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Patterning deer
#2758870
03/11/19 03:30 PM
03/11/19 03:30 PM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001 North Alabama
NSDQ160
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001
North Alabama
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This is the new trendy phrase it seems.... to pattern your deer but who here with any type of certainty can say they’ve patterned a buck? Does definitely seem to be creatures of habit but a buck just makes less sense the more I learn. In fact after all my experience to this point I believe the best way to kill a mature buck isn’t some special tracking skill, or food plot, or cover technique etc. it’s just having good land and time in the woods.
Guys can’t rant and rave about how good they are at hunting this and that but the folks that consistently kill big bucks have good land and get to spend more time in the woods than others.
Last edited by NSDQ160; 03/11/19 03:31 PM.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2758888
03/11/19 04:02 PM
03/11/19 04:02 PM
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Joined: May 2018
Posts: 2,835 Banks of Little River
JohnnyLoco
10 point
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10 point
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 2,835
Banks of Little River
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Eat, Bedup, Mate. After about 3 1/2 years they transition to moving with the wind at their butt and mating with mature does in cover.
Last edited by JohnnyLoco; 03/11/19 04:03 PM.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2758906
03/11/19 04:36 PM
03/11/19 04:36 PM
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,645 Sweet Home Alabama
hosscat
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,645
Sweet Home Alabama
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To say you have one patterned is potentially possible, but not completely.
My take is that most wild animals are somewhat creatures of habit (they frequently feed/travel certain areas). I believe that these animals basically have a somewhat predictable travel pattern assuming nothing interferes (unknown variables). Unknown variables could be changes in weather, changes in a food source, terrain changes (flooding), a coyote or some other predator spooks them, or we as hunters spook them. I think that a once in a while interference does not affect the animals predictable pattern, but if an interference takes place too often or becomes predictable then the animal may alter their pattern accordingly. Once this happens and happens enough it could become have a generational affect. I have hunted places where every deer seemed to be nocturnal, as a result the hunters then moved closer and closer to bedding areas, resulting in even more nocturnal behavior.
This is why it's absolutely imperative to be aware of the wind and limit pressure as much as possible. I have a theory that a rain is kind of like a reset button, if I spook turkeys or deer I try to stay away from that area until after a rain.
Back to patterning deer; most years I will have a few different bucks that will frequent certain fields or stands "most" days of the week. This primarily happens during the first several weeks of the season, once pre-rut kicks in all bets are off. During this time I have to pick my wind carefully and normally if I can hunt the same stand 2-3 "prime" times in a given week I will have an opportunity to at least see the buck I was expecting.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2758911
03/11/19 04:46 PM
03/11/19 04:46 PM
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Joined: May 2018
Posts: 2,835 Banks of Little River
JohnnyLoco
10 point
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10 point
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 2,835
Banks of Little River
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Everything one needs to know to pattern a deer is already covered, especially the one about being in the woods and the other about being at work.
You won’t take that deer if you ain’t in da woods
Last edited by JohnnyLoco; 03/11/19 04:48 PM.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: Fishboy]
#2758932
03/11/19 05:13 PM
03/11/19 05:13 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,032 Kentucky
lances
6 point
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6 point
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,032
Kentucky
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I’ve got mine patterned, The bucks on our property move at night. Except for January 17th they were all on their feet that day and I was at work. Lmao. I know the feeling
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2759087
03/11/19 08:15 PM
03/11/19 08:15 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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This is the new trendy phrase it seems.... to pattern your deer but who here with any type of certainty can say they’ve patterned a buck? Does definitely seem to be creatures of habit but a buck just makes less sense the more I learn. In fact after all my experience to this point I believe the best way to kill a mature buck isn’t some special tracking skill, or food plot, or cover technique etc. it’s just having good land and time in the woods.
Guys can’t rant and rave about how good they are at hunting this and that but the folks that consistently kill big bucks have good land and get to spend more time in the woods than others. If you are saying average Joe, ain't ever killed a big un, can go to prime property and kill them as good as a season mature buck killer just because there's a good number of big uns there YOU ARE WRONG. I'm not saying average Joe won't ever get lucky and kill one every now and then , but the seasoned woodsman will be much more consistent. I've seen many properties that have a good buck population and it's always the same couple guys that kill more big bucks than the others. It is absolutely possible to pattern a buck . These new fangled game cams can make it a fairly easy task IMO.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: 2Dogs]
#2759177
03/11/19 09:18 PM
03/11/19 09:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 13,896 AL
hunterbuck
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 13,896
AL
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It is absolutely possible to pattern a buck .
Agree. But, the later in the season it gets, the harder it gets. Best chance at killing a buck in a "pattern" is during bow season, before thousands of folks hit the woods and guns start going off. Feeding is their main goal, and you can pattern bachelor groups of bucks between bedding and feeding areas. Pressure is the key...like always.
"You think I care? Roll Damn Tide"
Have you tried Google?
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: hunterbuck]
#2759326
03/12/19 07:16 AM
03/12/19 07:16 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,928 Opelika
olemossy
8 point
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8 point
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,928
Opelika
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It is absolutely possible to pattern a buck .
Agree. But, the later in the season it gets, the harder it gets. Best chance at killing a buck in a "pattern" is during bow season, before thousands of folks hit the woods and guns start going off. Feeding is their main goal, and you can pattern bachelor groups of bucks between bedding and feeding areas. Pressure is the key...like always. truth
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2759476
03/12/19 10:16 AM
03/12/19 10:16 AM
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,095 Anniston, AL
ikillbux
ishootatbux
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ishootatbux
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,095
Anniston, AL
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This is the new trendy phrase it seems.... to pattern your deer but who here with any type of certainty can say they’ve patterned a buck? Does definitely seem to be creatures of habit but a buck just makes less sense the more I learn. In fact after all my experience to this point I believe the best way to kill a mature buck isn’t some special tracking skill, or food plot, or cover technique etc. it’s just having good land and time in the woods.
Guys can’t rant and rave about how good they are at hunting this and that but the folks that consistently kill big bucks have good land and get to spend more time in the woods than others. I agree with you. I know there are exceptions, but by and large I've never seen bucks do the same thing. When I hear someone talking about "patterning" a buck, what I picture is they have him predictably visible at a precise point at the exact same time every day for days and days in a row. "He walks out on the bottom right corner of X food plot at 4:00 every day this week" Shish, I hardly ever get the same buck on the same camera twice in one week, and even then it was at different times and coming from different directions, then he disappears for two weeks, then he's on camera once at night a mile across the club, then gone a week, then on another camera in a different place, then finally dead on someone else's Facebook the next week, killed 3 miles from my land. I don't even think my bucks live on my land two days in a row, much less show up in the same place twice.
We were on the edge of Eternia, when the power of Greyskull began to take hold.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: Fishboy]
#2759549
03/12/19 11:35 AM
03/12/19 11:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001 North Alabama
NSDQ160
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001
North Alabama
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I’ve got mine patterned, The bucks on our property move at night. Except for January 17th they were all on their feet that day and I was at work. I can understand this fully!! haha
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: ikillbux]
#2759555
03/12/19 11:40 AM
03/12/19 11:40 AM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001 North Alabama
NSDQ160
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001
North Alabama
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This is the new trendy phrase it seems.... to pattern your deer but who here with any type of certainty can say they’ve patterned a buck? Does definitely seem to be creatures of habit but a buck just makes less sense the more I learn. In fact after all my experience to this point I believe the best way to kill a mature buck isn’t some special tracking skill, or food plot, or cover technique etc. it’s just having good land and time in the woods.
Guys can’t rant and rave about how good they are at hunting this and that but the folks that consistently kill big bucks have good land and get to spend more time in the woods than others. I agree with you. I know there are exceptions, but by and large I've never seen bucks do the same thing. When I hear someone talking about "patterning" a buck, what I picture is they have him predictably visible at a precise point at the exact same time every day for days and days in a row. "He walks out on the bottom right corner of X food plot at 4:00 every day this week" Shish, I hardly ever get the same buck on the same camera twice in one week, and even then it was at different times and coming from different directions, then he disappears for two weeks, then he's on camera once at night a mile across the club, then gone a week, then on another camera in a different place, then finally dead on someone else's Facebook the next week, killed 3 miles from my land. I don't even think my bucks live on my land two days in a row, much less show up in the same place twice. You nailed it!! That's exactly what I'm talking about and what I've gone through season after season. I've had no issue getting bucks on camera while in velvet at the same place.... almost the same times but once the velvet comes off it's an absolute crap shoot.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2759705
03/12/19 01:39 PM
03/12/19 01:39 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 8,363 Montgomery
WmHunter
14 point
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14 point
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 8,363
Montgomery
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I think people need to make a distinction between "patterning" a 1 or 2 year old buck and the occasional 3 year old on one hand, and 4, 5 or 6 year old bucks on the other.
At 4 they basically aren't patternable as they are 99% nocturnal - even during the rut.
I know a wise ole sagey man down in Ramer who had a saying about these fully mature bucks:
"They will pattern YOU before you pattern them."
"The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson
" Chuck Sykes is a dictator control freak like Vladimir Putin " WmHunter
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: WmHunter]
#2759996
03/12/19 06:10 PM
03/12/19 06:10 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,143 Ramer
ronfromramer
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,143
Ramer
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I think people need to make a distinction between "patterning" a 1 or 2 year old buck and the occasional 3 year old on one hand, and 4, 5 or 6 year old bucks on the other.
At 4 they basically aren't patternable as they are 99% nocturnal - even during the rut.
I know a wise ole sagey man down in Ramer who had a saying about these fully mature bucks:
"They will pattern YOU before you pattern them." A mature bucks pattern is that he doesn't have a pattern after the velvet comes off. I'd guess that 70% of the mature bucks I've seen, the first time I saw them was the only time saw them
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: WmHunter]
#2760037
03/12/19 07:00 PM
03/12/19 07:00 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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I think people need to make a distinction between "patterning" a 1 or 2 year old buck and the occasional 3 year old on one hand, and 4, 5 or 6 year old bucks on the other.
At 4 they basically aren't patternable as they are 99% nocturnal - even during the rut.
I know a wise ole sagey man down in Ramer who had a saying about these fully mature bucks:
"They will pattern YOU before you pattern them." I've been mighty lucky finding them during that 1% they're traveling during daylight.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760159
03/12/19 08:19 PM
03/12/19 08:19 PM
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,126 KY
AUstan23
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,126
KY
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Y'all making me feel real good about the 3+ year olds I've killed off public land the last few years.
It is easier to fool a man than to convince him he has been fooled.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: Semo]
#2760181
03/12/19 08:26 PM
03/12/19 08:26 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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For 4 years I set aside about 500 acres and only hunted it 1 or two days a year. The last 2 years I have started hunting it harder but still carefully. The bucks on that place seem to move much more in the daytime than some of the other land I hunt.
This guy gets it. It's all bout the pressure. Keep the pressure down you might catch a mature buck in daylight, might even pattern him too.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760252
03/12/19 09:13 PM
03/12/19 09:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 5,241 Behind your shadow
Reloader79
Bitch Peas, I'm a Kitty Whisperer
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Bitch Peas, I'm a Kitty Whisperer
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 5,241
Behind your shadow
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To the OP, you need to PM whild bill and he can splain to you bout patterning deer, especially bigger bucks, and how to hunt them.
If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
Bluetick serpentines around green fields and rock spit a lease
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760485
03/13/19 08:26 AM
03/13/19 08:26 AM
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,095 Anniston, AL
ikillbux
ishootatbux
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ishootatbux
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,095
Anniston, AL
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RonfromRamer said it best... Basically all the biggest bucks I've ever killed, was the first and only time I ever saw them. I'm the biggest wingnut in the bunch about "hunting pressure", but the real issue in Alabama is that your deer's home range is MILES!!!!!!! I've replied on dozens of threads here about multiple deer over the years that would 100%, no lie, no exaggeration, be on camera at my place at let's say 3:00AM, then be on someone else's camera 3 miles away at 6:00PM the same day. I've repeated the story of the crab-claw 7 point (VERY, VERY recognizable deer, both rack-wise and throat patch distinctions). If any of you know where the motorcycle track is on Hwy 21 between Talladega and Munford, I had that deer on camera sporadically right in behind that track. I hunted there one morning, checked that camera on the way out of the woods, and he was there in the daylight at 8:30AM (I just didn't see him). The next day I saw him dead on a tailgate on Facebook, killed by a guy I went to high school with who lives a dang long way from there. I inboxed him about it, said he killed it in his back yard right after daylight. Frankly I didn't believe his story, but he started sending me trail pics he had of him, many of which were the same day or one day apart (before or after) that I would have pics of him. Based on Google Earth, his address is 3.5 miles AS THE CROW FLIES from where my camera was. Now that's an extreme example, but I've had similar experiences with trail cameras all over the state. This deer was crossing a major highway and at least two county roads basically every day it seemed.
Last edited by ikillbux; 03/13/19 08:29 AM.
We were on the edge of Eternia, when the power of Greyskull began to take hold.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: ikillbux]
#2760529
03/13/19 08:54 AM
03/13/19 08:54 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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Bux , they are all individuals, some are homebodies not traveling far from their core area and some are nomadic and go miles. Several radio collar studies prove this. How can there be a dominate buck in an area if they all wander aimlessly? If you have a sizeable tract with food, water ,cover and keep pressure low , you will hold some doe family units and some mature bucks along with them.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: ikillbux]
#2760558
03/13/19 09:19 AM
03/13/19 09:19 AM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001 North Alabama
NSDQ160
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 2,001
North Alabama
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RonfromRamer said it best... Basically all the biggest bucks I've ever killed, was the first and only time I ever saw them. I'm the biggest wingnut in the bunch about "hunting pressure", but the real issue in Alabama is that your deer's home range is MILES!!!!!!! I've replied on dozens of threads here about multiple deer over the years that would 100%, no lie, no exaggeration, be on camera at my place at let's say 3:00AM, then be on someone else's camera 3 miles away at 6:00PM the same day. I've repeated the story of the crab-claw 7 point (VERY, VERY recognizable deer, both rack-wise and throat patch distinctions). If any of you know where the motorcycle track is on Hwy 21 between Talladega and Munford, I had that deer on camera sporadically right in behind that track. I hunted there one morning, checked that camera on the way out of the woods, and he was there in the daylight at 8:30AM (I just didn't see him). The next day I saw him dead on a tailgate on Facebook, killed by a guy I went to high school with who lives a dang long way from there. I inboxed him about it, said he killed it in his back yard right after daylight. Frankly I didn't believe his story, but he started sending me trail pics he had of him, many of which were the same day or one day apart (before or after) that I would have pics of him. Based on Google Earth, his address is 3.5 miles AS THE CROW FLIES from where my camera was. Now that's an extreme example, but I've had similar experiences with trail cameras all over the state. This deer was crossing a major highway and at least two county roads basically every day it seemed. That's amazing. I've never heard your story before but I absolutely believe it. That just makes me want to ask so many more questions of the "Deer" guys. What do you think made him move that much? (food, cover, water, does, etc)
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760590
03/13/19 09:42 AM
03/13/19 09:42 AM
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,649 Lincoln, Alabama
blumsden
12 point
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12 point
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,649
Lincoln, Alabama
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Deer who live in hardwoods, like TNF, have to travel a long ways to get the nutrition they need. On our mountain property, this is the case, but on our club it's not the case, they have smaller 400-600 acre home ranges. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule. Some mature bucks wander and some hold tighter to their core area.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760650
03/13/19 11:12 AM
03/13/19 11:12 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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RonfromRamer said it best... Basically all the biggest bucks I've ever killed, was the first and only time I ever saw them. I'm the biggest wingnut in the bunch about "hunting pressure", but the real issue in Alabama is that your deer's home range is MILES!!!!!!! I've replied on dozens of threads here about multiple deer over the years that would 100%, no lie, no exaggeration, be on camera at my place at let's say 3:00AM, then be on someone else's camera 3 miles away at 6:00PM the same day. I've repeated the story of the crab-claw 7 point (VERY, VERY recognizable deer, both rack-wise and throat patch distinctions). If any of you know where the motorcycle track is on Hwy 21 between Talladega and Munford, I had that deer on camera sporadically right in behind that track. I hunted there one morning, checked that camera on the way out of the woods, and he was there in the daylight at 8:30AM (I just didn't see him). The next day I saw him dead on a tailgate on Facebook, killed by a guy I went to high school with who lives a dang long way from there. I inboxed him about it, said he killed it in his back yard right after daylight. Frankly I didn't believe his story, but he started sending me trail pics he had of him, many of which were the same day or one day apart (before or after) that I would have pics of him. Based on Google Earth, his address is 3.5 miles AS THE CROW FLIES from where my camera was. Now that's an extreme example, but I've had similar experiences with trail cameras all over the state. This deer was crossing a major highway and at least two county roads basically every day it seemed. That's amazing. I've never heard your story before but I absolutely believe it. That just makes me want to ask so many more questions of the "Deer" guys. What do you think made him move that much? (food, cover, water, does, etc) To perpetuate the species.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: blumsden]
#2760652
03/13/19 11:21 AM
03/13/19 11:21 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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Deer who live in hardwoods, like TNF, have to travel a long ways to get the nutrition they need. On our mountain property, this is the case, but on our club it's not the case, they have smaller 400-600 acre home ranges. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule. Some mature bucks wander and some hold tighter to their core area. Correct Blum. I killed a big 4YO 5X4 a few years ago that my son and I had seen several times but couldn't get killed. I had plenty of pics of him year around, at two locations for two years. When he was ripe , my son saw him one afternoon at one of the camera sites and couldn't get him killed . I saw him about 400 yards away a few days later and couldn't get a shot. I killed him a few days after that in between where we had seen him. That buck stayed real close. He could walk in 3 directions 400 yards and be in ag fields. Folks think because they can't see or kill them they are always 5 miles away. Some are , but some may be hiding right under their nose. They're all different , just like people.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2760935
03/13/19 05:14 PM
03/13/19 05:14 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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I agree strongly that the nearly 4 month season contribute to mature bucks being wary, nocturnal and hard to pattern. Just because the season is so long doesn't mean you have to hunt all of it. Shut the place down for 2-3 weeks prior to the rut and see the difference. You can treat your property like it's in a state with a 2-3 weeks season.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2761492
03/14/19 07:50 AM
03/14/19 07:50 AM
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,649 Lincoln, Alabama
blumsden
12 point
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12 point
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 5,649
Lincoln, Alabama
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2dogs, that will work, if you have a lot of acreage by yourself, but most people are either hunting public ground or in a club with a bunch of other morons that think they need to hunt every single day and wonder why they don't see a mature buck. For instance, my club is only 400 acres and there's me and my son, but the surrounding property, we have no control over so just because we keep down pressure on our land, the deer don't stay on just our land. On our mountain property its easier because there's only a few people hunting and it joins landlocked national forest.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2761690
03/14/19 11:15 AM
03/14/19 11:15 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402 Boxes Cove
2Dogs
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 34,402
Boxes Cove
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Like other management and hunting strategies it'll work on small properties if you have the right neighbors. I have a friend that has 160 acres, it's the right 160. It's surrounded by large tracts with limited hunting. He and his son will hunt some the first week , then not set foot on the place till rut some 6 weeks later. They kill em and it doesn't take long.
"Why do you ask"?
Always vote the slowest path to socialism.
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Re: Patterning deer
[Re: NSDQ160]
#2761700
03/14/19 11:43 AM
03/14/19 11:43 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,508 Northport
Bamarich2
8 point
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8 point
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,508
Northport
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Two angles when talking about "patterning". I do believe in some case on lightly pressured properties or when food sources are scarce that deer can be patterned in such a way that you can setup at a certain time/place and see them. I had a woods stand this past year that I hunted four times in the evening in a three week stretch. All four times a doe and her yearling showed up walking the same trail by me during the same time frame. They clearly were on a regular pattern at that point. Early in the season or later than when I was hunting, it might not have been the case but it was at that time of the season.
Another angle about "patterning" is predicting when deer might begin showing up on a tract of land. The first year I hunted a particular tract, I began feeding corn in the middle of it. Over the year (and the season), I would occasionally see my shooter bucks on the property and they would largely be random visits at night. However, when the rut began, my pictures of those deer dramatically increased - and a lot of the activity would be in the daylight hours. When I started seeing daylight pics of a big 8 during the "first rut", I started hunting the property and killed him within a few days. Everything died down after that and pics resumed as usual. When the "second rut" began, a big 6 started showing in the daytime. I began hunting the tract again and killed him within a few days also. In this "patterning", I wasn't trying to pin either of those deer down to a certain time/place. Rather, I just needed a general time frame to know that they would be in the area during daylight hours.
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