Where are all the bucks

[luberhill]

Keeping my trail cams out .. I’m still seeing a few bucks , all at night , same with the does ..

Had lots of nice daytime buck and doe pics pre season , then shut down the week before bow .

All night pics after that...I’ve got one cam near known bedding area next to a nice big creek .. tons of trails and tracks thru the thickets and weeds ..

 No movement now 

[Northcountryman]

Really , I was wondering if their movement patterns had loosened up a bit since it’s been a few weeks now since muzzle ended . I’m gonna go check mine this week 

[DoubleDose]

It's a different part of the season.  Some bucks are dead from hunting.  Some are dead from the rigors of the rut.  Some have moved on to their winter range.  

[luberhill]

These were /are still alive, I’ve gotten pics after the season ended ,always at night but none the last couple weeks 

[G-Man]

Change in food source and moved to winter thermal bedding areas

[luberhill]

8 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Change in food source and moved to winter thermal bedding areas

What are winter thermal bedding areas ?

[wolc123]

Looking at how busy the butchers were last fall, my guess is that most are in freezers.

[E J]

I would guess they changed food sources. 

[doebuck1234]

Agree with Gman....expected more loosened up patterns but checked cam and still nighttime pics in this area but happy to see movement still.give it a few more months and they should loosen up more.preseason/velvet pics are awesome!

[moog5050]

26 minutes ago, luberhill said:

What are winter thermal bedding areas ?

Places that hold heat and provide shelter.   Pines are a good example.   Or the local holiday inn.  

[G-Man]

1 hour ago, moog5050 said:

Places that hold heat and provide shelter.   Pines are a good example.   Or the local holiday inn.  

Yes ,habitat that hold heat especailly. South facing slopes, pine, beech, oaks spruce ,hemlock anything that traps a few extra degrees of heat,or allows them to absorb extra sunlight

 Its an important componant that is lacking in many areas or has out grown its usefulness ,once over 10 to 15 ft tall beech and oak leaves left on tree are to high to provide thermal cover , pine/spruce/fir / hemlock all have hight limitations to provide thermal cover and soon just become home for red squirrels. 

I have seen deer hole up in abandon barns to get out of weather. Old motels may work as well...

[Bigfoot 327]

Some deer migrate to a "winter range". This has been documented in Michigan's UP. Many decades ago I lived in Locke, NY. One Spring day I was surprised to see hundreds of deer walking North nose to tail on the hillside across from my house. There was a large hayfield perhaps 500 or 600 yards long running basically North/South and the deer were traversing it. Single file. I noticed them after lunch and they were still pouring North at dark. I hesitate to estimate how many deer I saw that day- you probably wouldn't believe me anyway. I don't know where the deer had spent the Winter or where they were headed, but no doubt they were migrating. I mentioned it to one of my elderly neighbors and was casually told that "yah, they do that every Spring".

[Nomad]

I asked the same question most of the season ....

[Lomax]

Based on my cameras just finished pulling cards....they are bedding in woods adjacent or as close as possible to available food sources which are more limited this time of year.   Seem to be herding up a bit but not huge groups like I see with heavy snow cover.  Bucks seem to have already formed bachelor groups with their bros.  

[Lomax]

Forgot got a big one on camera one of them long legged black bears.  haha

[Northcountryman]

Gonna be harder now to discern buck from doe anyway once they start shedding 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Northcountryman

[Fat Dan]

On 1/10/2021 at 1:54 PM, Northcountryman said:

Gonna be harder now to discern buck from doe anyway once they start shedding 

Yeah, I was just going to say that.  I found a recently shed antler down here in Pennsylvania on Saturday.  It seemed a bit early but it was freshly shed and was not broken off.  

I have a trail cam set up and I have been getting buck pictures where they are coming in to feed in a clover field but all pictures have been in the night time.  We have late archery still open for a few more days and I have not been able to see a deer in daylight hours, not even a doe.

[Northcountryman]

Yeah , they’re still pretty skiddish. I’m gonna check my stuff this weekend , hopefully and see if there’s any daytime activity