I spotted a buck across the drainage on day 5 of 6 at the beginning of archery season. A respectable non typical, not huge, but something thrilled to harvest. An hour and 45 minutes later I get over there after hustling (1,050 drop, 800 back up, 200 back down, 3.25 miles) and he's gone along with his two buddies, one of which was a distinctive tall and narrow 4x4. I couldn't keep eyes on the bucks, had good wind, ground was relatively quiet from recent rain, gone.
The point is... early Sept, velvet rubbed off, bucks coats are changing, and I only saw these bucks one time in 12 days (days = 2 scouting + 6 hunt + 4 more hunt) and I glass a lot from several vantage points. Keep in mind the drainage is sizable. I even spent several days on the back side of the face that I saw them on. Other bucks in the area I have seen repeatedly. Two of those bucks I haven't seen again, not sure about the 3rd as he wasn't anything special. Are they holed up in dark timber or gone nocturnal? I have a hard believing they left the area. Where did he go?
The point is... early Sept, velvet rubbed off, bucks coats are changing, and I only saw these bucks one time in 12 days (days = 2 scouting + 6 hunt + 4 more hunt) and I glass a lot from several vantage points. Keep in mind the drainage is sizable. I even spent several days on the back side of the face that I saw them on. Other bucks in the area I have seen repeatedly. Two of those bucks I haven't seen again, not sure about the 3rd as he wasn't anything special. Are they holed up in dark timber or gone nocturnal? I have a hard believing they left the area. Where did he go?
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