But they did change their patterns. The bachelor groups of big bucks will break up to spread over a wide area in order to stake claims to rutting launch grounds. Jason Houser is an avid traditional bowhunter from Central Illinois who killed his first deer when he was nine years old. Other bucks that see what is going on will often follow suit. When it comes to whitetail bucks there is definitely a class systemso, it takes time for yearling bucks to be accepted into a mature bucks world. It may not display this or other websites correctly. I hunted a 5-year-old buck in 2013 that ran with five yearling bucks for about three weeks. Site by Gray Loon. It begins in just a few short weeks. Hunting season is on the horizon and your freezer is still loaded with game from the previous year or two. (Don't Miss:What Will Deer Hunting Be Like in 10 Years?). This decision will be based primarily on wind direction, deer movement and access to your stand sites. He's hunted whitetails from South Carolina to South Dakota but spends most of his time hunting in Kentucky. All great bachelor groups must come to an end. Sometimes as close as 40 or 50 yards off the food source. Bucks become less tolerant of each other and will establish their own territories and travel patterns in preparation for breeding season. Once velvet is peeled sparring rules the day. (Don't Miss:Prep Now For Your Best Deer Season Yet). Any day now. When a buck reaches two years of age he begins to be accepted by older bucks. Theyll often bed within 100 yards of their preferred dinner table. It can get very dry in early fall. More on that in a minute. In the bucks case, how they socialize with other bucks is predicated on their personality, age, and social position within the herd. imo its always different. Post trail cameras near the high-traffic areas mentioned then get back 300 to 400 yards off the deer and watch their patterns. Sep 15, 2008 #7 Diamondbbtr Member Most of them will not likely breakup until early October, they are still together in their summer routines now. goes to show you there are no "for sures" just educated guesses. Usually I will see a few in June/July that have 4 or 5 nice bucks but 1 or 2 on cam and driving around is all I have seen this year and none were over 2 years of age, most were yearlings and I wouldn't really call that a bachelor group as during season I will see younger ones grouped up with each other or have a yearling tailing a 3 year old. We could find him on one of my alfalfa fields just about any evening during late July and early August. Its within the mature bachelor groups that rutting hierarchy is often sifted out well in advance of the rut. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, The Shift - Part 2: The Transition Of Bucks From Summer To Fall Ranges Wired To Hunt, Outdoor Hub, LLC (d/b/a Carbon Media Group), 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. Read more: http://www.bowhuntingmag.com/whitetail/why-do-summer-bucks-disappear-in-the-fall/#ixzz4q7WaMknB. I have a bachelor group of 5 bucks still running together. 2023 National Deer Association, All Rights Reserved. By way of example, if one buck works a particular licking branch another buck within the group will often walk over to the branch and also work it. You might be asking yourself why some bachelor groups will split up earlier than others, so lets dive into that. If your trail camera is starting to get pictures of bucks shedding their velvet you can assume that those bucks are either breaking out of their bachelor groups or are a few weeks away from doing so. A forum community dedicated to hunting and fishing enthusiasts in the Ohio area. Once testosterone reaches a certain point, antlers finish hardening, velvet starts drying up and all of that fuzzy stuff starts falling off. Bucks in an individual bachelor group are usually not related to each other. Johns bolt was dead-on. Pre-season and early-season bucks bed close to food sources. Thats right. Composition of the Group. Some of the best information I have read on the topic comes from an article posted on the QDMA website by Matt Ross. During an appearance at Chicks In The Office's Chicago live show on Oct. 28, Amabile told the crowd, "I just want a couple in Bachelor Nation to break up and, and just be like, 'We mutually . CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Truth is, these mega-groups are rare. Alsheimer was born and raised on a farm and has devoted his life to photography, writing and lecturing about the wonders of Gods creation. Grandaddy said a guns just like a woman son, it's all in how ya hold her. when do buck bachelor groups break up December 26, 2021 west broad village new construction No comments Mule deer do's and dont's - 24hourcampfire Senior Member. The females tend to weigh about100 pounds . The antler growing phase actually begins soon after shedding in February and March. Many states across the country start their hunting seasons early enough for you to take advantage of a mature bucks summer pattern while he is still in his bachelor group. It definitely doesnt happen overnight, or in a single deer season. A gang of 2 to 3 to 8 bucks hanging out together in mid-summer is the norm, but I have seen as many as 12 boys in a group. Pan Seared Duck Breast with Blackberry Wine Sauce, Fried Backstrap with Spicy Remoulade Dipping Sauce, The Best Way to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms, 12 Reasons Why Your Venison Tastes Like Hell, Bobcat Hanging From Overpass Shatters Car's Windshield. Honeycutt has written and created other forms of media for more than 60 media companies in the outdoor industry, including: North American Whitetail, Whitetail Journal, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Deer & Deer Hunting, Rack Magazine, Inside Archery, Game & Fish, Fur-Fish-Game, and others. They likely didnt go far. Blog readers have emailed me over the years with reports of 15 to 19 bucks feeding and posturing together in a bean field in August! If a buck is feeding nearby and notices it, he will walk over to the location, smell the urine, and lip curl. Darn! And its highly likely bucks will still be in bachelor groups. I don't know why. Looks like Ill have to continue reliving my past memories of Arizona success because there isnt an Arizona hunt in my 2020 future. Here are 5 highlights from that post: Bachelor groups may contain bucks of many different ages, including yearlings. Bill Winke has some insight on this in an article he wrote for Petersens Bowhunting. Except for interaction around common food sources bucks and does seldom interact with each other during the non-rutting months. These bucks are usually very tolerant of one another and exhibit this by the way they will gently groom each other. Pull up a seat and join us. The third reason is camaraderie. Every time John spotted the 36-point giant, the deer was traveling with three smaller bucks, and he filed that away in his subconscious. Heres what you need to know about them. Charles Alsheimer is an award-winning outdoor writer, nature photographer, lecturer, and whitetail consultant from Bath, New York. This is a good read that one of the other threads inspired me to find We were still getting pics of several bucks together 2 weeks ago. The bromance is doomed. Some bucks show more aggression and others are move passive. Within the deer population males and females occupy different areas of their range. Homepage Forums Talk Huntin Scouting pre or post bachelor group breakup. So now for the big question. When you do, its an uncommon scenario where they gained acceptance by the boss buck. What Will Deer Hunting Be Like in 10 Years? Youll often find a single yearling buck traveling with a group of does. Jason writes full time and is on the pro staff of two archery companies; in his free time, he fishes and traps as much as possible. All summer, bucks hang out with their buddies, mainly resting and feeding, in what are commonly called bachelor groups. I help new and struggling bow hunters go from having limited success in the deer woods to reaching their full potential as hunters, so they can experience successful deer seasons on a consistent basis. Be careful not to bump deer when walking to the stand. Many deer hunters are curious when bucks leave their bachelor groups and start shifting their home range. At this point, aggression within the group rises, and bucks begin to spar using their new antlers. The thing about this period is you either have all the deer or none of them. Testosterone turns them into enemies. I hunted a buck in 2008 that was a real dandy. The afternoon sun burns on and it soon dips below the horizon. Make as small of a footprint as you can when preparing for the season. In nine days, Ill be sitting in an oak tree overlooking some Kentucky Alfalfa. With winter still several months way bucks are stuffing their bellies full of lush green foliage before it turns brown and dries up. But there's a common thread that runs through September and early October bachelor groups. Once youve gathered all of your intel its time to put it to use and bag an early season buck. Why do you never see bucks? The break-up of bachelor group bucks typically occurs during the last two weeks of September. The second reason why bachelor groups break up early or late is due to buck age structure within the group. Would the fact that he is still in his bed in February when most deer are in groups, possibly consider that he is always in his bed or that hell move into that area when bachelor groups break up. Pronghorns breed during September and October. You must log in or register to reply here. Live scouting from afar can be implemented or trail cameras can be posted to monitor activity. Advice would be greatly appreciated and I'll thank ya now. Once Ive obtained a vantage, I break out my 10X binocular and a spotting scope on a tripod, and look for velvet-racked bucks that gather to feed and posture out in the open at dusk. [VIDEO], Albino Buck Shocked to Shed His Antlers [VIDEO]. Since some bucks dont move at all, there also have to be some that disperse long distances to produce this average. That really opened up my eyes to this subject of buck dispersal. The month of August has many hunters excited, as they think they have the deer patterned. Testosterone levels start rising as the rut gets closer. Whitetail bachelor groups consist of male deer from a variety of ages. As the days shorten in August, the level of testosterone in a buck's system starts to increase. However, the opportunity to kill a mature buck using his summer pattern could still be there for you based on the scenarios we discussed in this article. Also, bachelor groups may allow local bucks to establish a basic dominance hierarchy through mild forms of aggression, which may reduce the amount of serious fighting necessary later Bucks in bachelor groups get along well and even groom each other, but they still establish a basic "pecking order" within the group using aggressive physical displays, vocalizations, or sometimes hoof-flailing. I'm still seeing them together. This scenario will encourage bachelor groups to stay together a little longer than the norm. As soon as their antlers shed the velvet they start to pick on the weaker/smaller bucks. Because you only get one chance at mature deer before they become the wiser. Bucks influence one other on a regular basis. The lesson: As you glass a bachelor group this summer, study the makeup of the band and remember the individuals, because often some of those deer will still run together into early bow season. Once testosterone reaches a certain point, antlers finish hardening, velvet starts drying up and all of that fuzzy stuff starts falling off. Nothing you can plant and no amount of reduced human interaction will change things. In many areas its not uncomon to see groups of 4-8 bucks during the summer. (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[3]='ADDRESS';ftypes[3]='address';fnames[4]='PHONE';ftypes[4]='phone';fnames[5]='BIRTHDAY';ftypes[5]='birthday';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you happen to see big bucks together during the rut, or the middle of hunting season, then those bucks are likely together because they are chasing after a doe that is ready to breed. Ours break up about 5 September. Bogart, GA 30622 Another location to find high concentrations of deer is near a good water source. Why Are Some Bucks Shedding Antlers Early? Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers. Saw 2 bucks traveling together this past weekend the larger buck definately showed dominance. If one leads on something, the others soon follow. But thats what my trail cameras and in-the-field sightings have revealed to me. Now that you know where to scout its important to know how to scout these locations. You can get in touch with me by filling out your name and email below. And its time to capitalize on that fact. Email: info@deerassociation.com. There are several potential survival advantages of forming bachelor groups. Only when the rut is over will surviving bucks be drawn to form or reform a bachelor group that will stay together until the following September. This is where we cover all things deer hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news, gear, and hardcore hunting advice. The locations of these food sources will be the locations you find bucks. Your email address will not be published. Individual buck personalities, age structure, and hunting pressure all play a role in whether or not you can kill a mature buck in a bachelor group in early October. In addition, younger mature bucks within a bachelor group often try to gain favor with an older buck by grooming him. If a mature buck is running with several young bucks, he may fall in sync with their habits which arent quite as honed as his. Two similar sized mature bucks grooming each other in August. Interestingly, biologists say the deer in each gang are usually not related. Another thing, bachelor groups may allow bucks to establish a basic dominance hierarchy through mild forms of aggression, which may reduce the amount of serious fighting necessary later in fall as the rut approaches. You are using an out of date browser. 13,698 views Jul 18, 2016 77 Dislike Share Deer and Deer Hunting 112K subscribers http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com Learn the biology involved with whitetail. If a states hunting season opens in October, then it might be too late for you to take advantage of a mature bucks summer pattern. Individual bachelor group often try to gain favor with an older buck by grooming.. 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