooked up for 24 hours starting on November 15th. It seems like the doe (pink dot) would periodically wander over to the bucks ridge but not once did he wander over to the ridge the doe spent all her time. On November 15th, she came over to his ridge and he followed the scent stream right to her. At least that what it looks like. Wunderground says the wind was from the north that day.

In this interaction, it seems like the doe had more to do with them meeting up than the buck did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4HwERXBQs

what is also interesting is the bucks range does not seem to increase for the rut.

https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/pro ... quare-mile

[muddy]

Like others I've NEVER seen a buck force a doe into his bedding area. He goes where she goes and the older bucks I've watched watch and listen more than they take steps. If the doe ends up in one of his bedding areas then I mark that down as luck on his end. I've also NEVER seen a doe seek out a buck so she can get bred, but I'm hunting areas that have a good amount of young thundercats running around so it's darn near impossible for a doe NOT to be found.

[pilgrimhunter]

I have also heard Wensel brothers claim that a doe will choose the buck she gets bred by. I tend to think this is probably the case atleast to some extent. This could be also why you don't see the big bucks do as much chasing because they get their chance when things are right.

I know this is not comparing apple to apples but you can take almost any other domesticated animal (dogs, cows, horses) and when a female comes in heat she will seek out a male. Any farmer will tell you a cow in heat with no bull in the pasture is much more likely to jump the fence seeking to get bred. There is a God given instinct that drives them to seek out the male counter part. I don't know that deer would be any different. That said the same is true if not more so with the males seeking out a female in heat. JMO

[<DK>]

When I started bed hunting I started running into some early hot does and bucks together, I saw more rutting in 5 years of beast hunting than 20 in the bigwoods. Now we are all told bucks only chase does but I have seen enough to say that isn't always the case, does can and do seek out bucks when they know they are coming into heat so you might even say its a mutual thing under the right circumstances. If it wasn't you would probably see a lot more chasing and running around, the older deer know the ropes a bit more so they don't do as much of the crazy chasing and running around. Now I don't see this every season but I see it enough to know that it happens more than we might think.

Playing off of HG's post. Iv only seen it once but have heard multiple reports of a Doe following a Buck. Noticed these sigthings seem to happen mostly in pre-rut (mid-late Oct).