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 .

I wonder how much ground the average 2-3 year old buck covers between Oct 15 and Feb 10 in Alabama??.......I bet at some point during that time period most all of them are ranging across a several mile area……A mile is just 1700 yards…..Thats just a few good bounces for a deer

The area is more important than how nice your specific property is. A mansion in the hood ain’t worth a lot.

Look up buck number 140 to see how far they range. This joker crossed the Mississippi River twice a year more than once. A Mississippi State radio collared deer that would travel way over ten miles twice a year.

I think it was 27 miles or something crazy

Anyone ever tracked a mature buck for mile or so have a very different opinion of how a deer travels . They will almost always stay on break of a hill. Not on top or bottom .never cross open areas an always in thick stuff if possible . One was killed behind my house this week chasing a doe . Friends had pics of him over 2 miles away and been hunting him all season . Mature bucks are very different than bunch does when it comes to travel pattern. They are an amazing animals .

never ,,,, yeah right lol


sorry i disagree with ever thing you just wrote .

Deer and dogs are resilient animals, some more than others. Having growed in the time deer dog hunting was coming to an end in my hunting area and feeding becoming the new norm I think back about all the dog running I could hear from my stands when I switched to stand hunting only. The really big surprise was the nice rack buck that eventually ran across my corn pile that the beagles brought in from at least a half mile away. Usually the dogs never came by me from such a long distance and usually the big ones took the dogs out of the area or to the river. One could tell the beagles sounded as if they were a quarter of mile away when the buck exploded out of the thick swamp that most deer didn't even want to use. The buck was not running wide open, but a causual stride when I let loose the old 30-30. Those where some good dogs. It was as if the four year old buck was in no hurry as they usually are with the blueticks or walkers. That deer knew it's territory. I can still imagine it being one of the tracks we use to see on the county road in the dirt.
I remember of faint sounds of one dog on a quiet calm day. That deer took that dog from one side of the river to the other. Still can't figure out which was more resilient the dog or the deer. For a couple of hours I could hear that dog cover probably a couple of miles before both headed south our of hearing range.
I remember one dog club I enjoyed to mostly stalk hunt. Really waste of my time the way they kept those deer run off that tract. It seemed most of the deer would get up and run to the next county. What was really strange is I seldom would hear any shots. Some folks had good dogs and others not so much. On occasion you would see a dog that just wouldn't give up and no deer could outsmart.

This they are pretty dumb and patternable if people don't screw them up constantly

Most deer I’ve tracked (if mortally wounded) won’t go up a hill.
A leg shot deer will go up, down, stay on a trail, almost normal.
A healthy deer nearly always takes the path of least resistance as far as topography.
That’s why they like saddles and creek bottoms, they don’t want to go up hill anymore than you do.
It’s just the nasty briars and stuff that bothers us doesn’t bother them, they love it.
I look for thick, flat, travel access for bucks, but yeah they’ll cover 1/2 mile in a minute.