I’m not going to say never, but GPS data shows deer altering their movements patterns rather than moving locations.

You put enough corn on the ground on the 5k acre spot that you can see it from outer space. The density will increase dramatically.

I know here at the house we are surrounded by a 6k acre rice farm. This farm has a lot of deer on it and has a big duck hunting operation on it. My property is on the east end of the property on the higher elevation(if you want to call it that) and they duck hunt the lower parts of the farm which is the areas that holds most of the deer. I will see very few if any deer on my property until duck season opens and they start running around and shooting ducks and geese. Within a few days of opening weekend I will start getting more and more pictures of deer on our 35 acres. I’ve seen this happen at other places also. Even at our camp. Our neighbor always tells me he gets way more pictures of deer on his cameras when we’ve been at the camp for a week or so. I always thought deer would move to safer places. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us.

My question is really more centered around what happens after the season is over…..There’s 8 ½ more months in the year……If we end the season and the population density ends up like the chart below on Feb 11……Then what will it look like come Oct 15 when the next season starts…..When spring green-up starts occurring how will the scenario below shake out??.....Will the deer in the center stay highly concentrated?

Imo, deer learn from pressure . I've seen dogs go right pass bucks bedded down . I've seen dogs jump the same deer out of the same spot over and over. They'll let you walk by them too .when I stalked them id walk up to a good spot and stop be quite for a few minute the stomp , deer would come busting out of there . If I had steady walked by he might have never got up .

Back when I dog hunted we run a spot to hell . Then later in the day id go back and catch the moving back in .

What id like to see is a study on at what age does a buck find ,,, Home!!!!

It varies.

I I kinda figured that ,,,, thanks

I quoted that line from My Cousin Vince because you’re trying to get an answer that is not feasible from your question

There’s so many variables across 150 square miles of habitat the so many “it depends” within that area there is no answer that’s gonna suit you

I’ll play along I guess. At the farm three sides are hills with varying habitats of mature hardwoods to clearcuts to differing stages of pines. We’ve lost 30-40 acres yearly of beans the past few years. We even have corn plant damage from deer eating the tops. Mowed them down this summer and you can’t tell many are gone at all. The hunters are still seeing a lot of does and they killed about 20 or so plus some bucks. Planted cover crops and some of the fields on the south side will have plenty of does on it most hunts they say.

Location location location.

Here’s the part that gets me from your question. Those does are gonna have fawns the following year. The replacement rates would be so off the charts the following year. 1.3 fawns per doe and you’re gonna have a problem so fast your heard will spin.

So here’s the question, how many does have to be killed to just maintain herd density?

I would think that would depend on reproduction rates and fawn survival rates

That’s kinda my point. There is so many variables in a fluid situation.

That’s still not gonna have a whole lot to do with post season densities though and how deer reshuffle and spread out in the spring and summer…..I guess it was four or five years ago I lost nearly all the resident does that were using my place to road mortality during the rut…..After the season was over there wasn’t squat left other than like one little yearling doe…..It stayed like that for several months but then toward the end of the summer a few weeks ahead of fawns dropping low and behold suddenly some new does began showing up…….Where did those does come from??.....They come from those higher density areas like inside the center circle ^^^^

I suspect this is what’s happening to some of these bigger properties that are wondering why their populations have decreased despite them not doing anything differently…..The numbers being shot around them has increased pretty significantly and created more voids and the higher densities are spreading out to fill those voids the same way those new does showed up to at my place…..I would think that the more voids created during deer season, the more spreading out that occurs in the spring and summer from the remaining higher density areas

Late to the party but thats hilarious Fred 🤣🤣

I’m sure that is happening somewhere but none of the big clubs I know guys in are seeing it. I don’t know of anyone in south western Alabama who is experiencing this. Plenty of does and plenty of deer.

I believe you.....That's not the case around here though.....Just left Peachburg Plantation and they had the same story as the rest of them

Go back and read Matt’s post. He stated that studies show most deer do not migrate to other properties. Just because you aren’t seeing them when you want to see them doesn’t mean they’re not there. They change habits, not locations. Those deer were already there before fawning season. Also how many deer were killed on the highway that makes you think all the deer except 1 yearling were killed? What is the number?

If deer won’t spread out to other properties then how did we restock the whole state from a handful of release sites??......Are them biscuits about done yet??

That’s the thing with this looking for the cause but not listening to what has been proven in studies.

My thing is being in the club and listening to half the club not seeing bucks but only big groups of does. The other half not seeing many does at all but plenty of young bucks. Also some were only seeing mature bucks
The groups that were only seeing young bucks thought we’d killed too many does. The group seeing does on almost every hunt said we needed to kill more.

5,000 acres and everyone was not having the same experience
Same places were being but I’m gonna differently.

I’m not convinced that hunter observation is a viable way to count your deer population
I think it is somewhat but in the bottom rung but it probably matters the most in sentiment.

I’m not even fully convinced game cams here inland there on the property provide the best evidence. I know a club that run theirs on a seasonal grid pattern and mark yearly browse and acorn crops for correlation. Those to me would be one of the best ways baring thermal surveillance


I’ll also admit that back a few years ago I argued you can’t kill too many does. That was my personal experience and bias coming out. Everyone has biases that get in the way. Hogwild posted that these smaller tracts were managing like large tracts and that made sense when he posed his stance in that way.

Studies just take a handful of animals and record what they do in this particular situation under these particular circumstances……I look to them for guidance on behavior but not to tell me how I should think about it in every circumstance…..If you change the variables or conditions then you’re likely going to change the outcomes and that’s where you have to be able to think for yourself outside of just what this or that study shows…..Deer will 100% for sure spread themselves out…..If that were not true then they would still be piled up in mass numbers at the places where they got released and restocked……Its most likely the subordinate females that have to adjust their home range when social conflict begins to occur over resources....likely occurring around fawning time

Here’s another theory that may hold true and be playing a part in it……I’ve had does show at my place and have fawns in some very odd places…..A couple of times its been within 30 yards of my house and the road……They seem to be seeking out discreet locations likely away from high coyote traffic……Part of the “spreading out” in the late summer may very well be driven by does seeking out areas with less predator usage to give birth….