Recent content by BenA

I didn't believe many people believed in nocturnal deer anymore. With all the deer that have been gps collared and tracked, there has not been one documented case of a nocturnal deer. What can happen, which I've witnessed, and has been scientifically documented, is deer can be conditioned to...

I'm going in the reverse direction. Well, maybe. Yet to be determined. I've run bait for cameras in Kentucky, but not all season, and neither of the bucks we've killed have been close to bait. I'm going to have, most probably, a lot of summer food planted this year. If cameras show bachelor...

How do you know it didn't? Would you have killed those bucks if does hadn't concentrated activity around those, or the bucks wouldn't have them on their core ranges?

I really think it's the same. Maybe, even smarter to bait the way you bait them. Draw deer to an area to make it a focal point for their core range, and then hunt around those areas.

Hard to prove that.

You didn’t use your baiting to aid in attracting deer to an area during hunting season?

But, you do bait. You've posted pics of it.

A few days ago, I had a friend message me he just saw over 50 deer with 17 bucks coming to his feed plot. There was lots of ice and snow. It was a standing soybean feed plot. One of his target mature bucks came out, and he passed it because his rack was broken up.

Yeah, but rifle season in Kentucky is a fraction of Georgia's.

And And, mature bucks spend very little time during daylight hours at feeders in Georgia as well. It's been documented. https://academic.oup.com/cz/article/65/2/139/5050031

Yes, good age structure in the places I'm talking about. Very rare to see mature bucks on camera even during the daylight. Plenty of mature bucks on camera at night though. Kentucky's gun season is a fraction of what Louisiana has. As you know, I own land in Kentucky and live and have hunted in...

That’s not really a pressured area though. Throw Louisiana seasons in there, and you wouldn't see that. I've hunted several Louisiana places with mature bucks that rarely come to bait in daylight.

@Baker makes a great point. Baiting effectiveness on mature bucks or even deer in general is directly influenced by pressure. Generally, in areas with long hunting seasons, and where baiting has been the norm for decades, I know mature bucks tend to avoid baited areas during the day. They'll...

Here's a scientific study that further solidifies the need to bait in areas where legal if you want to have the same chance as those that do. They found while home ranges weren't affected by short term baiting, core ranges were. Bucks shifted their core areas to baited sites. And, this study was...

I have some that shoot anything. I have one that is great and controls a good chunk of ground. He only shoots mature deer. The couple (literally a couple) of 5 yo bucks in the area are killed by him or a guest. But, he baits big time. No food plots, no habitat work other than mowing fields. He...