For years whitetail hunters have believed that bucks, particularly older dominant whitetail bucks, are warier and react differently than other deer during the fall hunting season. Hunters often complain that they do not see as many bucks during the hunting season as they did during pre-season scouting, and that the trophy bucks they saw during scouting sessions seem to disappear during the hunting season. This lack of buck sightings is often said to occur because bucks leave their home ranges or become "nocturnal" during the hunting season. But is this really true? Do some bucks really pull a vanishing act during the hunt? In order to explain how these factors affect buck movement and reduced sightings we must first define them. When we talk about older dominant buck movement during the fall we are talking about the differences between: 1. bucks and does, 2. older bucks and younger bucks, 3. breeding bucks and non-breeding bucks. We are also talking about: 4. fall as opposed to summer 5. the breeding season, 6. hunting pressure, and 7. an increase in other human related activities.
According to European researcher Anthony Bubenik most ungulates (hoofed animals) have five maturity classes. These can be defined as: kids, pre-teens, teens, prime age and seniors. Each of these classes can generally be separated into male and female groups. Wildlife researcher Brown used four social classes in reference to white-tailed deer defined as: immature, subdominant floaters, group core members and dominant floaters. American researcher John Ozoga combines these terms into what more clearly defines the social hierarchy of male whitetails. These social classes are: kids (1.5 years old); subdominant floaters (1.5-2.5 years old) and fraternal group members (2.5-4.5 years old that have not reached maximum body and antler size), which he divides into primary group members (3.5-4.5 years old) and secondary group members (1.5-2.5 years old); dominant floaters (alpha or dominant breeding bucks 5.5-9.5 years old); and seniors (bucks past their physical prime, often non-breeding 8.5 year or older bucks).
Since male white-tailed deer have antlers (which makes them look different than other deer) they are more susceptible to injury and death due to predation and hunting pressure than non-antlered females. As a result of this the bucks learn how to avoid predators, usually at a young age.
Prime age males often carry the largest antlers, which makes them conspicuous and highly susceptible to predation. Senior males, even though they are not breeding, may still carry large antlers, making them also susceptible to predation. Because their advanced age does not allow senior males to escape as easily as younger males they are extremely vulnerable. Both prime age and senior males must become "smart" to avoid predation and hunting. The older the animal; the less likely that it will participate in the rut, and the more likely it will choose secluded home ranges, travel at night, and limit its movements to avoid predation and hunting pressure. In the case of the heavily hunted white-tailed deer, which are prized for large antlers, the males either learn to avoid hunters, or they are shot at and may die. Each year that a buck survives it learns more about when and how to avoid hunters. As a result, older whitetail bucks are" smarter and warier" than younger bucks. These infrequently seen older, trophy quality, whitetail bucks usually belong to the "dominant floater" or "senior" class.
While dominant floater bucks generally participate in the rut, they learn to move at times and places where they are unlikely to be seen by hunters. Senior bucks (which may produce extremely large or heavy antlers) on the other hand, do not participate in the rut and may remain in secluded areas or become primarily nocturnal in their movements. Some younger bucks may also not participate in the rut due to low social class, low testosterone levels, or other factors. I know of several evidences of these non-breeding bucks. During my own studies from 1993-1996 there were fewer sightings of subdominant bucks while the dominant bucks were engaged in rutting activity. A twelve point buck that I observed for five years did not participate in breeding activity and was rarely seen during the last year of the study. This leads me to believe that any buck that does not participate in the rut is less likely to be seen during fall hunting seasons. Wildlife researcher Valerius Geist reports observing a buck that did not participate in the rut after it was beaten in battle by an older buck. Researcher John Ozoga observed a non-breeding buck that showed unusually high levels of the female progesterone hormone.
Because bucks look different than does they are forced to react differently in order to survive. It is also safe to assume that the older the buck is, the better it becomes at avoiding predation, hunting pressure and contact with humans. Because predation and hunting pressure have the ability to affect the health and security of the deer they can be considered as "Predatory Behavior Factors." Deer are subjected to predatory behavior throughout the year, however, they are subjected to hunting pressure primarily in the fall. Because of its seasonal nature I refer to hunting, and its associated activities that affect fall deer movement, as the "Hunting Factor." Both of these factors, because they have the ability to affect the health and survival of the deer, may cause a decrease in buck sightings during the fall.,/p>
One reason why hunters see fewer bucks during the hunting season is because many yearling deer, particularly bucks, become transients.During his studies in Nebraska Kurt Vercauteren found that yearling deer are often forced from the home range by their mothers and other dominant does. He also found that these displaced, transient deer move as far away as 12 to 15 miles, although some moved as much as 40 to 50 miles. This leads to fewer young buck sightings in some areas.
In contrast, Vercauteren found that most of the adult deer in the area reacted differently during the fall; they became sedentary and rarely left their home ranges. One buck trapped during the study was caught in the same trap a month later. Vercauteren did not see the buck for the next two years, until it was shot 200 yards from the original trapping location. Another deer, despite being pressured, stayed in the same forty acre area during the hunting season. Other deer left the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, swam the Missouri River and crossed into Iowa during the hunting season. When the Iowa hunting season opened the deer swam back to Missouri. During the muzzleloading season eight deer used a different strategy to avoid hunters. They moved into a strip of posted land 60 yards wide by 100 yards long and stayed there until the season was over.
In a Missouri study Brian Root found that, instead of traveling more during the hunting season, bucks traveled less. In this study bucks moved about five miles a day during the pre-season. But, once the firearms season began the bucks reduced their movement by 20 percent, traveling about four miles per day. In this same study Root found that bucks whose home ranges were partially inside a refuge shifted most of their activity to the refuge once the hunting season began. The only time they reportedly left the refuge was at night. This suggests that some bucks do become "nocturnal" during the hunting season. In a Minnesota study deer left their home ranges and moved from 2 to 3 miles in response to hunting pressure.,/p>
Scientific studies by deer researchers are extremely important because they help hunters understand white-tailed deer better. While these studies show the general movement patterns of whitetails during the fall they do not usually answer the questions hunters want to know most. How do different age classes of bucks react during the various phases of the rut? Do big bucks react differently than smaller bucks? What time of the day are bucks most active?
Some of the answers to these questions were revealed during my studies in 1994. The study was conducted on a wild, free ranging, hunted population of deer in Minnesota. I observed the area for 79 days, with 370 hours in the field from October 1 through January 6. During the course of the study there were 469 deer sightings, and I determined that there were 33 deer in the herd. There was one doe without a fawn, 8 does with 15 fawns, and two yearling does without fawns. There were also seven antlered bucks; a breeding 160 class ten point, a breeding 150 class eight point, a young eleven point non-typical, a small eight point, a six point and two four point bucks.
During my 1994 study, the number of morning buck sightings increased from four during the pre-rut, to thirteen during the rut, and back to four during the post rut. Evening buck sighting were reduced from twelve during the pre-rut, to eight during the rut, and back to twelve during the post rut.
This suggests that bucks are generally; 1. more active during the evening than they are in the morning 2. more active during the morning in the rut than they are in the pre-rut or post rut, 3. more active during the evening in the pre-rut and post rut than they are in the rut. However, these statistics can be deceiving because the sightings included both old and young bucks. The threefold increase in morning buck activity during the rut was primarily due to the increase in subdominant buck sightings. The sightings of the two breeding bucks during the morning remained almost constant, with three in the pre-rut, four in the rut, and three in the post rut. The evening sightings of the dominant bucks were much more varied, with six in the pre-rut, four in the rut, and eight in the post rut. But, even this can be deceiving because it does not take into account how many of the sightings occurred during legal shooting hours.
In October and December the bucks were seen more in the evening than they were in the morning. In November the subdominants were seen more in the morning than in the evening due to the rut. In December the dominant bucks were seen more in the evening than in October or November, probably because of lack of food.
The sightings of the two breeding bucks during the morning remained almost constant, with three sightings in the pre-rut, four in the rut and three in the post rut. The evening sightings of the dominant bucks were much more varied, with six in the pre-rut, four in the rut, and eight in the post rut. Of the fourteen sightings of the 10 point buck, ten were in the evening. Only seven of the fourteen sightings were during legal shooting hours, and only six of them were in areas where the buck could be hunted; four in the evening and two in the morning. After the buck was shot at and missed the morning of Nov. 11 by another hunter I did not see it on weekends while the hunters were out. But, I did see it two times during legal hours on weekends when the hunters were not out, once on the morning of Dec. 18 and again on the afternoon of Dec. 25. It appears that the buck learned how to pattern the hunters.
I saw the 150 class 8 point buck thirteen times, seven times during legal hours. Five of these times were in the morning and two in the evening. This buck appeared to be younger than the 10 point buck but was very aggressive. It traveled at least two miles through seven doe home ranges from evening to morning. Although both bucks fed in the same area, the 8 point buck traveled a different rub-line than the 10 point buck, and it did not come in contact with the hunters. Because of this I saw it six times on weekends when the hunters were out. In late October one of the hunters rattled the 8 point buck in and missed it at fifteen yards. I did not see the buck near that stand again, although I did see it several times in nearby areas. It appears that the buck learned to avoid that particular area.
I did not see either of the bucks between November 20 and December 15, between the Primary and Late Breeding Phases. When some of the does came into estrus in December I began to see the bucks again. In late December the bucks began traveling together as they went to food sources. Even though I frequently saw both these bucks after I patterned their movements, it still took me an average of 37 hours of hunting during legal hours for each time I saw them.
