Late Season Buck Patterns

[The Silence]

Have you guys noticed any patterns for buck behavior during the late archery season. One specific question: Have you noticed if they bed down in a solitary places to recuperate? Or will they often hang with a doe family group perhaps for more eyes and ears to keep watch on their surroundings? Does buck age class make a difference? Or just an individual buck's personality? How does shotgun season pressure affect things? Just interested to see if you guys have noticed any patterns.

 

[LYON]

In my experience, bucks tend to get back into bachelor groups and don't necessarily run with the does. I do believe many older bucks will go nocturnal, especially if they've been pushed during shotgun season. However, COLD weather will bring almost any deer into a feeding area before dark. As far as specific bedding areas, I'm not sure. During the late season you will be much better off hunting evenings over a food source or between food and bed than you will be hunting in the mornings. Most deer (especially smart deer) will be bedded long before daylight this time of year. Just my thoughts and findings from over the years.

 

[StickersNKickers]

During shotgun and late season, I see several young bucks (1.5-2.5 yr olds) with does, at least during feeding times. Mature bucks are pretty scarce for me during that timeframe, so I'm guessing they are either going nocturnal or staying off our farms for the most part. Neighbors usually have better food than we do too, so that doesn't help us. We do get pics of some 3.5 yr olds. And I do find a few decent shed antlers each year, so I know some of the older deer come back thru.