Whitetail Deer Hunting
Whitetail Deer Biology - Jan 30, 2007 - 5:31:36 PM

Whitetail Biology and Behavior; Sex, Social Class and Antlers

By T.R Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors

     For years whitetail hunters have believed that bucks, particularly older dominant bucks, are warier and react differently than other deer during the fall hunting season. Hunters often complain that they do not see as many bucks during the hunting season as they did during pre-season scouting, and that the trophy bucks they saw during scouting sessions seem to disappear during the hunting season. This lack of buck sightings is often said to occur because bucks leave their home ranges or become "nocturnal" during the hunting season. But is this really true? Do some bucks really pull a vanishing act during the hunt? In order to explain how these factors affect buck movement and reduced sightings we must first define them. When we talk about older dominant buck movement during the fall we are talking about the differences between:

1. bucks and does, 2. older bucks and younger bucks, 3. breeding bucks and non-breeding bucks. We are also talking about: 4. fall as opposed to summer 5. the breeding season, 6. hunting pressure, 7. an increase in other human related activities.

Sex and Social Class