So I have a really good buck on cam right now that I tried to kill last year also. He's coming to a feeder and when he shows up it's almost always around 10am. The problem is that he will show up and eat for an hour or more one day and then be totally awol for anywhere from 4-7 days before he comes back through. Could it be that I'm way away from his bedding area? Or that he just may be running a big circuit where he's in one place for a few days then moves to another spot etc? I'll be in that stand regardless on opening day hoping that it's his day to come through and he doesn't go nocturnal between now and then.

Is there any way you can go back and see what the wind pattern was on the days he showed up to see if it might be the same each time???

That's definitely a good thought, I may do that this evening. He does always come from the same direction.

Just lining things up in his territory plus acorn time.

I just pulled up the weather history for the area. The days he is coming all have a north wind but there have been plenty of north wind days that he wasn't there though. Good for me though because my stand is set up for a north or west wind.

Good point on the acorns, they should be about to start raining on our place.

Both are likely options... since you checked wind direction, make sure you check hourly stats because some days wind will be from one direction at 6 AM and another direction at 6 PM. I've got an area that I hunt that bucks travel a wide circle at this time of year - regardless of the wind. No idea why they do this, but they do.

Does the weather history give you anymore information like wind speed for the day or humidity levels?? When we ask “why is an older buck doing something a certain way”…..I tend to believe that most of the time it has something to do with how the animal is playing on the current scenting conditions at the given time and the way the air is flowing across the terrain as a result of those conditions. Keep in mind that he may be circling the feeder before approaching.

You are probably close to his bedding area and he is getting up and hitting the feeder for a mid-morning snack after running around all night. They will get up and move around in a localized area during the day and in my experience its to and from the closest food source. IMO that's what is going on here it's not rutting behavior this time of year.

The next rain will likely have a cold snap with it.... he will be there maybe just before the rain but I would almost guarantee he will be there the morning after.

Outside of weather some sort of change in any particular day could make it happen and it could be as simple as the neighbors riding 4-wheelers one afternoon or morning.

I would be hesitant to guess on anything right now. Between velvet coming off, acorns falling and summer patterns changing who knows. All I would play to is if he’s in there on camera and if he’s not.

My oldest deer last year was like that - i got him in the rut last year. Now one of my top bucks in that same area is same way. Not running w any bucks and he shows up real sporadic

The bucks I've killed or had on camera showing up like that were traveling 3-4 miles. I would catch them on camera at one farm one week and then another a week later. Good luck getting on him.

Always keep in mind , they're all individuals.