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big bucks disappearing,anyone have answers

bradley

bradley

triplebeam
the last 2 weeks i have not gotten pics of the big boys,what is going on,are they becoming more territorial & staying closer to core areas,or are they just not hitting the minerals due to cooler weather,or both,anyone have any input,seems to happen to me every year about this time.
 
Acorns.?? Would be a good answer if yours are starting to drop at all.

I was out doing some grouse hunting tonight and I just realized ours up here in MN are starting to hit the ground.

Dean
 
I hung a couple stands in south central Iowa yesterday and the acorns were dropping like rain..of course the wind was blowing about 30 mph. I haven't got any mature buck for a couple weeks either but you seem to have three times the number of big bucks on your farms than most. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/whistle.gif Good luck with them this fall.

Nug
 
It seems to happen every year when they shed. Bachelor herds start splitting up and the big boys are on the move more staking out their claim. It takes alot of time to make the 100s of rubs that are popping up every day. Plus the acorns are falling pretty hard right now. My whole backyard is about an inch deep with them. That buck we have all been watching all summer long could now be a mile away.
 
Depending on what you're putting out to "persuade" them into your camera, I assume maybe mineral/salt, could have an effect on your sightings. Since they are shedding velvet and "wrapping up" their antler growth, they don't need as much 'extra' nutrients in which the production of antlers was in need of. Thats my story and im sticking to it...i guess it could be the acorns too.
 
1)Totally different patterns from food, different nutrients needed, beans going yellow, acorns, etc.
2)Mature bucks start going more nocturnal, that's why if you could hunt in July or Aug you'd be set opposed to October.
3)Testosterone causes bachelor's groups to break, makes them territorial, etc.
4)Whole different animal now, pressure is starting, getting ready for breeding, weather changing, food changing, needs and desires changing.
 
Acorns are dropping good here in NE IA. Was out this weekend checking a cam on a field edge and the oaks were tore up with sign and fresh rubs all over.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: THA4</div><div class="ubbcode-body">acorns=chocolate</div></div>

wow!!!!! that's having a lot of faith in your fellow IW's Thomas....Seems like you're leaving yourself wide open with that comment.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bushman</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: THA4</div><div class="ubbcode-body">acorns=chocolate</div></div>

wow!!!!! that's having a lot of faith in your fellow IW's Thomas....Seems like you're leaving yourself wide open with that comment. </div></div>
YEAH! I will hold back today....I was close to wearing cheese last night $
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bushman</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: THA4</div><div class="ubbcode-body">acorns=chocolate</div></div>

wow!!!!! that's having a lot of faith in your fellow IW's Thomas....Seems like you're leaving yourself wide open with that comment. </div></div>

Oh come on guys, nobody here would say anything about Tom REALLY knowing chocate and the draw it can have on a (roundish) body /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
shoofly.gif


keep it up girls....
 
I wouldn't look to far into it. Just because you're not getting them on the cams doesn't mean they're not there. Like others have said, I suspect deer chocolate aka acorns. Just a couple of thoughts for you though, and I'd take them with a grain of salt...

If you were getting a lot of pictures of the big ones over the summer, then more than likely your hunting grounds are their core area. Mature bucks in my experience generally hold pretty tight to the core areas in Sept. and Oct. and then start to range out in November looking for lust, sometimes at very large distances.

One thing that will push them away in the early months is human presence. They generally don't seem to mind humans in the spring and summer, but once they lose that velvet its like they become another animal. That's what its like at my 80 acre farm I hunt, which is why I choose to not hunt it much or not at all in October. Even going out and checking the trail cams frequently can send a buck into high alert. Of course this is totally different at one of my other spots because, the big boys don't get shook up that much because they are exposed to humans a lot more, so I'll be doing my October hunting at that spot.

Again, I wouldn't look into it too hard, and I'm no expert by any means, but just in my experience its either humans or a food source change that alters their behavior this time of the year.
 
My last three camera pulls have yielded does and fawns as well. Pretty typical for this time of year.
 
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