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Beardendy88

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Jul 7, 2012
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North Alabama
I have been talking to many "more experienced" deer hunters and most have been telling that me that most of the bucks we get on our trail cameras will not be there during the rut because of cross breeding and bucks will travel up to 10 miles to breed. So my question to you guys is have any of you experienced this or is any of this true?
 
Bucks can be predictable and patterned before the rut starts, but after the rut kicks in they will roam around and be completly unpredictable.
The bucks you are getting now may still come through the area, but I don't think it will be consistant.
 
Much depends on where you are hunting and the composition of your herd. Deer move as food sources change and bucks may move as doe availability changes.

No one on this forum, without knowing where you hunt and what your deer herd is like can tell you one dang thing about what your bucks are going to do. They can only relate what their experience is.
 
Beardendy88 said:
I planned on planting food plots for the first time so I didn't know if having that would change there habits.
Click to expand...
Not really,even great food plots make up a small portion of their diet,in a very poor acorn year,they can help hold more deer in late season.I think too many people put to much faith in food plots.
 
I have trail cameras on 3 farms.2 are maybe two miles apart.The 3rd is maybe 3miles from either one.Never had a pic of the same buck on more than one farm.
My opinon is that they dont move far.Just to smart to get cought out in daytime.
Now the rut is completely differant.Who knows how far they trave?
But i do believe the bucks come back to their home territory every 4-5 days.This is why i try to hunt at least 4-5 days straight,all dayers in november.
A couple of years ago i had a 6pointer come by me 4 times in one day and three times the next.Pretty obvious his range was rather small.

Bottom line is your going to lose some bucks during the rut but you will also see some new ones moving through.

Hunt your funnels during the rut and wait em out.
 
Beardendy88 said:
I have been talking to many "more experienced" deer hunters and most have been telling that me that most of the bucks we get on our trail cameras will not be there during the rut because of cross breeding and bucks will travel up to 10 miles to breed. So my question to you guys is have any of you experienced this or is any of this true?
Click to expand...

Without question, bucks expand their travels just before and during the rut. A few GPS-collared bucks have even been known to change ranges during the rut (leave their normal range and move to a new range only for the duration of the rut). However, most bucks moving 10 miles away during the rut? No, that isn't true.

How many of the bucks that you're photographing now that will still be using the property come deer season is an impossible question to answer. Every property is different. Some properties see few of their summer bucks leave. Some see a lot of their summer bucks leave. What the patterns are for your property will have to be determined through the continued use of trail-cameras through the season. But there is just as much possibility you will see "new" bucks moving into your property once antler velvet sheds. In addition, since the vast majority of bucks expand their travels during the rut, most properties see a temporary increase in the total numbers of bucks crossing their hunting property during the 4-6 weeks of the rut (as bucks travel farther, they cross more properties).
 
Beardendy88 said:
I planned on planting food plots for the first time so I didn't know if having that would change there habits.
Click to expand...

I cant answer questions regarding how far the bucks in your area will travel during the rut.

But imo I think the whole food plot theory to attract and hold deer is over rated.

If I was seriously thinking of attracting deer and holding them I would create habitat for the deer.

I would look into doing some hinge cutting, making a sanctuary for deer to bed, look into your nieghboring properties to see what they have and do not have. Plant trees that will provide soft mass, hard mass. Creating habitat for deer requires much more than a food plot. Even with putting a food plot in, you need to make sure it is situated in a location deer will feel safe using it.

Also, like BSK stated, some properties will have their buck summer shift late summer, and some properties will have bucks move into them during the rut.

I am one of the unfortunate ones that could have a hayday buck hunting if season were in late August rather than late Sept :)

Good Luck!
 
Bucks are great at laying low but I doubt that many of those captured on film during the summer months that seem to disappear come Fall are that smart or evasive. Most simply aren't there during that time frame because they've shifted their ranges. So what good are year round food plots as attractants?
1) They supply nutrient during the seasons.
2) They attract does which aren't near as likely to shift away from available food sources as the bucks.
3) If they attract does during the rut chances are the does will attract bucks; resident or likewise.

You have to ask yourself if you knew you were going to have bucks shifting onto your property during the Fall would you rather have them shifting off barren properties or from properties that had provided them with great nutrition, especially during the antler growing season? One man's food plot may be another man's gain. However, given the choice I'd choose adequate cover over food plots any day.
 
I have seen pics of two different bucks that where caught on camera around 6 miles apart. These are mountain deer. Thats the reason I try not to get caught up on hunting one buck. I hunt travel corridors where I may kill a buck I've never seen before on cam or from past years. But depending on the terrain and amount of land you hunt I wouldn't say it is impossible for a deer to travel 10 miles.
 
As other have mentioned, if you want to attract/hold deer (especially older bucks) during hunting season, look to cover more than food plots. Deer can and will travel considerable distances at night to find food. But during daylight during hunting season, hunter-wary bucks will be in or near thick sanctuary cover (and it is only "sanctuary" cover if it is not hunted).
 
Good question because many here can only pass along personal experiences and the older guys, LIKE ME, can pass along what they've heard over the years.

many years ago, I remember being told that older bucks lay low in thick cover,position themselves in doe heavy areas and wait for the does to come to them. Somewhat of an ambush tactic. As I gained more experience, I saw many bucks chasing does in the wide open , yet few mature deer in the open areas.....so I never could prove this theory right or wrong..lol. But, as I moved deeper into the woods to hunt, I began to notice a few subtle differences. i was seeing many more repeat offenders in regards to chasing bucks, but most were young. Many would come past me several times in one day, yet i may never see them after that. It was like they came in to the area, checked it hard for a day or two and moved on , maybe miles away to check another area...

Many of these young bucks were alone when i saw them. Many of the nicer deer, 2.5 years old and older, that I saw during the rut were with does, one or more. And sometimes I would see them a couple of times in a few days, but they were trailing more than chasing....the older bucks seemed less frantic...imo.

I believe that buck behavior is never a given....too much depends on how they react.

In my mind, the very young bucks may indeed travel long distances to seek out does, where an older buck may have an area established as HIS and will not venture too far from it, provided he has enough does there. The truly mature deer that may be 5 years plus are a different animal all together and while they do get killed from time to time, many die of old age or get hit by a vehicle at 4:00 a.m. They , imo, are abit more skilled in every aspect of movement and probably do most of their checking at night. In a rare instance, do these bucks make mistakes. Heck, where I hunt , I rarely hear of a 5 year old buck being taken....do they all die out at age 4? Nope.

To answer the question, I'd simply say that bucks travel as far as they need to and patterning them at this time is futile....go sit from daylight to dark every day....

goodluck!
 
My 8 best bucks taken over the years have all been shot during some phase of the rut. I never got one trail cam picture of any of them.
 
Rackseeker said:
I have seen pics of two different bucks that where caught on camera around 6 miles apart. These are mountain deer. Thats the reason I try not to get caught up on hunting one buck. I hunt travel corridors where I may kill a buck I've never seen before on cam or from past years. But depending on the terrain and amount of land you hunt I wouldn't say it is impossible for a deer to travel 10 miles.
Click to expand...

My experience as well. But that is in Mountain, Mature hardwood forest, habitat where deer are REALLY scattered.

Some of the farm land areas I hunt on public land on flat ground I have seen bucks all summer and NEVER see them again.

But the GOOD news is...as BSK has pointed out many times, deer will show up (because of this roaming attitude during the rut) that you have never seen before. And your neighbor has a bunch of trail cam pics of this buck.

(hint-hint)
(I love the internet and the ability to post trail cam pics of all the good bucks out there. Kinda gets you in the right areas to be during the rut...but then, they aren't MY pics)

Just one more reason to be careful about keeping quiet about mature bucks.
 

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