That's pretty much what I've seen. Hubs of movement seem to be where I see communal scrapes that get hit often and by multiple deer, and those hubs are generally terrain decided. Come to think of it, they're almost never up high or on ridge tops. They're almost always low at an intersection of ridge fingers or other conjunction of terrain/habitat features like a creek crossing or vegetation transition. I can't think of a single communal scrape above the top 1/3 elevation of any given property I hunt/work.
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That's pretty much what I've seen. Hubs of movement seem to be where I see communal scrapes that get hit often and by multiple deer, and those hubs are generally terrain decided. Come to think of it, they're almost never up high or on ridge tops. They're almost always low at an intersection of ridge fingers or other conjunction of terrain/habitat features like a creek crossing or vegetation transition. I can't think of a single communal scrape above the top 1/3 elevation of any given property I hunt/work.
A few years ago my brother found a "scrape line" along a hog back ridge on public land. It was so ridiculous that I wondered if it wasn't made by a person. Scrapes every 20-30yds in a line along top this narrow ridge. Of course we immediately began hunting it. First couple of days neither of us saw a single deer, which was weird because obviously something was hitting those scrapes. Camera didn't show anything, either. On the third evening I finally saw the culprit. It was a buck just as big as I'd imagined, but he he wasn't cruising the "scrape line". He didn't even hit an existing scrape. He created a brand new scrape as he crested the ridge, coming up one side and down the other. He was on top of the ridge for a few seconds, just long enough to make a scrape. It occurred to me in that moment that he was likely responsible for the majority, if not all of those scrapes.
I never got a shot but I learned a lot about his behavior. About half way down the hill right before it dropped to a steep ravine, he dog leg turned toward the head of the hollow. There was an obvious transition line in terms of terrain and vegetation, as briars covered the gentler uphill side of the slope. There was no apparent trail and no scrapes along that line, but I watched him walk it nonetheless. A few days later my brother got him while sitting in the head of the hollow at the first reasonable spot the buck could cross the ravine to access the next ridge line. From either ridge he would have been invisible to a hunter, just below the crest of a ravine with thick briars above. But in that spot where the ravine headed up to a narrow flat for crossing, my brother got a 15yd shot at a 150's 10pt.
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BSK
Well-Known Member
I often see the oldest bucks walking that sudden break-over point on the hillside, called the "military crest" (where you would build a trench to be able to lay down fire on an army coming up the hill). There are no visible trails at the military crest, and never any scrapes, but the oldest bucks often travel right along it.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Same here. I REALLY like hunting those terrain features and also military crests on points. The point dips down off the top of the ridge, levels off some (a slight bench), then declines again. One of the bucks I killed in 2021 and the one from 2020 each came off these 2 types of military crests.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Oh, I love when descending points "bench out." Kill zone...
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
didn't go through everything, but what is causing the early peaks corresponding to good acorn years is due to the fact that a few does are coming into estrus a little earlier due to better body condition from the acorns. Even a single doe coming into estrus early on a property will cause all the bucks within a mile to go nuts.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I have always assumed that was the cause. Proving it is a different matter!
BSK
Well-Known Member
Mega,
I think the influence of a good acorn crop on rutting activity is even more profound than some realize, especially in a hardwood environment. I'm sure I posted this graph before, when discussing my scrape research, but below is a graph of buck visits to scrapes for 2020 and 2021. As a reference, 2020 was a near total acorn failure in my area. On the other hand, 2021 was a one of the largest acorn crops ever witnessed. Notice how in 2021 scraping activity exploded weeks earlier than during the poor acorn year of 2020. I do believe the vastly improved health of deer during a bumper acorn year allows them much more energy to burn, hence they conduct much earlier scraping activity as well as more scraping throughout the entire season.
I think the influence of a good acorn crop on rutting activity is even more profound than some realize, especially in a hardwood environment. I'm sure I posted this graph before, when discussing my scrape research, but below is a graph of buck visits to scrapes for 2020 and 2021. As a reference, 2020 was a near total acorn failure in my area. On the other hand, 2021 was a one of the largest acorn crops ever witnessed. Notice how in 2021 scraping activity exploded weeks earlier than during the poor acorn year of 2020. I do believe the vastly improved health of deer during a bumper acorn year allows them much more energy to burn, hence they conduct much earlier scraping activity as well as more scraping throughout the entire season.
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BSK
Well-Known Member
Bucks definitely scrape earlier and more frequently in a good acorn year. I suspect it is their better health; i.e. more resources to burn.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Last season Ames started a research project whereby a researcher put out 180 cameras on 18000 acres primarily on scrapes. They sought to identify specific bucks who traveled possibly from scrape to scrape over various parts of the plantation. Any buck harvested was tested for CWD and an attempt was made to tie him back to a specific scrape or area and then to other bucks who might have used the same scrapes. Among other things, they sought to find patterns between CWD and common scrapes that bucks used to see if scrapes were a common means of transmission.
Hopefully these findings will be published soon and may shed light on other buck behavior which has heretofore been unknown.
It's astonishing how mysterious the whitetail buck is in spite of him being the most studied animal in North America.
Hopefully these findings will be published soon and may shed light on other buck behavior which has heretofore been unknown.
It's astonishing how mysterious the whitetail buck is in spite of him being the most studied animal in North America.
Winchester
Well-Known Member
Very interesting Brian. Just more proof how Important a good mast crop (especially acorns) is to these hills and hollow deer that have very little outside of browse when Mast crops fail. I personally see a much more pronounced rut and more daylight activity (cruising and chasing) on good Acorn years. This also confirms the fact that our rut here in East Tn (where I hunt anyway) has moved forward a few days over last few years, and not coincidentally, we have had a bumper Acorn crop for the last 3 yrs in a row, which is very unusual btw! I fully expect a bad Acorn yr coming up, simply for the fact we have had so many the last 3 yrs, law of averages working hard against us! lol
BSK
Well-Known Member
That is very interesting.
TNhunter
Well-Known Member
So basically be in the woods the first 3 weeks of Nov as much as you possibly can in TN
Mego said:
didn't go through everything, but what is causing the early peaks corresponding to good acorn years is due to the fact that a few does are coming into estrus a little earlier due to better body condition from the acorns. Even a single doe coming into estrus early on a property will cause all the bucks within a mile to go nuts.
And I TOTALLY agree!
I believe I CAN prove it thru actual hunting experiences over 40 years and 8 experienced hunters.
BUT WAIT...there is more!
If food (ACORNS IN ABUNDANCE) if the driving force then why wouldn't deer living and feeding near massive amounts of food behave similar?
THEY DO!
In these areas where we hunt public near crop land, ESPECIALLY an abundance of corn, we see rut activity occur earlier than usual. In fact we refer to these bucks as "Ag bucks".
I am so confident in the heavy mast crop early rut theory that we plan out rut hunts around it. Our priority late summer is mast crop survey.
Fat happy does/bucks = early chasing. BET ON IT!!!
didn't go through everything, but what is causing the early peaks corresponding to good acorn years is due to the fact that a few does are coming into estrus a little earlier due to better body condition from the acorns. Even a single doe coming into estrus early on a property will cause all the bucks within a mile to go nuts.
And I TOTALLY agree!
I believe I CAN prove it thru actual hunting experiences over 40 years and 8 experienced hunters.
BUT WAIT...there is more!
If food (ACORNS IN ABUNDANCE) if the driving force then why wouldn't deer living and feeding near massive amounts of food behave similar?
THEY DO!
In these areas where we hunt public near crop land, ESPECIALLY an abundance of corn, we see rut activity occur earlier than usual. In fact we refer to these bucks as "Ag bucks".
I am so confident in the heavy mast crop early rut theory that we plan out rut hunts around it. Our priority late summer is mast crop survey.
Fat happy does/bucks = early chasing. BET ON IT!!!
Also...Mast crop failure causes a very unimpressive rut in many of the areas we hunt.
Makes sense to me.
While I have noticed it tends to cause deer to travel more, it seems there is less chasing and probably breeding. And what there is seems to be concentrated to areas with the most food.
Also I've observed the rut is shorter during a failure.
Probably because of stress.
Makes sense to me.
While I have noticed it tends to cause deer to travel more, it seems there is less chasing and probably breeding. And what there is seems to be concentrated to areas with the most food.
Also I've observed the rut is shorter during a failure.
Probably because of stress.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Also find it interesting that rutting activity is very much focused on food sources. Good acorn year, chasing is everywhere in the woods. Poor acorn year, chasing focused around the food plots and cut timber areas (natural browse, plus some cover).
Every year, I keep cameras pointed at a couple of food-plot-edge traditional scrapes. They get used every year, but the usage in a good acorn year is only minimal. Ultra-hot in a poor acorn year.
Every year, I keep cameras pointed at a couple of food-plot-edge traditional scrapes. They get used every year, but the usage in a good acorn year is only minimal. Ultra-hot in a poor acorn year.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I've stated several times that I've learned more about deer behavior in the last two years of using video on trial-cameras than all the previous years of using still-images on trail-cameras (28 years if I remember correctly). One of the HUGE benefits of video is the sound. You can hear what is going on outside the camera's field of view. In the past, with still-images, it was obvious bucks cruise food plots more in a poor acorn year. Lots of pictures of that. But what I hadn't picked up on until I started using video was how often bucks come RUNNING into the plots once does show up. On the videos, you can hear them running towards the plot while the video was only triggered by the does feeding. You can see all of the does' heads suddenly pop up and turn in the direction of the approaching buck. Watching these videos over and over it finally sunk into my thick skull that bucks are bedding down nearby the food sources and just watching the entrance trails to the food sources. Once a doe group approaches, the bucks come running. We've always had stands overlooking the food plots for obvious reasons but have only been marginally successful shooting bucks out of the plots (primarily only 2 1/2s and the rare 3 1/2, never a mature buck). After watching these videos, I now realize the way to hunt plots is well back from the plot, at least 100 yards, along the entrance routes does take to access the plots.
Knowing it's going to be a very poor acorn year this year, I'm planning on doing a lot of stand rearranging before this season, to get stands up well off the plots. If the bucks are bedded watching the plots, walking to a food-plot-edge stand is just tipping your hand. We will still use our food plot tower stands for rainy days, but each big plot will have several stands back 100 yards or so along the primary entrance routes to the plot.
Knowing it's going to be a very poor acorn year this year, I'm planning on doing a lot of stand rearranging before this season, to get stands up well off the plots. If the bucks are bedded watching the plots, walking to a food-plot-edge stand is just tipping your hand. We will still use our food plot tower stands for rainy days, but each big plot will have several stands back 100 yards or so along the primary entrance routes to the plot.
