Are heavily hunted mature bucks with big racks that survive just lucky?

[Woodsman10]

I don't know if they are lucky or smart. I call it instinct with a good memory of danger.

I do know that daylight camera activity decreases substantially after the first week of rifle season.
I do know that if you hunt a spot and he smells you, he likely ain't coming back unless he is with a doe in heat.

Like others have said. If you don't kill him your first hunt in your best spot, your odds go way down especially for that area. He will still smell your scent several hours into the night after you are gone.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Stuff like this on some of the land I have to share with others have really made me dislike deer hunting. Or that area specifically. At least I have other places.

I hear ya. It's just the norm here now. You have to be quicker to get it than the thermal and drone guys. Pretty much Every buck will come to the bottom fields in the Summer, they won't stay up high in the mountains, so they will always get spotted and talked about. That's where the roads are. I will say that we did get a TWRA warden finally this year after not having one for quite awhile. He did spend a lot of time trying to keep a particular buck alive from the thermals and drones. He did make a few cases but the big fish got away of course.

 

[CrossVolle]

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