Latest MSU Deer Lab Study on Buck Movement

[Turkey Creek]

MSU Deer Lab recently released their latest study. I just watched it on YouTube but here is the printed version if you just want the numbers https://www.msudeer.msstate.edu/results.php?q=deer+movement
Listening to the professors is probably a little more enlightening as you can hear what the numbers are telling you. Even though the study was done in MS, I think it is likely relevant to a high degree to whitetails everywhere. I know some of the data they presented matches what I have seen in person and via trail camera. The study was GPS locations of 55 bucks that were monitored during the study, data points taken every 15 minutes. Over a million pieces of location data that went into the numbers. It was the largest study of its kind that has ever been conducted. Here is my take away or high points that they mentioned. 1. Roughly 1/3 of all bucks have dual home ranges. Meaning they spend a portion of the year in one home range and another portion in a different home range that can be a couple of miles apart or they had a buck that had dual home range of 18 MILES APART. Meaning if you have a buck disappear it may have temporarily just moved to a different home range. 2. A relatively small number of bucks have a home range of under 500 acres, most are in excess of 500 acres. So for most of us we can not guarantee that we can hold a buck on our property 100% of the time no matter how good the habitat is. 3. A high percentage of bucks make short term excursions from December through March, 2 to 3 day hikes where they leave their home range, but often return. In my mind I am thinking if you are looking to recruit new bucks to your property that may be the time you need to have the best habitat, or at least better than your neighbors. That is when bucks are looking for better home ranges. 4. Bucks cover the largest amount of acres, over a 2 week period, once the peak rut has passed as they look for the last few does in heat. I saw that play out this year on my place and have the trail camera evidence to support it. A sudden 2 week spike in new bucks on the property. They were here and now they are gone. During pre-rut and the peak of the rut the bucks are covering 200 acres a day, but they stay more loyal to that same area. However, from a hunting perspective if you haven't seen much for shooter bucks on your property leading up to the rut, get your butt in the stand after the peak of the rut. Odds are better that a new buck will suddenly show in that 2 week period following the peak of the rut. The interesting thing about the higher acres covered was that bucks only cover roughly 200 acres of ground per day regardless of the time of year. Meaning if you spot a good buck one day there is a very good chance he will still be around the following day if only for a few hours. 5. If you have to choose between a morning hunt and evening hunt choose the evening. While not a huge percentage of change, they documented more buck movement at dusk than sunrise.

These guys put out solid information and I think this was well worth the listen. This YouTube video was only on deer movement in general, they are going to release another video soon covering hunting implications.

 

[T-Max]

If you have a commute, they also have a podcast called Deer University. Tons of good data discussed and the hunting implications associated with it.

 

[SwampCat]

Pretty much exactly what we see. Of the thirteen deer on my wall, one killed first week of Oct, one killed late Oct, two killed first week of Nov, two killed mid Nov (peak rut here), and six killed first two weeks of Dec (just post rut), and one killed late Dec.

The only difference I see at our place - by far more bucks seen during rut in the morning than evening

 

[Mtyhunter]

I love these studies. Spent many hours going down the rabbit hole searching for every one I could find.
My memories are vague on the exact details, but, I remember one where they had a 600 acre parcel high-fenced, 20+ bucks on the property, most collared, and had some hunters hunt it. The hunters only saw a couple of the bucks during a hunting season, or something like that. Good info to determine how bucks will skirt around you.
Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm going to have the biggest, meanest, most dominant buck in the area on my place every year. I just don't know if he will be a booner, a 125 or something in between.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I agree with that to a large percent. Observations and trail cameras also mirror that. I cant emphasize enough when trying to build a great hunting property, Winter food is king!! If you're not in the upper midwest it may be different for you. Our quality of bucks has done nothing other than get better every year since focusing on winter food. We can debate culling bucks until we are blue in the face. You want to have better hunting and older age class bucks? Concentrate on winter food and trigger management.

I have always seen way more deer in the morning than in the afternoons. It could simply be because of the locations I choose to hunt. They may very well move more in the afternoons. If your like me though, the deer usually don't get into bow range until last light. If your hunting in the timber last light comes much sooner and If your gun hunting with an optic good luck taking an ethical shot.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I love these studies. Spent many hours going down the rabbit hole searching for every one I could find.
My memories are vague on the exact details, but, I remember one where they had a 600 acre parcel high-fenced, 20+ bucks on the property, most collared, and had some hunters hunt it. The hunters only saw a couple of the bucks during a hunting season, or something like that. Good info to determine how bucks will skirt around you.
Thanks for the heads up!

They have referenced a couple of studies on areas that are only open to high number of hunters for short periods of time. Most people think that the deer would be driven out of those areas. More times than not they just learn very quickly to avoid the areas with the most human presence and never actually leave their home range. Even when deer are displaced, they are often back to their home range within hours. Home range fidelity is high in white tail deer.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I agree with that to a large percent. Observations and trail cameras also mirror that. I cant emphasize enough when trying to build a great hunting property, Winter food is king!! If you're not in the upper midwest it may be different for you. Our quality of bucks has done nothing other than get better every year since focusing on winter food. We can debate culling bucks until we are blue in the face. You want to have better hunting and older age class bucks? Concentrate on winter food and trigger management.

I have always seen way more deer in the morning than in the afternoons. It could simply be because of the locations I choose to hunt. They may very well move more in the afternoons. If your like me though, the deer usually don't get into bow range until last light. If your hunting in the timber last light comes much sooner and If your gun hunting with an optic good luck taking an ethical shot.

I think the reference to evening vs morning is just that deer are on their feet (GPS location data indicating such) with daylight remaining. It very well could be that it doesn't necessarily sync with how many people hunt.

 

[letemgrow]

What’s the YouTube link?

Is it the full playlist of 12 videos or which one?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Turkey Creek]

What’s the YouTube link?

Is it the full playlist of 12 videos or which one?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SwampCat]

I agree with that to a large percent. Observations and trail cameras also mirror that. I cant emphasize enough when trying to build a great hunting property, Winter food is king!! If you're not in the upper midwest it may be different for you. Our quality of bucks has done nothing other than get better every year since focusing on winter food. We can debate culling bucks until we are blue in the face. You want to have better hunting and older age class bucks? Concentrate on winter food and trigger management.

I have always seen way more deer in the morning than in the afternoons. It could simply be because of the locations I choose to hunt. They may very well move more in the afternoons. If your like me though, the deer usually don't get into bow range until last light. If your hunting in the timber last light comes much sooner and If your gun hunting with an optic good luck taking an ethical shot.

Even though our southern deer are not stressed that much during winter, food will put more deer on your place than anything else you can do - as long as your place isnt purely bare pasture. And even at that. We see deer by the hundreds in winter pasture if there is a little clover. And I am not talking just along the edge - but out in the middle of a 40 or 80 acre field.

In my area, trigger control seems to increase with acres controlled. My small acreage neighbors have absolutely no trigger control. My largest adjacent landowners, one with 1400 acres, and one with 1200 acres - have by far the most restrictive hunting rules on their property.

Common to the small acreage landowners - a neighbor of mine told me the other day he had not seen a deer while hunting this year. He said he was going to kill the first two does he saw and put them in the freezer. That seems really counter productive to me - not seeing any deer so shoot the only two does you see. If you ride through My 1200 acre neighbor’s property in the evening, you will easily see 100 plus deer in his hayfields. He does not allow shooting does.

 

[Angus 1895]

One thing I believe is good to know, and I haven’t watched this one yet. Is actually finding breeding areas.

If you can find them during peak rut you will have active breeding action.

 

[Baker]

I've said this al along. Bucks move a lot more than most people think Most folks are better off focusing on creating quality habitat ...whatever best suits your area...than focusing on deer mgt.

One thing I would be curious about regarding the study is how big an area they conducted the research on? And what that overall habitat looked like. One of the properties we manage in Mexico is approx. 40,000 acres contiguous brush country with consistent feeders and habitat across the totality. Anecdotally I would say we see movement of a mile or two all the time daily actually with vastly more than that not uncommon. Not uncommon see bucks move a distance --from a mile or two to several miles---from summer range to winter range. Then there are the walkabouts of much greater distances. This far more common than the few bucks that live in tighter ranges. All this much in line with the Ms. study

 

[omicron1792]

So hunted this Morning with my cousin and thought of this thread.

It was a nice crisp morning and I just knew they would be moving. But when I say there was no wind there was no wind. The deer didn’t move at all.

We left stand and piddled around till noon and breeze picked up to probably 5mph.

Got to local store/processor and they said it was so slow that morning but started picking up at noon.

I think no wind and gusting wind less good, some wind good.

 

[Buckhunter10]

I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet. However - I’ve been blessed to speak with Dr. Bronson and Dr. Steve a few times each and I’ll say they are some of the most humble and bright folks in the industry. Anything they put out- is well worth reviewing, imo.

 

[Barndog56]

I recently watched a YouTube video from The Hunting Public where they interviewed the MSU guys. Apparently there is no such thing as a nocturnal buck. When bucks are pressured, they still move as much during daylight, just in a smaller area, in thicker cover, away from the pressure.

There was also much discussion on the type of habitat that results in buck bedding areas. Very informative stuff.

 

[Turkish]

I've said this al along. Bucks move a lot more than most people think Most folks are better off focusing on creating quality habitat ...whatever best suits your area...than focusing on deer mgt.

One thing I would be curious about regarding the study is how big an area they conducted the research on? And what that overall habitat looked like. One of the properties we manage in Mexico is approx. 40,000 acres contiguous brush country with consistent feeders and habitat across the totality. Anecdotally I would say we see movement of a mile or two all the time daily actually with vastly more than that not uncommon. Not uncommon see bucks move a distance --from a mile or two to several miles---from summer range to winter range. Then there are the walkabouts of much greater distances. This far more common than the few bucks that live in tighter ranges. All this much in line with the Ms. study

It was mixed ag, upland and bottomland hdwd and pine forestland along the Big Black River Madison and Yazoo counties of MS. 50k acres contiguous. Probably the best area of that size in the state for deer mgt. Could possibly be some batture areas that rival it.

There’s a 30k-acre swath north of Natchez that was once better. One owner. Tight lipped now.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I recently watched a YouTube video from The Hunting Public where they interviewed the MSU guys. Apparently there is no such thing as a nocturnal buck. When bucks are pressured, they still move as much during daylight, just in a smaller area, in thicker cover, away from the pressure.

There was also much discussion on the type of habitat that results in buck bedding areas. Very informative stuff.

They talk about this as well. During peak rut bucks moved equal amounts of time between day and night. Prior to the rut they favored the night more. I have never bought into that buck is "nocturnal only". Maybe that buck avoids any area it associates with humans during daylight, but it doesn't bed for 12 hours straight ever. Not sure how people could think once that buck locks onto a estrous doe it doesn't follow her wherever she goes daylight or not? I am pretty sure the professors said that upcoming talks will also cover specific locations that bucks preferred for bedding areas.

 

[356]

If you have a commute, they also have a podcast called Deer University. Tons of good data discussed and the hunting implications associated with it.

I listen to the Podcast…for this episode I would recommend YouTube, as they reference several visuals. Great information for sure.

 

[BenAllgood]

It was a great video. I'm looking forward to the next in the series where they delve into hunting implications. It really drives the point home, that unless we are controlling many square miles, "our" bucks are likely several others' "our" bucks too.