Like what's already stated, there is no rule of thumb for male deer. Home range size is one thing I don't like averages on, because deer are so individualistic and variable there seems to be no average home range or core area. I've seen the same thing as NH, whereas some individual bucks are confrontational, and wander freely, moving and covering great distances. They have the same characteristics at 5 as they did at 2. Others are homebodies, roam very little, and they appear to be more nocturnal. In my experience these deer are extremely hard to kill. Those that have smaller home ranges, tons of pictures of in a tight area, but seem to prefer night time movements.

Others are homebodies, roam very little, and they appear to be more nocturnal. In my experience these deer are extremely hard to kill. Those that have smaller home ranges, tons of pictures of in a tight area, but seem to prefer night time movements.

How would you approach trying to harvest one of these nocturnal bucks? This is definitely what I get pictures of. Hard to kill but there has to be a strategy to attempt to harvest a nocturnal homebody buck. What do you think is best approach? Do you just target that specific buck and not hunt any other deer? Hope he comes out daytime in rut?

How would you approach trying to harvest one of these nocturnal bucks? This is definitely what I get pictures of. Hard to kill but there has to be a strategy to attempt to harvest a nocturnal homebody buck. What do you think is best approach? Do you just target that specific buck and not hunt any other deer? Hope he comes out daytime in rut?

How would you approach trying to harvest one of these nocturnal bucks? This is definitely what I get pictures of. Hard to kill but there has to be a strategy to attempt to harvest a nocturnal homebody buck. What do you think is best approach? Do you just target that specific buck and not hunt any other deer? Hope he comes out daytime in rut?

How would you approach trying to harvest one of these nocturnal bucks?

There’s a method for killing good bucks that’s actually very, very simple but the vast majority of the folks will never do it or are just not in the position to do it……..and that’s to go in during October and plant a quality food plot and then don’t go back to hunt it until Jan 1-10 ish depending on your exact rut. The date may change if you have a different rut but you get the point. If you would be willing to do that then you will very likely put one on the wall year in and year out. Its certainly a trade off…. but effective to the point of being a near sure thing barring the hunt itself getting screwed up somehow. All season long while the folks around you pressure the chit out of their land…..your land will remain quiet and hunter free. As long as you have plenty of groceries available and they are not forced to leave to eat….then the local doe groups in the area will adjust their behavior within their home range and concentrate on the area with food and no pressure.

I see this happen every year here on my home property. I hunt a little during the first of bow season but once that’s over then I head to the hunting club to do any of my hunting for the next couple months. As gun season comes in and the hunters around me begin frolicking all willy nilly… to and fro all over their land…..the local doe herds around me begin to condense and concentrate more and more on my property….imagine the area they use daily acting like a balloon that’s having the air let out of it….and by the time Jan rolls around they’re packed out in very tight quarters all around me virtually never going anywhere but bed to feed….bed to feed. If you drew a buffer around my food plot of say 250-300 yards….then you would find it to be heavily concentrated with bedded does.

Now its rut time and you become pretty much the local pimp that’s scooped up most of the available nookie in that immediate area and have it hemmed up in your cathouse. That’s when you pick the right conditions and sneak back in to put your tag on one of the stray tomcats that is sure to be hanging around. If you wanted to get real fancy with it them one of those cameras that sends pics via text would be ideal. That way you would know exactly when the bucks started showing up and when you needed to spring the trap. Bucks will come in before the does actually go into estrous and begin tending the doe groups following them around and bedding with them. They eventually follow them right out into the open.