So if you spent some time studying the video of Deer 8159 in September, could you pinpoint a spot he travels consistently that you might see him during October? Now let’s see if you got a shot!
First, take a look at this deer’s home range boundaries for September (in yellow) and October (in brown). This buck has shifted his home range to the west spending more time on the ridges.
Now let’s see where this buck moves within his home range in October. Watch the video below. There are a few things I noticed; maybe you can pick out more.
• If he comes down into the valley it’s usually late in the day just before dusk. Generally, he is in the southeastern-most portion of his home range only after hunting hours.
• Notice his favorite spot on the south slope of the higher ridge. It’s his go-to spot. He visits the same spot on this steep slope multiple times.
• A gap in the leading ridge (near the center of his home range), or just to the east on the ridge, is a place where he typically moves from the forest to the valley. What makes this gap so special? Beats me! He’s the only one who can tell us that.
Finding this guy during hunting hours, I’m not sure it’s possible. There isn’t anything in his movements from September that reliably carryover to October.
Sure he travels through that gap often enough, but it seems to be almost any time of the day. If I had to pick a place to set up, it would probably be in the middle of his home range – in that gap in the leading ridge or on top of the leading ridge just to the east.
If you would like to receive email alerts of new blog posts, subscribe here.
And Follow us on Twitter @WTDresearch
