Where do the bucks go....? pics added

[cloverleaf]

Just looking for some thoughts. My wife and I have been watching a group of deer for the past couple years and since late august they have disappeared. As of July the group included a couple of does with twin fawns, and five to seven bucks. Two are probably last years and the rest go up from there. The two largest are a beautiful 8 point with a drop tine and the tallest ten point I have ever seen. These deer are found on about 80 acres that is an old vegetable/ fruit farm. It also contains a semi abandoned farm buildings. This place borders a county park where archery season is opened from time to time. A dead end street runs through part of it and around one edge. On any given evening multiple cars make the slow drive by and some of us sit around and watch the deer...up until the last few weeks.

Occasionally one gets hit by a car, we watched a three legged deer a good portion of the summer- (I hope the coyotes get him).

Any way aside from being in the middle of a very urban/suburban area this is a deer Nirvana. The place seems short on does, so I expect the boys are out looking for the girls, but we should see some one once in a while. They have gone really nocturnal. I almost never see a deer until way late and this is a change. Do you think the patterns will change again as it gets colder/ darker?
No doubt all the gawker traffic could have some affect, but this much surprises me. Thoughts? CL

 

[Oldtrader3]

You may see some out when the full rut starts in November? Otherwise they will stay nocturnal until the deer seasons ends

 

[HOGWILD338-378]

Weatherby
Swarovski
Near Manufacturing
Weatherby
Philippines

 

[cloverleaf]

yes, I hadn't considered that the full moon will have some effect. However hunting pressure really isn't an issue here. There's enough land that cannot be hunted,that they don't ever have to leave it. As I said the drive by pressure may be enough of a problem. CL

 

[1Shot]

You have to take into account that when the pre-rut through the end of the rut the bucks will be splitting up and traveling some times waaaaay out of their summer living space. Also when the oaks start dropping that is where they will be and they don't have to move around much to feed. They just eat and lay down close. It only takes ONE person moving through their living room or bed room spreading the REALLY STINKING human DANGER odor around than they move out. Think of it as a skunk coming into your house and spraying. Would you stay there much? Deer are very smart and get smarter as they survive another year. I have experienced the "well they have gone away" episode a number of times over the past 44 years of deer hunting only to discover that old mister buck is just laying up all day and only feed at night right under my nose. The only time you see him is when he makes a mistake when thinking about women. I once hunted my whole season for this one buck. I let everything else walk. On the last day I decided to shoot a doe for some meat with only 15 minutes of day light left. She was only 30 yards from me in a logging road that had thick cut over on both sides that had been growing up for about 10 years. I dropped her in her tracks in the road. As I was getting my things together to get out of the stand I just happen to look up and saw a flick of something at the edge of the cut over across from where that doe had come out. With abut 3 minutes of legal light left out steps the buck and walks over behind to dead doe and sticks his nose right down to her honey pot to smell. I shoot him right between the shoulders and drop him in his tracks with his nose still in the same spot. I call my hunting buddy up on the radio and tell him to come with the truck. When he gets there and sees the way these deer are laying he thinks I staged this. I told him I had not touched them. He said poor buck, he thought that stuff killed him. I thought I would bust a gut I laughed so hard.

 

[JD338]

Welcome to the October lull. The deer have been moving here through the late morning mid afternoon and that was due to the lunar effect. I shot a buck back on 10/4 at 9:45 AM.

The bucks are laying low now and in the next couple weeks, they will start getting active, cruising the woods and edges. Late Oct and early Nov they will start the pre rut and really start moving during the day light hours.
My favorite time to be in the woods and the best time to connect on a big buck.

JD338

 

[cloverleaf]

Found my pics back. I don't think the largest buck in these photos is NOT the 10 point. He is bigger yet. you can bet I would like to get some photo's of them not in velvet. It has really been fun to watch these deer grow.... CL

Sorry some of these photos are kinda cloudy 'cause they were taken through the wind shield of the "mobile blind".









would like to get another look at these two.....CL

 

[HOGWILD338-378]

in the last picture that front deer looks every bit of a 10 but deer looks kinda young for all his junk but ,that could be because of the weeds covering him up but he looks like a 3 to 3.5 year old ?

 

[SJB358]

Great looking bucks CL.

I am with Jim, were in the October lull..

Jim, love that picture.. You murdered that buck!

 

[Dwh7271]

Man, you guys are killing me with all these deer pics.
Jim, nice shooting. Nice buck.
I just stuck the trail cams out so guess we'll see whats moving around. I don't imagine a lot on them yet as the majority of the corn is still on here. Seems thats where they are until it comes off. Then we really get to see what's out there usually.