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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327192
07/21/21 03:54 PM
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 8,317
Herbie Hancock
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 8,317 |
Hunt where they exist. That’s the key.
Pro tip #2, they don't get any bigger if you kill them while they're young. I.E., they don't exist if you kill them early. Yep, I had to get me some of those stickers, because they are funny.
It takes beer to make thirst worthwhile - J. Fred Schmidt
The internet is an I.Q. Test, people post their scores in the comment section.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327201
07/21/21 04:01 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 5,929
Ol Thumper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 5,929 |
I’ve been blessed to kill my fair share of big deer but if their aren’t any around or you kill the young ones you won’t kill a big deer. If you do the lucky factor kicks in. Their is a pretty large number of guys on here and several in this thread that routinely kill them so luck helps buts it’s definitely not the deciding factor at all but having said that I’m a big fan of being lucky in a good location
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327210
07/21/21 04:19 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549
redchevy
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549 |
Im a big fan of gettin lucky too
It's hell eatin em live
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Hudbone]
#8327216
07/21/21 04:24 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,955
txtrophy85
OP
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,955 |
'Hunt where they exist." Stay within the confines of the HF. That’s my plans for whitetail
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327562
07/21/21 10:28 PM
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 11,658
GusWayne
THF Celebrity
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 11,658 |
That’s true
Add in a little luck and bingo!
I had 8 acres at a place I owned here in NTX
On my game cam, I had a 143 8pt, 152 10 pt and 163 10 pt
How do I know what they scored, lol
My neighbor had the neighboring 100 acres and took them all over 3 years
I just wasn’t lucky enough to catch them during legal hours or season
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: redchevy]
#8327568
07/21/21 10:30 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,955
txtrophy85
OP
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OP
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Posts: 31,955 |
Im a big fan of gettin lucky too Been lucky a lot, but lately ain’t been that lucky
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327606
07/21/21 11:26 PM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,041
tlk
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,041 |
Guy told me years ago - "if you want to catch big bass you have to fish where there are big bass" - never forgot that and of course it pertains the same to deer hunting
You can't fix stupid
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327700
07/22/21 01:08 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,797
dogcatcher
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Posts: 110,797 |
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327738
07/22/21 01:40 AM
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Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 913
BigfootWallace
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 913 |
How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: BigfootWallace]
#8327765
07/22/21 02:06 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,955
txtrophy85
OP
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OP
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How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender. Would be great if deer hunting paid the bills.
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: BigfootWallace]
#8327770
07/22/21 02:13 AM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260
Texas Dan
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How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender. Interesting you mention that. I ran across a study that found Thursday was the best time to hunt during any given season. The study used radio-collared deer that were tracked over a rather large lease in South Carolina, the goal being to gain a better understanding of how hunting pressure impacted deer movement. It found that on average, deer take about three days to return to their normal movements after seeing heavy pressure from hunters.
Last edited by Texas Dan; 07/22/21 02:15 AM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Texas Dan]
#8327822
07/22/21 03:03 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,955
txtrophy85
OP
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OP
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How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender. Interesting you mention that. I ran across a study that found Thursday was the best time to hunt during any given season. The study used radio-collared deer that were tracked over a rather large lease in South Carolina, the goal being to gain a better understanding of how hunting pressure impacted deer movement. It found that on average, deer take about three days to return to their normal movements after seeing heavy pressure from hunters. Was that public or private land where the study was done? On the properties I frequent, deer can’t read a calendar. I’ve hunted some ranches where human activity would change their behavior ( unhunted ranches with zero human presence whatsoever until we came onto the property ) but on most being there for 2-4 days in one run didn’t negatively effect deer movement.
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327925
07/22/21 11:41 AM
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,794
ILUVBIGBUCKS
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,794 |
How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender. Interesting you mention that. I ran across a study that found Thursday was the best time to hunt during any given season. The study used radio-collared deer that were tracked over a rather large lease in South Carolina, the goal being to gain a better understanding of how hunting pressure impacted deer movement. It found that on average, deer take about three days to return to their normal movements after seeing heavy pressure from hunters. Was that public or private land where the study was done? On the properties I frequent, deer can’t read a calendar. I’ve hunted some ranches where human activity would change their behavior ( unhunted ranches with zero human presence whatsoever until we came onto the property ) but on most being there for 2-4 days in one run didn’t negatively effect deer movement. WHen I've been on leases that got most of the hunting pressure from Friday to Sunday I've always liked taking vacation days and getting there on Wednesday evenings or earlier if possible and getting in a few, 'quiet' hunts before the mob returned. Always seemed to see some deer that just didn't show up on the weekends. Of course there are usually a few deer that are just a tad 'smarter' than the average on every place and require an extra trick or to to put a tag on.
High fence, low fence, no fence, it really doesn't matter as long as you're hunting!
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8327985
07/22/21 12:45 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260
Texas Dan
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Posts: 22,260 |
How about hunt every day during deer season instead of just being a weekender. Interesting you mention that. I ran across a study that found Thursday was the best time to hunt during any given season. The study used radio-collared deer that were tracked over a rather large lease in South Carolina, the goal being to gain a better understanding of how hunting pressure impacted deer movement. It found that on average, deer take about three days to return to their normal movements after seeing heavy pressure from hunters. Was that public or private land where the study was done? Here's a link and a few comments taken from the well documented study... While attending Auburn University, Clint McCoy captured and placed tracking collars on 37 bucks living in the Brosnan Forest of South Carolina (Dorchester). McCoy used portable GPS technology to monitor bucks that ranged in ages from 1 ½ to 4 ½ years old. The equipment enabled McCoy to determine where each buck was every 30 minutes. All bucks were tracked for three months from August through November, with the rut occurring from late September through early October.McCoy studied buck movements on 6,400 acres north of U.S. 78, owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. Two-thirds of the property is in longleaf pine stands, with swamps and oak stands dispersed throughout the area. There are more than 100 food plots planted on about 300 acres of the property. More than 60 feeders also are used to draw deer into shooting range. Deer hunting season began on Sept. 15 and ran throughout the study period.“After a hunter had sat in a stand just one time, bucks would stay out of the danger zone of that stand for the next three full days, meaning they wouldn’t return, on average, until the fourth day,” explained McCoy. “This finding held regardless of whether the hunter had shot at a deer. Just occupying the stand made bucks stay clear of it for several days.”Link
Last edited by Texas Dan; 07/22/21 12:52 PM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Texas Dan]
#8328045
07/22/21 01:40 PM
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,794
ILUVBIGBUCKS
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,794 |
[quote=txtrophy85] Here's a link and a few comments taken from the well documented study... While attending Auburn University, Clint McCoy captured and placed tracking collars on 37 bucks living in the Brosnan Forest of South Carolina (Dorchester). McCoy used portable GPS technology to monitor bucks that ranged in ages from 1 ½ to 4 ½ years old. The equipment enabled McCoy to determine where each buck was every 30 minutes. All bucks were tracked for three months from August through November, with the rut occurring from late September through early October.McCoy studied buck movements on 6,400 acres north of U.S. 78, owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. Two-thirds of the property is in longleaf pine stands, with swamps and oak stands dispersed throughout the area. There are more than 100 food plots planted on about 300 acres of the property. More than 60 feeders also are used to draw deer into shooting range. Deer hunting season began on Sept. 15 and ran throughout the study period.“After a hunter had sat in a stand just one time, bucks would stay out of the danger zone of that stand for the next three full days, meaning they wouldn’t return, on average, until the fourth day,” explained McCoy. “This finding held regardless of whether the hunter had shot at a deer. Just occupying the stand made bucks stay clear of it for several days.”LinkInteresting for sure But I've seen where some mature, very smart bucks will return within hours of the pasture being vacated. hahahah In fact, just last year I went down to try and help a couple friends find a big, slick 10 book deer. I sat in one stand they'd gotten pics of him the past few weeks at the corn feeder about 35%-40% of the time it fed. One buddy dropped me off the 1st hunt and I saw 15+ bucks including several great deer that were mature but not him. I told him I'd walk in the next morning and did from about 1/2 mile away. No show again. He sat there and I went to another stand 1/2+ mile away he'd been know to also come to and for the next 3 days not a glimpse and not a single picture came through of him even at night at those 2 corn feeders. We left the ranch at 11am and at 2pm he started getting pics from teh stand I was in....it was him and he stayed for nearly an hour. lmao The stand was about 1/2 mile from the main road leaving camp. I told him that deer was so smart he simply stuck to the brush any time he heard a vehicle leave the ranch house. So, the following week he snuck down there on a Thursday after lunch and never went to camp. He parked about 3/4 mile away from the stand in the opposite direction of camp and walked in. The feeder went off and about 5 minutes later I got a pic of a 177" slick 10 laying dead on the ground. My point to my long story is that even deer on the same ranch can be completely different personalities. Some are very, very hard to kill once they are mature, some are not. It's one of the reasons I ALWAYS would smoke the doe that came out and stomped, blew, and snorted at me from 200 yards away upwind when 20 others were upwind 40 yards away and couldn't care less I was in the stand. Keep the gentle ones that almost act tame and kill the whistle blowers. lol
High fence, low fence, no fence, it really doesn't matter as long as you're hunting!
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8328054
07/22/21 01:44 PM
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Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 14,213
Hudbone
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Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 14,213 |
The biggest bucks live near the camp house and near deer stands.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: freerange]
#8328131
07/22/21 02:32 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,922
Jgraider
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,922 |
The answer is a simple, four-letter word - Luck. Luck is helpful, but completely useless if you arent where they are. Right on freerange. IME the biggest bucks are loaners, nocturnal, until the rut starts, then they range a wide area. Obviously this is more prevalent in wild, free ranging deer and not protein addicted local bucks. A big, wild, free range buck will only breed 3-5 does per year, so being in the right place at the right time is key, at least for me.
Last edited by Jgraider; 07/22/21 02:39 PM.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8328143
07/22/21 02:37 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549
redchevy
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,549 |
Hunting pressure makes deer smart.
We get picktures of deer all the time on random corn piles with a camera on it that never show up at the feeders.
It's hell eatin em live
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8328149
07/22/21 02:41 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,922
Jgraider
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5,922 |
We have never killed our biggest whitetail bucks over a feeder. They may venture near one to check for does, but never seen the biggest ones actually feeding there. YMMV.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Jgraider]
#8328195
07/22/21 03:04 PM
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Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 14,213
Hudbone
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We have never killed our biggest whitetail bucks over a feeder. They may venture near one to check for does, but never seen the biggest ones actually feeding there. YMMV. I don't think I've ever shot a deer (doe or buck) at a feeder. Pigs often, deer no.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Hudbone]
#8328207
07/22/21 03:10 PM
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,475
freerange
THF Trophy Hunter
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Posts: 8,475 |
We have never killed our biggest whitetail bucks over a feeder. They may venture near one to check for does, but never seen the biggest ones actually feeding there. YMMV. I don't think I've ever shot a deer (doe or buck) at a feeder. Pigs often, deer no. Dang, Hud. Im surprised. I thought I was the only one and hesitated to admit, but since youre out of the closet.... I had never shot a deer at a feeder either until last year. My 181 was a regular at a feeder so I got a crossbow and got him early in bow season. Prior to that it was always spot and stalk or on road corn.
At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: ILUVBIGBUCKS]
#8328370
07/22/21 05:03 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260
Texas Dan
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Posts: 22,260 |
My point to my long story is that even deer on the same ranch can be completely different personalities. Some are very, very hard to kill once they are mature, some are not. Not saying you're wrong but I've never seen a mature buck that was easy to kill, unless it was during the rut when they become sex crazy. I could also see them becoming very conditioned to farm and ranch activities, much like squirrels that take up residence in your yard. Yes, like the differences I see between the squirrels in my yard and those in the deer woods, it's the frequency of their interactions with humans that's likely the reason for these differences in their personalities. I once had a photo of a very old buck that was taken at a feeder that was next to public land. It was the only time we ever got a photo of him, much less ever actually seen him. We all agreed that buck eventually died of old age in the National Forest without anyone ever having laid eyes on him.
Last edited by Texas Dan; 07/22/21 05:15 PM.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: txtrophy85]
#8328375
07/22/21 05:09 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
I have killed just as many mature bucks at a feeder as I have killed away from a feeder. Many of them standing directly underneath the feeder...they owned it and you could tell when he was not at the feeder. The other bucks would not go underneath the feeder.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: Texas Dan]
#8328381
07/22/21 05:16 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,483
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
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kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,483 |
My point to my long story is that even deer on the same ranch can be completely different personalities. Some are very, very hard to kill once they are mature, some are not. Not saying you're wrong but I've never seen a mature buck that was easy to kill, unless it was during the rut when they become sex crazy. I could also see them becoming very conditioned to farm and ranch activities, much like squirrels that take up residence in your yard. Yes, like the differences I see between the squirrels in my yard and those in the deer woods, it's the frequency of their interactions with humans that's likely responsible for these differences in their personalities. I once had a photo of a very old buck that was taken at a feeder that was next to public land. We all agreed that buck eventually died of old age in the National Forest without anyone ever having actually laid eyes on him. A large majority of big bucks are easy patterned in Aug into early Oct. Stx and Iluvbigbucks have made a livings patterning big deer… that is literally. Better question would be to ask them to explain how and when they find bucks the most consistent in their routine, and if that correlates to kill ability. Prominent Rut is worst time to target a specific deer, IMO, because he has no pattern, even his core area is inconsistent. If you aren’t target a specific deer then it’s great activity assuming you are in the lockdown phase.
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Re: Txtrophy’s best kept secret to killing big bucks....
[Re: stxranchman]
#8328384
07/22/21 05:22 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260
Texas Dan
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Posts: 22,260 |
I have killed just as many mature bucks at a feeder as I have killed away from a feeder. Many of them standing directly underneath the feeder...they owned it and you could tell when he was not at the feeder. The other bucks would not go underneath the feeder. Were most of these HF, LF, or equally common? Just trying to see if there might be key factors at play. I have seen cases where a mature buck would lay up around farm houses and barns for the safety it seemed to provide from predators. However, they always relocated to thicker and safer quarters soon after the season opened.
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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