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Buck Relocation and Rut Expectations

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
full


2015 3.5
full


2016 4.5
full


2017 5.5
full
 
He’ll be back. ;). Unless someone smoked him early ML or he died- imo- 80% chance he didn’t leave. He’s been too consistent for years and everything u described. If I had to GUESS... combo of eating acorns, maybe it’s slightly changed his movement in last month or avoided ur cams. He’s there, IMO & u will see him again, IMO- if he’s alive.
 
Sligh took the words out of my mouth. I think he's still there and not knowing your property I would guess he has spent the last week's gorging on acorns. He will show up shortly
 
He’ll be back. ;). Unless someone smoked him early ML or he died- imo- 80% chance he didn’t leave. He’s been too consistent for years and everything u described. If I had to GUESS... combo of eating acorns, maybe it’s slightly changed his movement in last month or avoided ur cams. He’s there, IMO & u will see him again, IMO- if he’s alive.

Bingo! X3 agreed!
 
I'm in a similar situation, 3 years of the same buck. Sheds, pics, passes, etc... this year he's just gone. Nothing, not even the landowner saying they "saw a big one". Deer will be deer but man it's annoyong when a deer thats been a local homebody for 3 years up and moves.
 
Well that is a little comforting!

I don't have any oaks on my property, well 400 but they are only 2 years old!! I don't know why but the creek that runs through my property and its drainage basin is all walnut, ash, hackberry dominated, no oaks at all. A different drainage basin to the West 1 mile is dominated by oak trees, you have to go 5-7 miles north, south, or east to get to another oak dominated drainage. I always wondered if had to do with new growth vs. old growth timber, with the older growth being on the larger creek systems with the oak stands and the new growth on the smaller drainages.

So maybe the acorns are a bigger draw than I give them credit for, I have no farms with good oak population. It would be about a mile for him to get back into oak dominated habitat and really since you guys brought that up and I had noticed a decline in the total number of deer I'm seeing out the windows of my house right now. Even my wife asked why we were not seeing many deer. We had a wet summer, guessing that leads to good acorn production.

At least I have something to blame his disappearing act on other than relocation or getting himself killed one way or another! Ill keep my fingers crossed that he shows up shortly!
 
I'm guessing he'll be back. The buck I'm missing has been clockwork spring, summer, fall, winter for 3 years. Finding his shed last Dec was the last time I knew he was alive. I fear the worst, but oh well I guess.
 
Well that is a little comforting!

I don't have any oaks on my property, well 400 but they are only 2 years old!! I don't know why but the creek that runs through my property and its drainage basin is all walnut, ash, hackberry dominated, no oaks at all. A different drainage basin to the West 1 mile is dominated by oak trees, you have to go 5-7 miles north, south, or east to get to another oak dominated drainage. I always wondered if had to do with new growth vs. old growth timber, with the older growth being on the larger creek systems with the oak stands and the new growth on the smaller drainages.

So maybe the acorns are a bigger draw than I give them credit for, I have no farms with good oak population. It would be about a mile for him to get back into oak dominated habitat and really since you guys brought that up and I had noticed a decline in the total number of deer I'm seeing out the windows of my house right now. Even my wife asked why we were not seeing many deer. We had a wet summer, guessing that leads to good acorn production.

At least I have something to blame his disappearing act on other than relocation or getting himself killed one way or another! Ill keep my fingers crossed that he shows up shortly!

I don't think a more attractive thing exists than a white acorn to a deer. Sure green, & grain plots are dynamite, but when those acorns start dropping (particularly the whites), my money is on the acorns.... especially right at the beginning because it is a new food source. Deer like variety!

Like above said, I bet he is back.

Your farm sounds like my dream scenario.... an oasis in the desert so to speak. A pocket without bordering competition. It's extremely hard to find that and if manage correctly.... hang on.

quick story that might help ease the mind.... I went 53 weeks (over a year!) between pictures on a buck I killed last year. That deer taught me a lot.... if you don't hear of someone killing them, there is a good chance he is still alive... somewhere.

Good luck!
 
I say he is still on your place now. Huge acorn crop around the Midwest this year and I bet he moved to the candy!! Several of our bucks disappeared in that same timeframe andnhave just started showing back up on cams they were resident too earlier in the year
 
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