Will a spooked buck return? And when?

[tmorty]

I’ve found an amazing buck for this archery season. I made one stock on him and his buddy busted me at 35 yards, they both spooked and ran off. I’m curious what they odds are they return? This area they were living has signs they’ve been in there for quite a while, beds all over the place and plenty of food left for them. I’m curious what others think.

 

[Bossmann14]

He will be back, they wont leave and split the bachelor groups until oct.

 

[Wheels]

Start looking for him back in the area in 3 days. That has been my experience when I have spooked them.

 

[dtrkyman]

He is not far in my experience with early season bucks. Will likely return to the same spot soon as well.

 

[Duh]

I agree with the the above responses. I did the same thing a couple years ago on the buck in my profile pic.

He saw me and definitely saw my arrow deflect on a branch right in front of him. To make it even worse, I bumped him out of his escape route about 45 minutes later and he busted out of the area. I came back 4-5 days later (not expecting to find him or his buddies) and he was bedded about 20 yards away from where I missed him at.

Before I killed him, one of his buddies busted me and took him about 200 yards away to another bedding area. I was able to still hunt it and got about 3 yards on top of him before getting an arrow in him.

And that’s basically how my addiction to bow hunting started.

 

[dtrkyman]

I guided a young man on a Sept. desert hunt, we hunted 17 days for the same buck(archery), saw the buck on average every few days, missed him once, in range and spooked 2 others times all within less than a square mile!

Bedded him one day and snuck in to 20 yards and never laid eyes on him until the wind shofted and he blew out of the juniper he was bedded under.

Frustrating knowing the deer was likely there every day and not locating him, would see him from the damn highway most days in the dark before going in to glass, see him wait for daylight and glass his area and never lay eyes on em, arrg dessert deer are tough!

Oh and he was quite large!

 

[Laramie]

He will likely return but he will get exponentially harder to approach with each failed stalk. We had one 20 years ago that we messed up on 5 different times. He ended up bedding in the wide open behind one small rock after that. Virtually impossible to approach him after he started doing that.

 

[tmorty]

I agree with the the above responses. I did the same thing a couple years ago on the buck in my profile pic.

He saw me and definitely saw my arrow deflect on a branch right in front of him. To make it even worse, I bumped him out of his escape route about 45 minutes later and he busted out of the area. I came back 4-5 days later (not expecting to find him or his buddies) and he was bedded about 20 yards away from where I missed him at.

Before I killed him, one of his buddies busted me and took him about 200 yards away to another bedding area. I was able to still hunt it and got about 3 yards on top of him before getting an arrow in him.

And that’s basically how my addiction to bow hunting started.

I bumped him on Wednesday I’m hoping to get back in there Sunday, we will see what unfolds! Thanks

 

[MattJV]

Glad you asked the question. Just joined with this on my mind. Bumped a nice buck last week in NM. Stayed for 6 more days but never saw him, found a few other good bucks though, just too late in the evening to make a move on. I think hot weather and change in wind moved him to other side of ridge. We'll see if he's there come this weekend..

 

[tmorty]

Glad you asked the question. Just joined with this on my mind. Bumped a nice buck last week in NM. Stayed for 6 more days but never saw him, found a few other good bucks though, just too late in the evening to make a move on. I think hot weather and change in wind moved him to other side of ridge. We'll see if he's there come this weekend..

What unit are you in?

 

[MattJV]

What unit are you in?

30. Yourself?

 

[tmorty]

Up north, 75 in Colorado

 

[MattJV]

Up north, 75 in Colorado

Nice. Best of luck to ya. I’ll be up in CO for 2nd. Hoping the winter didn’t get all the old bucks.

 

[Dioni A]

It largely depends on the pressure in the area that the deer are used to seeing from year to year. Good odds he never leaves though. I've killed two of my biggest bucks either the day after or two days after getting busted. Within a few hundred yards. They really don't seem too keen on leaving their home areas. Sometimes they're not even any harder to find afterwards.

These were the bucks.

 

[4cMuley]

I think whether or not they smelled you makes a difference in time before return.

 

[The Ri Guy]

I'm no @Dioni A but I concur, all of the big bucks we've killed on heavily pressured WA pumpkin patch public land stayed in their preferred haunts even after being bumped multiple times.

Buck in attached pic I bumped at 40 yards opening morning, missed 3 shots on a couple days later, and then we killed him on the exact knob I had shot off of to begin with a couple days after that. All of this occurred within a 400 yard radius.

He lived in the same ~1000 yard circle the entirety of the 3 years we watched him, best we could tell.

 

[tmorty]

Congrats what a trophy

 

[tmorty]

He did in fact return, and my arrow was there to meet him.

 

[Duh]

He did in fact return, and my arrow was there to meet him.

Well let’s see that bad boy!

 

[tmorty]

Well let’s see that bad boy!