buck question im a rookie at hunting

All I have on my game camera is small bucks but two years ago I had nice 10 points only come at night time though . I have a lot of does and small bucks this year but the big bucks only come out at night time like 1 to 4 am is there a trick I can do to regulate there feeding time to come out during day light or will that change when season starts

Very common right now. To hot for them to be feeding during the day right now unless they are starving. They will move earlier when it gets cooler and closer to the rut.

That's the thing though the does and small bucks feed all through out the day. For the past two years it was like that but the shooter bucks only come out way past midnight even during the season

The shooter bucks got to be shooter bucks by not coming around when people are hunting.

Get them during the rut.

I have used trail cameras for the last 19 yrs now and I have very rarely seen a pic of a mature buck in the daylight while they are growing new antlers. They will move better when it cools down in the early fall.

I've got a couple of decent looking bucks that are coming in for a midday snack. Think it's a sign of how poor the range conditions are right now.

thanks guys for all your help i know i will prob get hassled for this one but i always wondered how and where do i find out when the rut is. i hear its like the 2nd weekend of rifle season or does it just depend on what area your. sorry im askin so many questions but im new to deer hunting ive been around it my whole life. my dad wasnt around much so i dont know much about it

the 2nd week of rifle season

Depends on where you are hunting.

They dont grow old by being dumb

This ought to answer your rut question:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/planning/rut_whitetailed_deer/

If you have your game camera watching a feeder you probably won't see them on the feeder during the day. They are feeding but they are smart enough to stay away from the feeder during the day- that's how they got mature. During the rut they will lose this caution and if the does are at the feeder the bucks can show up at any time. Otherwise, try to find a thick, nasty area where they could be bedding, look for trails that go into it and set up on them outside the bedding area. As harmful as the drought is it can be beneficial in locating trails because there won't be much in the way of green growth to keep them covered.

Most mature bucks that I've seen or shot have not been at the feeder.

My last lease was in S. Texas and the big boys seldom hit the feeders. In fact, in 3 years on the lease I never saw a shooter buck inside a feeder pen.

Awesome thank yall I will prob have alot more question I hunt on my property and 70 acres around it like a mile from brazos between cleburne tx and glen rose tx. Johnson county

I agree that mature bucks don't hit the feeder as often, but never? I guess it depends on how much pressure they get, but we see the big boys from time to time. More often than not, they're back in the woods or brush just off the feeder trailing the does.

I have shot umpteen mature bucks under a feeder.

some bucks are feeder hogs, some arn't .

I've wore this picture out, but it proves a point. 5 1/2 years old 166 B&C

nother feeder buck



this buck was the first buck to the feeder the second week of november. Scored 155 with two broken brows, which would'a put him easily over 160 intact.

Nice pics tx!

Nice pic TX


Personally feel the difference is pressure

some old, mature bucks won't be seen near a feeder (its because they like to hang out by themselves, not because they are "smarter") others the same age will be the first ones there and run every thing else off and suck up every kernal.

other deer will eat from a corned road till its gone but won't go near a feeder. Every deer is different but its not a hard,fast rule that "you'll never kill a big buck under a feeder".

too many people think this way.

pressure has alot to do with it, but a 6 year old doe is every bit as wary as a 6 year old buck, i promise you.

too much pressure and they will just eat at night

Our big boys usually skip the feeders during the day. I have game cam pics of them nocturnally. As previously mentioned above, during the rut, they do follow the does in but keep their distance from the feeders. They are NOT dumb. However, you do have the occaisional buck that will come in on the feeder during the day. These bucks are totally unpredictable though. Most of the big boys have us hunters patterned and stay away from the permanent stands. Best suggestion is to figure out the sanctuaries used during the rut on your property, get a portable treestand, and set up on the trail leading into/away from the sanctuary. maybe set up ca well concealled camera to see how often they are using particular trails. Bottom line: DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME SCOUTING.

In my experience from what I have seen with mature bucks being at corn feeders is a that they have to be conditioned or trained to them as a fawn. In my experience the mature bucks that come to corn feeders were usually orphaned around the feeder and those feeders are fed year round. A lot depends on the ranch, hunting pressure, feeding routine and the individual buck. Some mature bucks will be on corn every time the feeders go off, some will come every so often or at random and some will never come to a feeder except during the rut. On a ranch in the Hill Country we killed almost every mature buck we took under a corn feeder or with some on the road on corn. South Texas we took them under the feeders some but mainly on the roads with a tailgate feeder. When that ranch fed corn and protein in the same pen it was easy to kill a buck under the corn feeder. Most bucks are smart and but some are dumb or corn dogs as I call them.

Corn dogs!

I'mma have to use that one

We shot a 4.5 yo 7pt last year that is about the most mature deer we have since we have started rebuilding our heard from the property owner before us. He lived under the feeder.. corn dog for sure!

However one of our best bucks will only show up about 2 times a year during the rut. I think every deer is probably a little different.

Nice pics txtrophy, what place did those come off of?

matt

At feeder (you can't see it , but the pictures were taken as the bucks approached):








Granted, these were all taken late season, but mature bucks do approach feeders.

I would think late season would make it all that much more likely they wouldnt come to feeders, been presured all season long.

the first buck was on mine,the second was on my neighbors. Zavala County.

Nice pics Cameron!

late in the season they're starving.

the best time to feed, corn or tailgate imo is in january.

They definitely hit feeders much better in January. Rut is over and all of the sudden, "DAAAAAYUM, I'M HUNGRY!!!"

Another one, harvested as a 7.5 year old (this guy was a "corndog" for sure):



Side view (terrible picture, but you can see his body mass):


It just depends on the buck. Some of them will very rarely hit feeders or only hit them at night. Some will hit them fairly regularly. On a non-managed place, the ones that hit them regularly don't make it to full maturity.

Spot on there Tx

Well yeah I know theyre hungry in january.. but on most of your small east texas and hill country north of san antonio that i have ever been to with some pressure dont count on seeing them.

I think the pressure has the most to do with it. On our place the deer dont even run off when you shoot a deer or a hog most of the time.

Man I wish I had deer out here like yall do. Maybe I do this is my 2 nd year to hunt out here and last year I barely got to cus I was in Kansas for almost the whole season

Bucks will come to feeders in areas like South Texas or West Texas where the corn is the best food source they have.

In East Texas, there are alot more options for food like deer all time favorite ACORNS. You cannot compete with acorns with corn. I like to bow hunt along trails leading from bedding areas to feeding areas (acorns). That is your best chance at getting a mature buck in East Texas.

In alot of areas in Texas, however, when the feeder goes off the deer come in like cattle. I do hunt in areas like that, but I don't find it very satisfying. It is what alot of hunters like though so I better stop now before I make a bunch of guys mad.

Dependance on feeders has to do with over populating, there is plenty of great brows in south texas so deer dont need acorns!

blackbrush, guyacan, guajillo, grajeno and various others are much better nutritionally than that east texas browse that consist of pine cones and the occasional acorn crop.

pressure in east texas is 10x the amount it is in the hill country or south texas, and the numbers are way less.

same on ours, they may run a little ways back into the brush but they will come out again.

of course, we don't hunt our place too much,maybe a few days a week, then take a week or two off. we don't plan it like that, just the way it is.

heavily pressured animals will find a way to hide, like going nocturnal, but it won't keep them from hitting a feeder.

thats cheatin