where in hell is my buck?

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
ALLEN said:
grumpy, I purchased two good, quality and (damn expensive) game cameras last spring,
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/prod....z_btnclk=YMAL-2513754&WT.z_pg_ref=prd2494281

I set those up in carefully hidden locations, near game trails on some rural property I own, (80 acres) in rural Florida, north of ocala.
too help me locate deer....over the months of looking at the available internet photos.
I've seen dozens of deer and a few hogs and rarely some of the local kids in the photos, and two decent buck deer.
so I drove out and set up my climbing deer stand on opening day, last year, and hunted for over a week last season......nothing but does, not a single male deer worth shooting.
I assumed one of the neighbors must of shot the deer.....but now a few months after the seasons over hes back?
(easily identified with a torn left ear)
where did he go for several months?

white tail deer generally have a home area of about a half to one square mile, there's 640 acres in a square mile, trail cameras are a great idea to help you scout, but they certainly can,t accurately predict deer movement once the hunt pressure starts.
from all the studies I've read your very unlikely to see more than 50% of the deer in any area on any trail camera, and even on several over a few weeks you won,t see all the deer.
careful on sight scouting should allow you to locate a few places where you can place a climbing tree stand near the intersection of several game trails located in reasonable cover where your most likely to see game, trails in wide open areas are generally used after dark, and are less likely to be a good tree stand location.
Obviously you can,t always select the ideal location, because decent size trees rarely are located in the ideal locations but careful scouting helps a great deal.
florida deer are generally taken at ranges well under 200 yards so a traditional 257 roberts or 270 win, rifle, with some reach , and a high quality 4x or 2x-7x scope is about ideal, but the 30/30 or 44 mag carbines work for most of us.
placing a stand well up in a large tree and sitting in it from before dawn to at least 11 am and from 4 pm till after dark, between and slightly inside the edge of two areas of heavy brush, with obvious game trails, is commonly productive
use of a comfortable climbing deer stand allows you to see game over a vastly wider area than a ground blind,but it must be placed in a tree that in the correct area and that perfect tree,is not always located in the ideal place.
your rifle of choice is obviously not as important as having the experience and time in the field to find the deer, and it certainly does not help if there are guys in ATVs , guys who use dogs too chase deer, guys, who don,t respect property boundary's or guys with dirt bikes running around your property, (which is in some areas a big issue) obviously human presents and movement, alter deer travel and normal routines.
your 80 acres is 1/8th of that square mile area so in theory you have FAR less than a 25%- 12% chance of him being anyplace on your 80 acres,
let alone near your deer stand or trail camera, on any given day,
unless there's a specific reason that draws the deer like a feed station.
(baiting deer is illegal in Florida).
once hunting season opens most older more knowledgeable deer tend too go partly nocturnal, and spend most of the day time in thicker cover less traveled by people.
correct use of a climbing deer stand is a very good idea, but as usual location and timing is critical.
your intended target in all probability knows the games rules and just decided hiding during daylight was smarter than chasing does during day light.
statistically you won,t get a deer every year.
IN fact most ares in florida have under a 12% licence to kill ratio over a whole season.
check with the local WILD LIFE OFFICE, and that areas,biologist for regulations, licences,s and info, maps and advice
(thats why its called HUNTING, not SHOOTING season"
statistically your over three times as successful using a tree stand thats placed at least 15-20 feet up a tree in a good area compared to still or sneak hunting

http://myfwc.com/hunting/harvest-reports/by-season-areas/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/best-climbing-tree-stand.6078/#post-18750
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hey Grumpy, I don,t get down too look over a 78 acre plot of land I own in texas , bowie county , very often, as I live in OK,
but I did recently, the areas fenced and posted, but its a 6 ft barb wire cattle fence and deer can clear that or go through it in places.
the areas mixed trees, brush and open meadow with a small stream that is generally only 7-12 feet wide and at times in drought,s
, its been known to be just a couple feet wide and inches deep, but it never completely dried up to my knowledge.
walking the area last Tuesday I see plenty of tracks and old rubs etc so theres deer on the land occasionally, but since I can,t really scout,
as I'm hardly local, how do I find out what size and how many deer are on my property/
i damn sure don,t want a lot of other local guys hunting my property,
theres a trailer on the land. I use as a hunt cabin, but its locked up 50 weeks a year.
I have a couple neighbors I kind of trust,
that try too keep the local kids off the property and I don,t think either of them hunt!
any ideas

too me it sounds like you may want too invest in one or two of the trail cameras that you can down-load pictures from wirelessly from a distance,
that are basically cell phones with extended life battery's
so you can watch for but not overly disturb the bucks in that area.
be aware that if the cameras are not placed high up above eye level and well hidden theres a good chance they will be intentionally stolen or damaged if you have trespassers
read the fine print VERY CAREFULLY AND ASK DETAILED QUESTIONS,and read info carefully some cameras can be used from far off site,
others require you get within a few dozen feet.
you want a couple you can dial up from out of state, down load pictures and ideally that have photo cell battery rechargers
https://www.trailcampro.com/collections/wireless-trail-cameras

https://www.opticsplanet.com/trail-cameras.html

https://www.stealthcam.com/

https://www.besttrailcamerareviews.org/wireless-trail-camera/

https://www.trailcameralab.com/best-wireless-trail-camera-reviews-the-top-8/
 
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