Your thoughts on these bucks

[mabr]

I would like your opinion on these 2 big bucks i watched all summer. Might be a little long but i wanted to give as many facts as a can.

I had 5 bucks running in a bachelor group all summer long. 2,130 - 140 class 8's, 2 basket 8's and 1,6 pnter. They were bedding in a swamp that has always held deer in the past, coming across a 10 acre hay field every night and morning right up until they lost their velvet. I just knew that the biggest was gonna be on my wall the opening weekend. Well since opening bow season, I have not layed eyes on anyone of them but the 6. I had him at 5 yards opening evening and just knew one of the others would be following but it never happened. I left them alone about 2 weeks prior to opener so they didnt feel any pressure. So I never actually seen them go out of velvet, but based on other property I hunt it should have been approximatly 1.5 weeks prior to opener.

This area has always held both bucks and does all year long. But this year the areas where they were bedding held ONLY the 5 bucks and no does. Well i take that back there was 1 lone doe with a single fawn who occasionally showed up crossing the field.

I have hunted this property very sparenly hoping to get 1 of the 2 big ones so i know im not over hunting it. I have over 10 years experience on this property and this has been the strangest to date. Im frustrated that i havent even seen them sense opening bow. I know i have familys of does (15 deer)real close as i seen them in the summer as well on adjacent property in their alphalfa fields right at dark so i figured the bucks would move to them during the rut. But its close enough (1/4 mile) that you would think they (does)would have wondered onto my property at least a few times. I know they do on occasion as I have always taken 2-3 does off of this land, (1 this year). I know the big boy has at least visited my land as I have 1 huge tree he has continued to hit on occasion

My land is 30 acres in the north metro area that is sorounded by houses with no gun hunters to put preasure on them. Total sorounding acreage is probubly 300 at the most. No crops to speak of, just alphafa and a picked soy bean field 1/2 mile away ( real close to houses). I have the best bedding area around, why arent they there anymore.

What are your thoughts on either of the 2 big boys returning to my area later? Like I said this was there core area all summer long. Seeing archerystuds post where the buck he had been hunting was killed, prodded me to ask what others think. As best as I can tell, there may be one other person hunting even remotely close to me. So I feel pretty strongly that 1 of the 2 is still alive.

Do you think he will come back to this area before bow season is over?

[96trigger]

If he is alive, he might come back. Sounds like you need to get a camera. I think a deer will travel a long ways if he is hot on a doe. If you never saw him during the rut, you might have a better chance at seeing him next year than this year.

[fishuhalik]

Good question! Right now he's probably out chasing does. Later in the season once the rut is over he'll probably return his old sleeping/munching grounds, or at least that's what I've been reading. I haven't hunted late season, so I'm probably not the best to give advise. All I know is that after the rut those bucks are really looking to put the pounds back on for the winter after expending all their energy chasing does, so I'd probably key in on feeding grounds. Also, later in the year I've heard they can get perty nocturnal, so take that into consideration. Maybe check out areas that are just outside bedding areas. That way you can ambush them in the evening when they're on their way to eat.

Just my .02.

[mabr]

Yeah camera is on the list. Been a tight year on funds like alot of others im sure. Maybe should have bought that instead of the 5 new stands.

I'm real courious if others have seen buck return to their core areas after the rut though ? They were so predictable all summer, and like i said I see evidence that at least one of them is hanging around to some degree.

[96trigger]

They do return, but if there is no food in the area, not likely before the end of archery season. I have seen bucks all summer, and then the rut hits, and I might see them once and then gone. Might see them the next year again, only to disappear. Bucks travel. I had two nice bucks that I chased all last year. This fall, they ended up a mile away on the neigbors property. Why they moved I have no idea, but they did. I have bucks on trail cam this year that I know were not there last year. The best you can do is hunt it and see what happens. If the does are still in the area, there will be bucks there also. That you can bet on, whether you see him or not, is another deal entirely.

[sticknstring]

Buck dispersal. I watched a group of 4-5 bucks on camera on a foot plot for the better part of a month right up to bow opener. Once the velvet was gone, so were the bucks. I'd see one or two every now & then on camera but that was it and all movement was nocturnal. Not ONE has been seen all bowseason on this small woodlot. Food sources play a huge role in October. They'll travel a long ways to dine on a good acorn crop. Bucks are lazy in October, no reason to move much during daylight. In November, they'll be cruising, perhaps several miles away. In December, it's back to the best food source and cover available and pester any remaining does/fawns that haven't been bred yet. If your property provides adequate cover and nearby food, you still have a chance. Make a mock scrape with a good overhanging branch and pee in it and put a camera on it. You'll know what's around, if anything in a hurry. Small woodlots are tough. The deer move in & out on a regular basis. Keep hunting smart and chances are good that a few of those does will move in and the bucks will be close behind. A few might be in someone's freezer, but one from miles away that you've never seen on camera could come in. Good luck - it can be darn frustrating having all those deer around early season and when the rut comes around, have no action at all.

[Bear55]

Those bachelor groups can be tricky, he might summer in your woods and then spend the fall several miles away, maybe even winter in another area. There was alwasy a chance they were still using the area and maybe you just missed them. The rut could lead them just about anywhere but if you had a bunch of does around I'm sure they have at least passed through recently. They are probably around somwhere but bucks are like people and have different personalities and patterns. All I can say is good luck. I've tried hunting a few bachelor groups over the years and lets just say they have won every round so far.

[Bear55]

Buck dispersal. I watched a group of 4-5 bucks on camera on a foot plot for the better part of a month right up to bow opener. Once the velvet was gone, so were the bucks. I'd see one or two every now & then on camera but that was it and all movement was nocturnal. Not ONE has been seen all bowseason on this small woodlot. Food sources play a huge role in October. In November, they'll be cruising, perhaps several miles away. In December, it's back to the best food source and cover available and pester any remaining does/fawns that haven't been bred yet. If your property provides adequate cover and nearby food, you still have a chance. Make a mock scrape with a good overhanging branch and pee in it and put a camera on it. You'll know what's around, if anything in a hurry.

I usually see the opposite, very few buck sightings all summer long, then once the velvet of off they start showing up. As you said all movement is nocturnal. So I guess even if they disperse to your area it doesn't help all that much, however this area is behind my home and I have limited access to hunt it so I can't say for sure if this is a bad thing, it just doesn't work out for me.

Really the best way to get a buck is be hunting his core/bedding/staging area, after that you have to catch them chasing does. Sometimes they call your place home, other times they don't. Just keep hunting and scouting and eventually everything will line up and you will have a buck in your sights.

[mabr]

Yeah I know about the tough thing. I was so optimist going into opener. This is the very first time I have ever had a group of bucks stay on this property, at least preseason, and i just knew it was piece of cake.

unfortunatly I have had to many options on where to hunt and I think i screwed up by going up north to gun hunt. I know it would have been my best chance at getting one of them if i had stayed here to hunt, but with the no sitings of them and tradition of the hunting camp I decided to see if they would come around in the next couple of weeks.

Im not giving up, the land owner has been in the woods the last few weekends clearing out any falling trees for firewood. And i went and set a new stand in the best funnel on the property yesterday that im gonna try in the morning. I havent filled my buck tag in the last 7 years ( it took a 140 8 years ago). I pass numourous bucks a season and this year is no different. Im gonna be there till the last day in decemeber just like last year.

Again if any have had experience with bucks returning late in the season let me know. I think not having any pressure on them may be hurting it as well. Plus the turkeys, man are they ever thick in the last few years. Getting hard to tel deer feeding sign for all the turkey scratching. Think their competing with the deer for the food?

[96trigger]

No but in my experience, when the turkeys are around, especially if they are talking and being loud, the deer stay away.