Where do all the bucks go this time of year

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Getting around some of my land at the momemt and not seeing what should be there .I know that the bucks are usually less active now and even nocturnal but where the hell are they .If i thought about it too long i would get a bit paranoid but according to my records it comes good later from the rut onwards but WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY NOW.Cropping has something to do with it im sure as does livestock but is there anything im missing .

[john robbo 30]

Getting around some of my land at the momemt and not seeing what should be there .I know that the bucks are usually less active now and even nocturnal but where the hell are they .If i thought about it too long i would get a bit paranoid but according to my records it comes good later from the rut onwards but WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY NOW.Cropping has something to do with it im sure as does livestock but is there anything im missing .

My ground is same on all of it and its very varied and spread out accross 2 counties, my view is because the bucks do,nt eat much during the rut. so they are deep in cover bulking up trying to get on as much wieght and size they can, getting ready for all of the running about in the up comming weeks.

[Guest busterdog]

FD i read your threads all the time mate, it looks to me like you've shot em mate , you can only shoot them once.

Take a page out of my book and miss most of em that way there will be plenty.

[J Darcy 5,871]

FD, i was always told that the bucks go quiet both before and after the rut....But i know what you're saying, they do seem to vanish. Still, the ruts around the corner...Time to get that Buttolo polished!!

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

I understand that they go quiet ,i understand that they will be conserving energy but where the feck do they go to do all this 'cos they aint on my ground doing it .Put the dog through several farms today and saw only does .

Busterdog mate -believe me ,there are plenty of bucks about somewhere .

Edited to say that knowing it happens is not enough for me .I want answers as to why they arnt in the usual territories right now and where they are right now .Sorry if this is a bit 'deep' but i feel the answers are something that i will maybe have to find for myself .

Edited July 6, 2009 by foxdropper

[Outofnowhere 93]

FD

 

Believe me they are there. A buck does not defend a territory from April to the rut to bugger off and leave it half way through [As was the urban myth round these parts a few years ago]. They are, as others have said, packing it on for the rut, they won't move far and they will be in plenty of cover. Again rest assured they can see you, I nearly have to fall over them to get them to move otherwise they sit tight.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

What i maybe ommitted to say was that we have no deep cover ,its all hedges that can be dogged out in a day .To say they are packing on weight is all very well but in my instance ,where are they getting the food from and when .

[dicehorn 38]

What i maybe ommitted to say was that we have no deep cover ,its all hedges that can be dogged out in a day .To say they are packing on weight is all very well but in my instance ,where are they getting the food from and when .

 

I think you will find with this cooler weather coming through the UK you will start to see them and with rain about, they will move around more remarking their territories. FD you have no deep cover, but have you crops such as wheat/barley and maize? I was watching a young 4 pointer last week on the side of a field and he walked some 20 yds out into some maturing barley, lay down and I found it almost impossible to relocate him after moving the binos away and back to him

 

I have also been out with N/V twice in the last three days looking for fox and have seen more bucks with this unsettled weather than I did when it was warm at night.

 

General consensus in my area is that the rut could take place 10 days earlier this year

[ArchieHood 3,692]

Foxdropper, you should of gone to specsavers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[martin 332]

Foxdropper, you should of gone to specsavers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OH!!!!!! I love it................Martin.

[Guest busterdog]

Sounds like a job for Fox Mullder not Fox Dropper. .

 

Sorry mate couldn't help it, on a serious note i havn't got a clue, no roe no experience, wish you well in your quest for knowledge.

[Yokel Matt 918]

You're right, it doesn't make sense. In theory they should be trying to get into their best condition for the forthcoming rut - this would mean browsing high value foods which they would generally find in the fields and hedgerows and not the woodland areas. As you say, being mainly hedgerows i guess its unusual not to see them at similar times to the does - you've certainly got quite a few of them about! I think it would be unlikely for them all to bugger off the ground but, short of them spending pretty much all day bedded down (nearly 18 hours of daylight) in the middle of a stand of peas or whatever would only leave them 6 hours effective feeding time - doesn't seem quite right.

[2434me 13]

About a week ago I was in a high seat waiting for cubs to appear (they didnt !) but while I was there I was watching a good mature buck feeding quite slowly along without a care in the world .Every time he got to a gap where the sun was on him he would stand with his eyes closed just soaking it up .Looked like he was sleeping standing up ! .

The plantation is only a few years old with trees no bigger than 2 feet high ,but scrubby birch and willow herb all over the place .Along the side is a well used dog walking path and about 8.30pm along comes a woman with two collies .I was expecting a bark and a quick depature,but No ! He saw them coming and watched for a couple of minutes .Then calmly lay down with his head up untill they were only about 30 feet away then dropped his head and lay flat on the ground while they passed within 20 feet. The woman and the dogs were no more than 50 yards away when he stood up again and carried on as if nothing had happened.

 

After all that, I took one step out of the high seat onto the ladder and it creaked a bit !!!

Bark! Bark! Bark! and away he went ???lolol

 

They know exactly what noises and disturbances are fairly safe and which ones are unexpected and mean possible danger . We might think we are being quiet and carefull,but they have us worked out too. Their lives depend on it !

 

They are there ! They just dont want to be sociable this time of year ! LOL

[wireviz 8]

[ The best food for roe deer is not in the field edges but in the low damp ditch areas. Most of the old bucks only lift there head a few times while out feeding. I my self try and get my eye on a doe or two and then just watch her its amazing how many times the bucks are satelliting them .They are there its only a mater of time

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

I saw exactly the same thing as well once. I was observing a roe doe browsing a hedge when I noticed a fella walking along the path the other side the hedge no more than 10 yards from this doe . I too expected her to scarper but no she just froze and let the guy walk past.

 

Roe bucks do just lie up in thick cover this time of year awaiting the pending rut , I dont bother looking for them until then .................