Really good article on buck homes ranges

[BSK]

This x10,000. I wish I had a dollar for every time a hunter texted or said to me........ "my target buck was on camera in the thicket where I hunt, could have killed him if I had been there." When in reality, their target buck was most likely in the thicket visible during daylight because they WERE NOT IN THE THICKET WITH HIM. Same can be said for deer in general a lot of times. The reason the deer are on your camera at a certain time is because you/me are at home/work/etc (not in the woods with them).

Couldn't agree more. Two years ago, we had the most visible mature buck we've ever had on our property. He was in one of our food plots, late in the afternoon but easily in shooting light, EVERY afternoon. My daughter and I hunted him hard. However, he would always turn up in one of the plots we weren't hunting that day. Eventually it became obvious this was not random chance. He would visit whichever plots were NOT being hunted.

 

[.243 Deer]

I really enjoyed reading the article. Basically confirmed the other studies I've read.

Did anyone else see an article linked in that article where a buck traveled nearly 200 miles ?
Crazy how far deer can travel.

https://deerassociation.com/the-mysterious-adventure-of-an-exceptional-buck/

 

[TheLBLman]

Tag soup?
I've eaten it 7 of the last ten years. Used to it now.

There was a time I couldn't imagine going a year without killing at least "a" buck.
Now, I can't imagine taking a buck any less than what is an acceptable trophy buck to me,
even if that means I skip years in between buck kills.

I take enough female deer for the table, and don't really need a buck for the meat.
So guess that makes me a trophy buck hunter.

A trophy buck to me is a mature buck, preferably with a unique rack, although many the mature ones have smaller racks than the middle-aged bucks that get a pass.

In terms of hunting skill, a specific mature doe is often a greater "trophy" than a specific mature buck.

 

[Mr.Bro]

There was a time I couldn't imagine going a year without killing at least "a" buck.
Now, I can't imagine taking a buck any less than what is an acceptable trophy buck to me,
even if that means I skip years in between buck kills.

I take enough female deer for the table, and don't really need a buck for the meat.
So guess that makes me a trophy buck hunter.

A trophy buck to me is a mature buck, preferably with a unique rack, although many the mature ones have smaller racks than the middle-aged bucks that get a pass.

In terms of hunting skill, a specific estimate mature doe is often a greater "trophy" than a specific mature buck.

Yes sir . The older i get my standards get higher and higher.
One more buck in my life would be OK with me.

 

[BSK]

A trophy buck to me is a mature buck, preferably with a unique rack, although many the mature ones have smaller racks than the middle-aged bucks that get a pass.

As you well know, and I point out all the time, take a single property and monitor it over a number of years, and you're going to find that the range of possible antler scores for each age-class of buck 9above yearlings) will produce a range of scores exceeding 100 gross inches. We've seen mature bucks on my place that will score 50, and a few that will go 160+. I just got a new mature buck on cam this year that has a small 8-point rack that I don't think will break 80 gross.