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So I am trying to pattern this big buck on a property that I hunt. I started getting numerous pictures of him on my trail cams about 4 weeks ago. Problem is he is so hard to pattern. I know where he beds and I know he eats from 4 different fields. Problem is each picture I have of him is on a different side of the property each time at random times of the day and night. There is no rhyme or reason to his behaviors. I have compared the winds and temps for the pictures and still no pattern. 2 Questions are: why is this happening and how can I pattern him without setting up in his bedding area?
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If it is legal to bait put out different piles of food. I did one pile each of corn, apples, potatoes, horse feed or sugar beets. The trail camera will show you which one is the buck’s favorite food. Then put out hundreds of pounds of his favorite food item.
Check you trail cam during hours of darkness with a green or red flashlight beam.
I kept my bucks on my lease for a long time and I was able to pattern them.
During the rut anything goes with bucks moving around at crazy times. The rut could pull some bucks off your property and new bucks will come on. Throw your trail camera notes in the waste basket during the rut.
Good Luck! -
I kept a piebald buck on my lease for three years. If you click on my profile picture and then click on "all photos" you will see pictures of him. I have many photos of this piebald buck when he was four point his first year to an eight point buck of last year.
The Piebald had no reason to leave the area because there was food on the bait pile, a water stream, a bedding area and plenty of females. I think the EHD disease took him out and killed most my deer herd.
The black bears are doing great.Comment
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PJ
Patterns he follows today, will be totally dismissed with the first frost or significant weather event. When the rut kicks in, "patterns" go out the window.
If you're bent on developing a pattern, concentrate on travel routes between food, water and bed. He might change food sources according to taste, but chances are, when he's in his home range, he'll frequent the same travel corridors. Look for bottlenecks and/or restrictions along those corridors.Comment
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Try to find his water source. Deer do get alot of their water from the foods they eat, but of you have a pond set up a cam there. If there happens to be a stream, try to find where the deer cross. And like Bubba said, once the rut hits, everything goes out the window. If you archery hunt in the early season, set up a few stands in the areas you have seen him and just play the waiting game (and the wind)Comment
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awesome thanks guys! There is a steep drop off with a creek running through the middle of the property. He has appeared on both sides so he has to cross somewhere. I never thought of that one. Thanks for the tips!Comment
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If you have oak trees and the acorn crop is good I would suspect he will show up there once they start dropping. Follow the food source which is most readily available and offers the most nutrition as the season goes on. Acorns are usually the first good source of the season. It appears he has multiple food sources now and will choose the one with the best wind.
Once he sheds his velvet the bucks will start sparring and the does will become territorial. There is a chance he will be kicked out of the area by a smaller buck or even a mature doe. Big bucks will avoid confrontation by simply moving to another area.
I find it strange this buck cannot be patterned to the same bedding area. Is this location populated? Is he being pushed? You can usually set your watch by a late summer buck.Comment
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buckhunter, it is populated. Its a hidden suburban parcel of woods with a school on one side and a road on the other. My guess is that he is irregular because he is spooked by constant noise. He beds on the south side by the road but once he leaves there it's anyone's guess which trail he will chose and where he will show up. I have never hunted a buck that was this unpredictable in the early season...kind of makes it all the more fun.Comment
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