I was watching Eastman’s Hunting Adventures tonight and the guy on there had marked a spot that he had seen a big mule deer in the year before. It was 12 months later and that same buck was 60 yards from the spot he had marked. Now since I’ve been running cell cams I’ve had bucks show up on camera a day or two in a row and that’s my sign to go hunt them but I hardly call that a pattern. I’m not sure I’ve ever really had a whitetail buck truly patterned. Just curious if other folks are able to do it.

Just watched that same episode. Definitely has the hmmm factor for a cool story. I could understand a certain draw or specific area. Only way I’ll believe the 60 yds year to date is if there is a feeder or waterhole involved.

I believe as more folks post on this thread you’ll be surprised to hear (or maybe I will be surprised that it rarely happens) how often that occurs.

I hunted a particular buck 3 years in a row, 2018, 2019, 2020 within a couple acre block each season. Saw him all three seasons but he eluded us and was killed about 1/4 mile away from where I hunted him.

Yes 100%, I can tell you almost to the date on the lease i have been hunting where to be on certain dates, and the deer for some reason or another do the same thing year in and year out. I had one buck that was almost in the exact same tracks 3 years in a row on Dec.17. He was literally almost standing in the same tracks. I think that it's not just a specific deer. I think they come to the same places at the same times year in and year out, even across different bucks.

YES.

The more open/cropland, less woods the easier it is IMO. In huge areas of hardwoods with little or no crops it's difficult . The little woodlot and vast cropland situations like in the mid-West have , seems like would be pretty easy to me. Now days, cameras make it easier also. I'm talking patterning specific bucks.

As far as bucks in general , figuring out stand locations when and where to be , year in year out, all that takes is a few seasons in an area and observation. Topo maps can tell you where to start on a new property.

Absolutely yes.

Yes, but it’s a lot more difficult in the southern states in big woods and thickets. Pressure is the number one reason that prevents a deer from being in a predictable pattern.

There’s one buck that Mississippi State radio tagged. For several years he’s been crossing the MS river twice, once in the spring and once in the fall.

This is no lie. I had a buck on camera seven years every single year in the same spot. I could always hang a camera on the same tree watching the same feeder every year about August to April and the first day just about every year he would show back up. He lived on a little section of my lease that was hard to get to. If you tried to hunt it you would blow him out of there. He was so smart he would bed about 50 yards or so away from the gate. When you would get to the gate and unlock it. He would get up and walk by the camera and you wouldn’t get a picture of him if you were on the property. About the time you locked the gate he would walk back by the camera. I think what saved him because I’m pretty sure he died of old age is he was gay. He never chased does if does were around he wouldn’t be. He most always had another buck with him.

^^^^^^.......I've seen this same thing as well.

I got an 8 year old if he makes it to this season I been hunting - this season coming will make 4 years of hunting him - 2 years ago i had a new road came up I put up before season and caught him going down the road like jan-8-13 - forget exact date and that was the first time that season I caught him in camera (he always shows up late) - last year - within a week of that sighting date the prev year I caught him again in same road and both pics were in daylight - he went down some in rack size last year - he was atleast 7 last year

I will be in that road some starting first week in January in morning - he also hits my buck field in daylight every February

So I see a trend in the responses here and I’ll offer clarification to my question. I firmly believe the ability to pattern an area is easily achievable in 3 years on a property. By patterning an area I mean figuring out the rut timing, knowing the travel corridors and where your doe groups are.

Now when I’m talking patterning a specific buck I’m talking about knowing that particular deer’s routine. I’ve heard plenty of people say they’ve been able to do it but I’ve personally never been able to. I think that there’s probably a difference in the bar at which I consider one patterned and other folks consider one patterned and that’s what I’m trying to find out. Where am I jacked up? Plenty of times my buddy’s have killed good deer going on just a little sign. In my book it wouldn’t have been enough sign to warrant a hunt. So at what point do you consider that you have a specific buck patterned?

I've noticed it when I used to run cameras. I have a small strip i hunt after work that has easy access to get in and out without getting busted. Every year around the 2nd and 3rd of January when I was running cameras around 9 in the morning i would get pics of the same 2 bucks running close together. I ended up killing one. He was easy to spot because he always had a split main beam

I think they would be hard to pattern from a day to day standpoint. In a certian area, for sure but if they had a set daily pattern there would be a LOT more of them dead. Raccoons on the other hand are predictable. At sunset they show up at the feeder like clockwork.

Yes, they can. Just like they pattern us.

I think whitetails are less predictable than mule deer, though.

Don’t I know that last part is true, geez. I’ve been humbled many a times by the ol whitetail

Yes. Some are harder than others and some are almost like chip shots.

One example comes from a mature 8pt that I was fortunate to take last year. Located the buck in late summer and started to put the puzzle together from there. I had watched the deer on his normal run all the way up until after Thanksgiving. At the beginning of December, the buck moved to the South end of my property where I have a 250 acre sanctuary that I do not go into other than to top its feeder off. I was surprised in a way to see him move into seclusion since I had only hunted the property three evenings first of bow season and one afternoon after thanksgiving.

On January 10th, while watching Alabama lose the National Championship, he popped up on my cell cams heading back to the North end of my property where he’d resided up until December.

Over the next few weeks he developed a pattern. He’d come out of a swamp on the northern end of my property and make his run South on the same trails he used previously but would always come back to the North within 12hrs. Kept watching him via cell cams for about two weeks until I felt I had a legit shot at taking him. That said, the way he navigated the property made stand selection and entry/exit of the property extremely hard. He was almost making a large “S” curve loop through the place and could detect any danger between point A and B.

January 24th I started to hunt again. I had set my mind to only hunt the mature 8. Based on the data I had. If he headed South from his bedding area between 10pm - 2am, I’d have an opportunity to catch him heading back to the North midday. If he did not come down his trail the night before heading South then I’d sleep in and kill off the day at camp. From my data he never visited the property during daylight if he didn’t move to the South the night before. I was biting at his heals a couple times but due to work obligations I’d have to leave stand and miss him coming through. Missed him by 30mins a couple rounds. By this point I’d literally had him on trail and could almost pinpoint the time he’d take to reach the next cam.

February 6th I woke up to find the big 8 had headed South around midnight. Wind was perfect for a stand that I had setup back in September but haven’t had the chance to hunt it yet. At 8:45am he crossed in front of one came and then another at 9:12am. I remember texting a buddy letting him know it was about to happen. Almost like clockwork he came down the trail 30mins later and we ended the chase.

100% truth. Tons of data to prove it. GPS collared bucks avoid areas with hunters like the plague. They know when you’re there and for how long.

If there is a pattern, then yes. I dont think theres always a pattern

Yep, most folks don't take pressure serious enough. The highest % for a kill on a mature buck is the first time hunting a particular stand. I've found after two days in a row the percentage falls way off , even overall deer sightings go down. Treat your place like a sanctuary, stay clear till the grown uns are on their feet . If you just gotta be "in the woods", save your money stands till rut and quit rippin' and roarin' all over creation checkin' cameras.