KSHUNTER
PMA Member
Well here is my experience with buck dispersal:
In 2015, I had a nice buck show up that was all over my farm, he was a nice little 3 year old eight point. He pretty much centered himself on my farm and called it home. I enjoyed seeing him from the stand but clearly was never considered as a shooter deer. I later went back and was able to find photos from 2014 as a 2 year old.
In 2016, he showed back up and I had the opportunity to watch him from my back porch many times, let alone all the trail camera pictures. I asked for input on here last year to help determine age, as pretty sure he was a 4 year old but wanted some verification, which I got. I decided that between having other bucks to chase, him being a homebody on my personal farm, and being lucky enough to harvest several good deer I would let him walk if I had the opportunity. Well it didn't take long for that to be tested and I ended up having multiple encounters with him through the season. In the end I harvested another deer, he lived through rifle season and I picked up his right side shed. Mission Complete for 2016!
Summer of 2017 rolls around and I finally put a camera up on a soybean food plot and BAM! He's back, he's 5, and he grew into a really nice deer. Needless to say I am now pumped! I already had all the recon on this buck I needed so I didn't do anything silly, stands were in place long ago, I had one camera on my main feeding plot that is 5 acres. So I just stayed back and actually pulled that camera before the end of August and utilized it on some other farms. On September the 9th I ended up seeing him from the house one morning on a small soybean field and he was hard horned now.
From that point he has gone MIA! I threw up the cameras and cannot catch him anywhere, nor have there been any other mature bucks move into the area. My cover is fairly isolated 120 acres surrounded by cattle pasture and sparse cover. At this point I just have to assume he relocated, I guess he could be dead, but most of the surrounding pressure come in rifle season, and there were no open seasons when he disappeared.
Working on the assumption that he relocated he would need to travel 3/4 to a mile in any direction to get back into decent cover, the area has decent age structure so I would assume he would have to fight for a place to live. He was solitary all summer, no bachelor group at all.
What are the chances he'll come home at some point? I usually have a good late food source with standing beans, this year ill have the best I have ever had, 5+ acres of beans, plus winter rye and clover. Chances better in the rut or late? Was looking to see if anyone has had a similar story? Results, expectations?
Here is the bucks progression, was really hoping to put a really good story together this year with the amount of history I had built with this deer! Time will tell.
2014 2.5
The near buck
2015 3.5
2016 4.5
2017 5.5
In 2015, I had a nice buck show up that was all over my farm, he was a nice little 3 year old eight point. He pretty much centered himself on my farm and called it home. I enjoyed seeing him from the stand but clearly was never considered as a shooter deer. I later went back and was able to find photos from 2014 as a 2 year old.
In 2016, he showed back up and I had the opportunity to watch him from my back porch many times, let alone all the trail camera pictures. I asked for input on here last year to help determine age, as pretty sure he was a 4 year old but wanted some verification, which I got. I decided that between having other bucks to chase, him being a homebody on my personal farm, and being lucky enough to harvest several good deer I would let him walk if I had the opportunity. Well it didn't take long for that to be tested and I ended up having multiple encounters with him through the season. In the end I harvested another deer, he lived through rifle season and I picked up his right side shed. Mission Complete for 2016!
Summer of 2017 rolls around and I finally put a camera up on a soybean food plot and BAM! He's back, he's 5, and he grew into a really nice deer. Needless to say I am now pumped! I already had all the recon on this buck I needed so I didn't do anything silly, stands were in place long ago, I had one camera on my main feeding plot that is 5 acres. So I just stayed back and actually pulled that camera before the end of August and utilized it on some other farms. On September the 9th I ended up seeing him from the house one morning on a small soybean field and he was hard horned now.
From that point he has gone MIA! I threw up the cameras and cannot catch him anywhere, nor have there been any other mature bucks move into the area. My cover is fairly isolated 120 acres surrounded by cattle pasture and sparse cover. At this point I just have to assume he relocated, I guess he could be dead, but most of the surrounding pressure come in rifle season, and there were no open seasons when he disappeared.
Working on the assumption that he relocated he would need to travel 3/4 to a mile in any direction to get back into decent cover, the area has decent age structure so I would assume he would have to fight for a place to live. He was solitary all summer, no bachelor group at all.
What are the chances he'll come home at some point? I usually have a good late food source with standing beans, this year ill have the best I have ever had, 5+ acres of beans, plus winter rye and clover. Chances better in the rut or late? Was looking to see if anyone has had a similar story? Results, expectations?
Here is the bucks progression, was really hoping to put a really good story together this year with the amount of history I had built with this deer! Time will tell.
2014 2.5
The near buck
2015 3.5
2016 4.5
2017 5.5