Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

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tim
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Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby tim » Thu Jul 22, 2021 3:54 am

Anybody else got any bucks they dare targeting that don’t bachelor group up and stay loners?
I’ve got a mature buck I’ve been targeting and humbly losing for 3 years now. 2019 he was completely mature humongous body and rack and stuck tight with another mature 10 pt.the 10 pt was killed and the target buck disappeared. He reappeared in 2020 and I though he was going down hill, to my surprise his rack got bigger only now he was very elusive on cams and never hung with a bachelor group that was also in the area he became a loner.disappear around the same time as year before. Now it’s 2021 he shows back up I thought he looked like he was going downhill initially( late grower I guess) again he’s going to grow an even bigger rack than past 2 years. His body is incredible. Now for this year he is hanging with a lone doe! Not sure what to think of this but they are always together . This deer has to be in the 8+year old range. Anyone else see this behavior of a buck hanging with a doe let alone fully mature buck. She don’t have a fawn. Last year and again this year on a different farm I have a young buck chasing around and hanging with a doe entire summer and into fall, last year they both looked like 1.5 yr olds now I believe it’s the same 2 hanging together . Other than that I’ve never seen this behavior


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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby greenhorndave » Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:54 am

What are those GPS coordinates?

:lol:

That’s pretty cool to observe. I don’t have that kind of history, but I find it fascinating that he’s locked in on one doe like that. He ain’t gonna have to go far to scent check that one!

I have some targets in areas I haven’t hunted before and have limited scouting intel. Sign don’t lie and the tracks are there. But I have nowhere near the sightings or pictures that you described. It’ll be cool to follow along if this keeps progressing or not.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby G-Patt » Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:20 am

That's interesting. There's a guy at work who says he has a mature buck on this farm that hangs out with a certain doe during spring and summer. I guess it happens but must be rare.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby Mgaspari » Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:22 am

tim wrote:Anybody else got any bucks they dare targeting that don’t bachelor group up and stay loners?
I’ve got a mature buck I’ve been targeting and humbly losing for 3 years now. 2019 he was completely mature humongous body and rack and stuck tight with another mature 10 pt.the 10 pt was killed and the target buck disappeared. He reappeared in 2020 and I though he was going down hill, to my surprise his rack got bigger only now he was very elusive on cams and never hung with a bachelor group that was also in the area he became a loner.disappear around the same time as year before. Now it’s 2021 he shows back up I thought he looked like he was going downhill initially( late grower I guess) again he’s going to grow an even bigger rack than past 2 years. His body is incredible. Now for this year he is hanging with a lone doe! Not sure what to think of this but they are always together . This deer has to be in the 8+year old range. Anyone else see this behavior of a buck hanging with a doe let alone fully mature buck. She don’t have a fawn. Last year and again this year on a different farm I have a young buck chasing around and hanging with a doe entire summer and into fall, last year they both looked like 1.5 yr olds now I believe it’s the same 2 hanging together . Other than that I’ve never seen this behavior


I had a loner buck very similar to what you are describing. I had a lot of intel on him and finally killed him. He would shadow a mature doe and I think he knew she would be first to come into heat. This is the second time I have seen this. I believe that once a buck (certain bucks) reaches a certain age they know what doe will be first to bred or maybe just the most dominant doe and they will follow them. Not like rut or pre rut but almost just like keeping an eye on them.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby Mgaspari » Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:25 am

Mgaspari wrote:
tim wrote:Anybody else got any bucks they dare targeting that don’t bachelor group up and stay loners?
I’ve got a mature buck I’ve been targeting and humbly losing for 3 years now. 2019 he was completely mature humongous body and rack and stuck tight with another mature 10 pt.the 10 pt was killed and the target buck disappeared. He reappeared in 2020 and I though he was going down hill, to my surprise his rack got bigger only now he was very elusive on cams and never hung with a bachelor group that was also in the area he became a loner.disappear around the same time as year before. Now it’s 2021 he shows back up I thought he looked like he was going downhill initially( late grower I guess) again he’s going to grow an even bigger rack than past 2 years. His body is incredible. Now for this year he is hanging with a lone doe! Not sure what to think of this but they are always together . This deer has to be in the 8+year old range. Anyone else see this behavior of a buck hanging with a doe let alone fully mature buck. She don’t have a fawn. Last year and again this year on a different farm I have a young buck chasing around and hanging with a doe entire summer and into fall, last year they both looked like 1.5 yr olds now I believe it’s the same 2 hanging together . Other than that I’ve never seen this behavior


I had a loner buck very similar to what you are describing. I had a lot of intel on him and finally killed him. He would shadow a mature doe and I think he knew she would be first to come into heat. This is the second time I have seen this. I believe that once a buck (certain bucks) reaches a certain age they know what doe will be first to bred or maybe just the most dominant doe and they will follow them. Not like rut or pre rut but almost just like keeping an eye on them.


To add more to this. I now have a new buck that has moved in and he is doing similar to the buck I killed. The only difference is he seems to show back up in late July / august. Only limited intel on him as he moved in last season.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby 218er » Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:17 am

I’ve saw younger bucks hang out with does but never a mature one. I assumed they were off the same age class, probably siblings.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby tim » Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:09 am

The doe he is with is a good size doe with a deeper chest but he’s so big he dwarfs her she’s definately not a young doe
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby Mgaspari » Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:56 am

tim wrote:The doe he is with is a good size doe with a deeper chest but he’s so big he dwarfs her she’s definately not a young doe


Yep, talking mature deer (buck and doe). I think it has more to do with the doe. Either she will be first to bred or something in the bucks dna that she will produce the best offspring. The last two bucks I am talking about were different but it’s the same doe. I actually thought I was miss reading what I was seeing but have heard several other people see the same thing.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby OspreyZB » Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:01 pm

I have seen a similar scenario play out several times. Where I hunt I typically see bucks start to "bachelor up" at about 2 years old. They will obviously socialize and hang out in groups before then, mostly with other young bucks, does, and fawns, but they usually aren't accepted into a bachelor group before their second birthday. I typically see bachelor groups of 3 or 4 bucks, usually all of a similar age class, but they will socialize with other bachelor groups in the area which sometimes makes it seem like one big group. Those groups will stick together year after year if they all survive. If one of them gets killed they might replace him with an up and comer, or they might not. I've seen a few mature bucks out live the rest of their bachelor group and become loners. They still socialized with the other deer and made their dominance known, but they weren't interested in being part of another group.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby tim » Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:42 pm

Looking back on it I had another buck back in 2010-2012 that by 2012 (5 or 6 yr old) his only running mate was a dink 1.5 yr old and they were always together. And lots of other loner bucks I guess it’s the doe that is the most different situation
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby OldFarmBuck » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:35 pm

Had this buck last year spent most of his time with a doe. He did the same thing the season before. Ended up taking him by himself just before Thanksgiving. If he wasn’t with the doe he had a smaller buck with him all the time. Had a similar size buck in the same area that was always alone. I’d catch him on cam just at the edge of camera range and always between 1am-5am. I’m sure in areas with good habitat and low pressure there’s loner bucks that live their lives and never are seen by anyone. Others see strength in numbers safety wise.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby may21581 » Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:59 pm

Sounds like he is a smart buck. All deer have their own personality and traits, those that have learned to hone their skills are the ones that grow old. Sounds like he is using other deer, specifically one or two others as security. I've seen this before where mature deer will cling to one or two others (doe or buck) and use them as additional cover. It's just another layer of protection for them. Does are just as smart if not better bucks at detecting danger in the fields or woods especially that old doe. Only way to really learn a deers behavior is by doing exactly what you have done and observing it and putting in the time. Very interesting.
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby <DK> » Sat Jul 24, 2021 1:08 am

Mgaspari wrote:
tim wrote:The doe he is with is a good size doe with a deeper chest but he’s so big he dwarfs her she’s definately not a young doe


Yep, talking mature deer (buck and doe). I think it has more to do with the doe. Either she will be first to bred


I came here to say this as well. They seem to like breeding the closest mature doe to their core area. I have a few spots that the buck is bedding across the valley from a prime doe bedding area, even in summer. The same Doe can be on camera everyday so they probably know each other well.

There is a loner buck iv been trying to catch up to, 3 years as well. Hes very ghostly and tough to pattern. I have never seen him w another deer on camera. I jumped him once and ruined it for myself bc he was right where I needed him to be. He still comes around so fingers crossed this year!
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:38 am

Not much to offer on this one other than that it does seem kind of odd. Kind of sounds like their an old married couple that are just hanging out with each other :lol:
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Re: Bachelor groups vs loner bucks

Unread postby Mgaspari » Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:20 am

<DK> wrote:
Mgaspari wrote:
tim wrote:The doe he is with is a good size doe with a deeper chest but he’s so big he dwarfs her she’s definately not a young doe


Yep, talking mature deer (buck and doe). I think it has more to do with the doe. Either she will be first to bred


I came here to say this as well. They seem to like breeding the closest mature doe to their core area. I have a few spots that the buck is bedding across the valley from a prime doe bedding area, even in summer. The same Doe can be on camera everyday so they probably know each other well.

There is a loner buck iv been trying to catch up to, 3 years as well. Hes very ghostly and tough to pattern. I have never seen him w another deer on camera. I jumped him once and ruined it for myself bc he was right where I needed him to be. He still comes around so fingers crossed this year!


Sounds like we are seeing same type of situation. I agree that is something with the doe either “dominant” doe, most reproductive or maybe in deer world she is a 10.


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