I’ve said this before but the more I track deer the more it just reinforces that the land isnt nearly as big as we perceive it to be……Our perception of 500-1000 acres is way different than the how the deer see it……

We jumped a leg shot buck the other day …..The guy shot it on a hard quartering away angle and I think he probably just got all meat across the front of the shoulder……probably a nasty wound but not one that was debilitating… ……He was dripping blood the whole way though and it was a great opportunity just to let my lab work so we followed him around a little farther than I normally would……

The buck acted like he knew exactly where he was going from the start and he made a beeline in a pretty straight line 2.3 miles from where he was shot to a big lake where he either just kept on going or started a loop headed back…….I’m not sure where he went after that because that’s where had decided to “call it” and had some other hunters pick us up there.

I’m just using that as example though to show how the world is a lot bigger place to any individual buck than your 500 or 1000 acres …….That 2.3 miles for sure isnt any kind of maximum range either and it was nothing for that deer to go that far in a very short amount of time……The 2.3 miles that the deer covered represents the radius of a circle with an area of 10,636 acres……..Basically that means you could own 10K acres and there still be the potential for any given buck in the dead center of your property to be on someone else’s place from one day to the next for whatever reason….Heck, even from one hour to the next…..

I read about one that was tracked by either MS or LA DNR, don't remember which, that swam the river and went several miles for the summer, then returned to his regular range. Did it again the next year also.

When I dog hunted, a deer would be across a couple thousand acres in no time. Dogs would trail one during rut couple miles before jumping.

If I remember correctly, MS State’s research indicates that bucks also tend to have their own personality’s, with some ranging much further than others on the same piece of property. Deer are interesting creatures for sure.

I killed a buck 11 yrs ago that was ranging 3 miles to the west of me to 3 miles to the east of me. I think the does are pretty much home bodies but them bucks will go miles.

They are individuals , some are home bodies living on a few hundred acres , some it takes several square miles or more if they take walkabouts during the rut. Pushing a buck wounded in the leg is not a good indicator of range bucks in general .

Most bucks with any age on them seem to know the broader area around them pretty well……Its pretty common for them to jump and run straight to big lakes/ponds/swamps from pretty far away…..and most of them don’t seem to be just randomly finding them either…..The deer in the story above ran straight to the lake like he knew exactly where he was wanting to go…..They must have some kind uncanny natural ability to mentally map a “world” around them even if they don’t use it on a daily basis

The deer we were really after this year was killed last Sunday approximately 5 miles from my place. (By road) Numerous folks between here and there had pics of him. We did not have a pic but I saw him once in early bow season and again youth weekend.

Bucks will roam any time . Just like we'll go out of our way to go to another place .