Why are we seeing more big bucks these days?

[Gobblengrunt]

Up in some northern nj zones, i hunt 40,000 plus acres.  No matter where i find deer, there are always more bucks than does.  Finding a mature buck 5+ years old is a different hunt but more attainable now then ever.  I think it comes from less gun hunters.  There are no more big drives, no woodsmanship, and almost nobody hunting during 6day anymore.  I think the fact that you will still see a lot more bear than deer turns hunters off to hunt these areas.  You cannot hunt deer over bait without seeing bears.  There are a ton of hunters who cant hunt anymore without seeing a pile of corn within range.  Actual hunting is a lost art, lol!

[JHbowhunter]

LOL - Rusty trying to create a 500 post topic.     

[MGHunter66]

More hunters being selective for sure, many early season posts on here alone were absent of small basket racks you would usually see in the past. But one thing I noticed that nobody has ever mentioned... The early does days before 6 day put a lot of deer on high alert as opposed to when the first shots of the season were on 6 day IMO 

[SPEARFISH]

I hunt a 150 acre piece and we shoot 2-3 mature bucks off it every year.  Sometimes I get one and sometimes I don't.  There are other very good hunters there.

[Merkel]

Hard for me to say because I changed properties this past season.  On my previous lease I saw a decline in good sized bucks  over the past two years and mainly saw does and a few small bucks.  This year I saw a few good bucks on my new lease but unfortunately, I didn't connect.  The older bucks went nocturnal fast. 

 

 

[Rusty]

15 minutes ago, JHbowhunter said:

LOL - Rusty trying to create a 500 post topic.     

Just earning my keep.  Gotta keep the boss man happy.  

[Greybeard]

6 minutes ago, Rusty said:

Just earning my keep.  Gotta keep the boss man happy.  

Keep it alive rusty.  Now, let me know where you're seeing an increase in big bucks or I won't believe a word of it.

[Swamprat]

As already said. All the above. 

Or maybe the mature/big bucks have always been there.  Cameras are great because they let you know what's there.  The other edge of that sword is someone else now knows and it turns into a fight of some sort.  I bet almost everyone here has dealt with another Hunter in a negative way because if a "big buck". Guys ain't fighting over does.  Lol. 

Not that anyone here will admit but I'm sure theirs guys here that drive around looking for land that isn't posted. Will trespass and set cameras and stands. And hunt it. Is it legal? I guess.  The mentality of "it isn't posted so I'm hunting it" is rampant here in South Jersey. It's pretty ignorant. I don't agree with it. I won't introduce my kids to that kind of "hunting".  

For now I'll stick with bait piles on state land.  Lol.  Sorry for the rant. Off my soapbox.  Lol. 

 

[toxo]

Baiting is making the Bucks go nocturnal very early in the year letting them survive to an older age. Plus the nutrition of all the bait and minerals we put out must be helping.

[06roadking]

When I was a kid hunting in my small area, before the interweb, everybody knew where each other hunted. If you killed a big buck, you told very few people. Otherwise, one of those clowns would drive the deer out of your area the night before. Also, everyone didn’t have a camera in their pocket. I know that I have very few pics of deer I killed as a kid. Also, look at the equipment we are hunting with now compared to 40 years ago. Also, when I was a kid, there were no game cameras so when you saw a buck, you shot it thinking you may not see another. Now, with game cameras, you have an idea of what’s cruising around. I know that I pass bucks regularly that 40 years ago I would have shot not knowing what else was around to hold out for. JMO 

Edited February 18, 2020 by 06roadking
Added content

[Herd Buck]

Less deer today and more food creates bigger bucks... plus what everyone else said. 

[Rusty]

4 hours ago, Greybeard said:

 I'd even say I'm seeing a lot less than there used to be because there's a lot less doe, producing a lot less bucks to survive hunting and predators.

You hunt big woods and there are significantly less deer in those areas today because we have allowed our forests to grow to an extremely unhealthy state.  There's no food or cover down where deer need it.  No habitat means no deer. 

[Greybeard]

19 minutes ago, Rusty said:

You hunt big woods and there are significantly less deer in those areas today because we have allowed our forests to grow to an extremely unhealthy state.  There's no food or cover down where deer need it.  No habitat means no deer. 

I agree there needs to be more undergrowth in areas.  There are plenty of acorns and other browse in the open woods where I hunt.  Deer also don't have to travel too far for ag fields.  I also hunt thick river bottoms, and the deer just aren't there like they used to be.  Big bucks have always been around.  It hasn't gotten any easier to find one outside of developments, and away from corn piles.  So few deer, that the doe I'm seeing have survived because they move like mature bucks do.  They are beelining it to someplace right at dark, and moving in thicker cover in the mornings.  Doesn't help to have so many people baiting just outside the public ground, either.  The deer have disappeared a whole lot more in the last 5-8 years than the forests have matured.  Last year I had 6 nice bucks and even more smaller bucks on camera during winter bow.  This year 2 nice and only 3 smaller bucks in the same spot.  Have to hunt hard for days to find a doe there between my son and I.  Wasn't that way just 10 years ago, and it kept getting worse each year because the doe are allowed to be shot off in unlimited numbers.  Every time a big buck shows up, so does an army of hunters.

[KBfishing]

1 hour ago, Rusty said:

You hunt big woods and there are significantly less deer in those areas today because we have allowed our forests to grow to an extremely unhealthy state.  There's no food or cover down where deer need it.  No habitat means no deer. 

That looks like my woods......I mean Jack's woods. 

[Rusty]

4 minutes ago, KBfishing said:

That looks like my woods......I mean Jack's woods. 

It's an easy fix.