This Buck was harvested in East Tennessee a week and a half after this photo was taken.

By:  Jake Barnett

            Animals, people all have different personalities and character traits.  Take a dog for instance, one dog can be extremely hyper, run all over the place, and chew up everything it can get to.  Another dog can be lazy, love to eat, and just want attention from it’s owner.  Mature bucks are the same way.  So, the question begs how do we tell the difference in mature bucks’ personalities?  This is where trail cameras can play an important role.  Over years of watching the same buck’s movement throughout a hunting season, this gives the hunter the advantage of knowing a particular buck’s movement throughout the season.  I think some hunters characterize all bucks as the same animal that move with almost a machine-like approach.  Obviously, the bucks’ that are constantly on their feet during daylight hours don’t have a great chance to live to be that mature buck a hunter wants to harvest.  But the mature buck that likes to travel long distances and does solely at night is a different story.  This buck can grow into mature target buck.

            The rut is the time most hunters akin bucks to being that machine-like creature.  This is true to some extent, but there are many variables that take place which might change a buck’s actions.  Take for example, what is the doe population in the area, and how aggressive is that target buck? A good example of this is a young man that goes out in search of female companionship in a city.  Does this young man have to stop at just one bar in the city to find that companionship, and is the young man willing and able to fight off any other male competition for this young lady?  Furthermore, does this young man have to walk one block to the next bar or does he have to drive across the city to get to the next bar?  Now, consider this young man has had a few drinks, does he get behind the wheel to go to the next bar on the other side of town, or does he drive back to the bar beside his house to see if there are any new females that have showed up since he left?  I liken a mature buck in the rut to being that young man who has been drinking, but after keeping a close eye on that buck when he was 2.5 and 3.5 years old you will probably have a much better idea of what his actions are going to be during the rut.  Also, knowing the local doe population can give you a much better idea of how that buck will travel throughout the rut.

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Whitetail Property Improvement