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How Trophy Bucks Survive
A lot of hunters want to know how
trophy bucks survive the hunting season each year.
The simple answer is that they are
secretive. They very often live close to people but are very
rarely seen. Often hunters are surprised when they set up a
trail cam to find a trophy buck in the area, even though they
may have hunted the area for years.
It takes a trail cam to alert them
to the buck’s presence.
A 1995 Texas study looked at the way
whitetail bucks reacted to human disturbance, and found that
bucks were less flighty as they got older. Middle-aged bucks
travelled the farthest when spooked.
Bucks over 7.5 years old travelled
the shortest distance.
So this shows that trophy bucks are
secure in their home range. They have learned slow deliberate
movements away from potential danger work better than a panicked
long distance run.
When it comes to their bedding
areas, trophy bucks are very cautious about selecting secure
areas, and may even travel several miles from good night-time
feeding areas to the dense cover where they bed down during the
day.
Trophy bucks treat the secure cover
as more important than the feeding area, and usually prefer to
be as far away as possible from human disturbance, which may
leave them far away from good food.
Trophy bucks spend most of their
time in impenetrable cover that provides them with a sanctuary
that they may use for months. This area may be very small, but
is usually difficult to approach quietly.
In the Northwest this may be
impenetrable willow thickets next to a major river, positioned
so the prevailing wind allows them safe entry and exit. In the
South, these spots may be swamps. In the North they may be
conifer stands, hawthorn thickets or tangles of sumac, prickly
ash or aspen.
To find these areas requires some
scouting. The trails to and from these sites in the rut will
normally be marked with lots of rubs. The bedding area will have
some rubs as well as lots of deer pellets in a small area. The key to understanding how the trophy bucks survive is to understand their behaviour. When you can do this, they are yours for the taking.
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