Build it and they will come?

[MW22392]

Question on the phrase "Build it and they will come". I understand the concept of passing deer, if they are happy with the habitat they will have no reason to leave and can grow old. But if I built the best habitat in the area, wouldn't a new mature alpa be drawn to move in to replace one that was killed the next season?

 

[Brian662]

To quote Bronson Strickland, "It depends."

 

[SwampCat]

We typically do not have big mature deer just move in and stay. Most of our big deer are here at age 3. Probably here at age 2 also. We will sometimes have a big deer show up after rut because I have the best winter food supply in the area - but they typically will not be here the following fall.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Unfortunately I don’t think deer operate like that. I think good habitat may keep deer in an area a little but unfortunately they move. And move a good bit which is relative to the amount of land you control. For instance if you have 40 or 100 or a 1000 of the “wrong” shape, deer are going to stray outside even the Valhalla of habitat. This is where your neighborhood means almost everything. Additionally outside of the initial dispersal I think it’s rare for deer to set up shop in a new area. Now to the above point, they may be inclined to hang out some in a good area but I think a deers core, is a deers core. There’s been gps studies that show mature bucks don’t leave heavily hunted public land, they just alter how they move. If things like pressure and habitat drew mature bucks in they likely wouldn’t stay on public land.
All that said you absolutely would be wise to focus on habitat. There’s no downside and that good food and cover could ultimately lead to a shot opportunity that your neighbors may never get.

 

[Brian662]

In the upper Midwest, we have a unique chance to draw an outside deer to our property but it doesn't happen every year. That chance is a hard winter mixed with available food.

IF the winter gets bad a buck will leave his core area in search of a food source.

IF you have food available for not only your core deer, but the neighbor's core deer and IF your neighbor doesn't have food available, you may get the attention of a new dominant buck and get him to stay.

I think what is much more likely to happen if you remove a dominant or "alpha" is that the next year's antler growth (on the other deer) will reflect the reduced social stress and you could see bigger antler gains or less deer leaving during "the shift" in early fall. IMO

 

[gjs4]

You cant make anything come your way that doesn't exist close enough to make the trek. That's the big struggle then how its hunted and then what is offered.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Like Dawgs above has stated, you simply can't lose by improving habitat. You're eventually going to develop a herd with a healthy age structure as long as you manage accordingly. I grew up on 50 acres, smack dab in the middle of block that was bordered by forest preserve on one end and a couple hundred acres of non hunted sanctuary on the other. The land to the north was lined with 5 acre residential parcels and our farm was on the south bordering the river. We RARELY saw bucks over 140 for years and if we did, they got blasted by the groups of gun hunters that sat on those 5 acre parcels.

As I grew up and was able to start studying movement with trail cams, I realized the only place on our 50 that was truly safe, was the creek bottoms right up next to the house. It seemed crazy but I abandoned hunting the timber and started planting small food plots broken up by cover within 100yds of our front door. Everything changed and I mean almost instantly. I consistently killed bucks over 150 for 3 years before we ended up having to sell. Was never able to hold or grow deer like that previously.

So to answer your question, yes I believe if you build it and are smart about location and how you hunt it, they will come and they will stay!