Relocating a mature buck

[Bohunter33]

Looking for some advice to help me kill this buck

Couldn’t get it done in the archery, so I’m gearing up to locate him for the rifle and thinking of more secure places he’ll likely move too. The type of country is new to me, where I usually hunt, deer hit the thick cover and drop some elevation as soon as they’re hard horned. This is a pretty open area with bitterbrush, sage, and a few cedar patches but not large swaths. He’s on a hill with 3 or 4 little drainages with the whole thing being about the size of a core area I’d expect a buck to live in, about 1.5 sq miles.

I’m wondering if he’s really going to stay there if or if he’ll make the 1.5-2 mile trek to the larger mountains with deeper canyons and thicker cover. I just don’t have a lot of experience with lower country deer. I think really there would be less pressure where he is than the larger canyons so there’s probably a reason he’s there, just having a hard time convincing myself 100%. Also let me know if you think he hits 30”.

Thanks guys!

 

[Jebel]

If I were in your shoes my wager would be that he remains in that area through October.

Good luck.

 

[Marble]

If I were in your shoes my wager would be that he remains in that area through October.

Good luck.

I agree. I would find the best couple of vantage points and glass all day long.

I had a buck I was trying to locate and it took me 5 days to finally relocate him.

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[wytx]

He will be there until the rut; glass, glass ,glass.
Unless someone spooks him.

 

[Marble]

The times I've been able to relocate larger bucks, I've been watching them for months. I have found some again after stumbling into them during season, and they have always been fairly close to the same area I originally located them.

I suspect they develop a system of trails, beds, feeding areas, and patterns that are predictable to them and create a routine that creates a safety mechanism. They do not want to leave their home range. But their home range can be both sides of an entire ridge line that is 2 miles long, for example.

Listening to some of the stories on Rokcast about the patterns of big bucks, it's sometimes crazy what they do, and when you find out what they do to stay alive, it's downright intelligent the system they develop to avoid hunters.

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[Pafarm]

In my experience they usually stick to their core unless pressure pushes them. Even with some pressure they still usually stick around. Like you said there's a reason he's there and it's because he feels safe. Try to get him early. I would guess he's in the 27-28 inch spread from the picture. Good luck and hope to see the pictures!

 

[littlebigtine]

When does a buck's migration start, and how far will they go? I hunted a buck in central Idaho that stayed in the same spot from July until September 30, confirmed. Then, he got shot two days into rifle season (October 12), about 5 miles away as the crow flies presumably at the beginning of his migration. Where I hunt, I suspect this to be somewhat common, but it seems to be the exception across the west, as most people say bucks stay in their summer range until late October.

That said, it’s tough enough to relocate a deer where you expect him to be, so trying to guess where he might be on any given day during rifle season along his herds migration route doesn’t strike me as a high-percentage play.

Sorry if this causes any doubt, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Even with my past experiences, where I haven’t been able to relocate deer I hunt during archery season and have confirmed at least one buck was nowhere near his summer range by rifle season, my play typically is to act as if they are there until ive had enough.

Best words of advice I think is to keep bleeding out your eyeballs into your binoculars where or near his last location and don’t be afraid to venture to new glassing points nearby for other perspectives.

27”