deer question
- Thread starter rr41mag
- Start date
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Limiting myself to Texas, okay?
In general, a white tail will hang around his birth area unless chased out. The primary range will be between some water source and a bedding area (generally thicker cover) and a feeding area. They will travel notable distances to some "goodies" like an oat patch. By and large, you're talking a few hundred acres at most. However, white tails are nosey, and will wander around their turf quite a bit, just checking who's doing what to whom.
West Texas mule deer have adapted to desert conditions. While a lactating doe must remain, generally, within a mile or less of water, a buck may travel much more than this. A doe without fawn, or a buck, may drink only once or twice a week. Once, if the vegetation is pretty moist. Since they tend to be more solitary than white tails, they travel longer distances. A problem is that they are lazier than white tails, and less curious. They are less often out in the open, "posing". Population density in the Davis Mountains, when the lions haven't gotten there first, runs around one deer to 60-100 acres. Down in south Brewster County, it can run one deer per 150-300 acres.
Where are you gonna be hunting?
Regards, Art
In general, a white tail will hang around his birth area unless chased out. The primary range will be between some water source and a bedding area (generally thicker cover) and a feeding area. They will travel notable distances to some "goodies" like an oat patch. By and large, you're talking a few hundred acres at most. However, white tails are nosey, and will wander around their turf quite a bit, just checking who's doing what to whom.
West Texas mule deer have adapted to desert conditions. While a lactating doe must remain, generally, within a mile or less of water, a buck may travel much more than this. A doe without fawn, or a buck, may drink only once or twice a week. Once, if the vegetation is pretty moist. Since they tend to be more solitary than white tails, they travel longer distances. A problem is that they are lazier than white tails, and less curious. They are less often out in the open, "posing". Population density in the Davis Mountains, when the lions haven't gotten there first, runs around one deer to 60-100 acres. Down in south Brewster County, it can run one deer per 150-300 acres.
Where are you gonna be hunting?
Regards, Art
Robert the41MagFan
New member
Once the rut starts, deer remain in a very concentrated area. A square mile sounds about right. But it is more of a linear mile. Bucks do not go in circles, they move in fairly straight lines. If you find a pair of rubs, you can usually find the pattern fast. And deer also navigate the forest using landmarks, just like us. They follow tree lines, roads, elevation or power lines.
Jack Straw
New member
Along the lines of what Art and Robert said, it all depends on where the deer lives. A deer's home range depends on what food, water, and cover are available. If a deer has everything it needs in a single square mile, then it is possible that it would spend its whole life there. If it must travel to meet its needs, then it will.
There seem to be some differences between bucks and does. Bucks are more prone to wandering while does are more likely to stay in a familiar area. If a doe has a male fawn, she will frequently run him off once he starts to reach sexual maturity. Sometimes the young buck will simply change his routine within the same home range and sometimes they will wander off to a new home range.
rr41mag,
I'm with you. I love to learn new things about the animals I hunt. After a lifetime (30+ yrs) of hunting (all in Georgia) the animals themselves still fascinate me. If you want to find some good solid deer biology, look up the Quality Deer Management Association @ www.qdma.com. Even if you are not interested in qdm, you will find info from some of the top biologists on whitetails. I'm in the Atlanta Chapter and we have meetings where a biologist is brought in to give a lecture on a particular topic (ie...food plots, biology of the rut, deer senses, effective doe management, deer glands,dealing with the animal rights movement, etc..). They are always incredibly interesting.
Jack
[This message has been edited by Jack Straw (edited August 21, 2000).]
There seem to be some differences between bucks and does. Bucks are more prone to wandering while does are more likely to stay in a familiar area. If a doe has a male fawn, she will frequently run him off once he starts to reach sexual maturity. Sometimes the young buck will simply change his routine within the same home range and sometimes they will wander off to a new home range.
rr41mag,
I'm with you. I love to learn new things about the animals I hunt. After a lifetime (30+ yrs) of hunting (all in Georgia) the animals themselves still fascinate me. If you want to find some good solid deer biology, look up the Quality Deer Management Association @ www.qdma.com. Even if you are not interested in qdm, you will find info from some of the top biologists on whitetails. I'm in the Atlanta Chapter and we have meetings where a biologist is brought in to give a lecture on a particular topic (ie...food plots, biology of the rut, deer senses, effective doe management, deer glands,dealing with the animal rights movement, etc..). They are always incredibly interesting.
Jack
[This message has been edited by Jack Straw (edited August 21, 2000).]
This is limited to European roe deer in Poland so I don't know how much can be related to White deers here but... my wife and I used to stalk a herd of 16-19 does and fawns behind our house 3 or 4 time a week for 3 years and we noted that the herd never moved more than 1 mile from a patch of pine forest that was about 300 x 500 yards. They had food, water and shelter within this area. However, bucks seems to move quite a bit (upto 4 or 5 miles) within few days in single or in herds of 2-4. Large mature bucks were usually alone and move more than younger bucks.
A coupla years ago, a study was done on the property of the now defunct Remington Farms on Md's Eastern Shore. 23 Yearling(first rack) Whitetail bucks were fitted with radio collars and returned to the wild. Shortly thereafter, the migration that yearling bucks undergo started. Momma drives them off her territory it helps prevent inbreeding.
I don't have the study in front of me, but I recall that the furthest a buck went was Easton Md, over 30 miles away, and the least was about 3 miles, on a buck that was roadkill. BTW, out of the 23, 19 were dead within a few months, some by car, some by hunting, one disappeared.
During the rut,both dominant and subdominant bucks range expands greatly as they seek hot does. This is where a buck never before seen gets viewed or whacked. It's not so much that the buck's hormones bring him out more visibly,tho that does happen, but that he's not usually in that area the rest of the year.
A good buck spends most of his time within one square mile, but it's not the sq mi where he was born,and the area is variable with the season.
I don't have the study in front of me, but I recall that the furthest a buck went was Easton Md, over 30 miles away, and the least was about 3 miles, on a buck that was roadkill. BTW, out of the 23, 19 were dead within a few months, some by car, some by hunting, one disappeared.
During the rut,both dominant and subdominant bucks range expands greatly as they seek hot does. This is where a buck never before seen gets viewed or whacked. It's not so much that the buck's hormones bring him out more visibly,tho that does happen, but that he's not usually in that area the rest of the year.
A good buck spends most of his time within one square mile, but it's not the sq mi where he was born,and the area is variable with the season.