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Understanding how bucks use the heart of their home range can give you a leg up on relocating specific deer from year to year.

By Bob Zaiglin

It was a sultry August evening in Dimmit County, Texas, as my crew of wildlife interns and I prepared to conduct a deer spotlight survey. As the sun sank below the brush-lined horizon, we finalized our preparations from a platform on a top-drive rig that provided an elevated view over the low-growing brush characteristic of the region.

As darkness blanketed the thorn scrub, we initiated the spotlight survey, only to pause abruptly as one of the largest-racked bucks I had ever seen on the ranch appeared 40 yards from the rig. As both spotlights illuminated the deer, I scanned him with my binocular in disbelief as his nontypical rack easily breached the 200-inch mark. The remaining part of the 20-mile survey route yielded sightings of some quality-racked bucks, but nothing like the massive, yet narrow nontypical initially observed. Its appearance definitely added impetus to my upcoming hunting season, as I knew where I would be spending any available time I would have.

As the manager of 200,000 acres of prime Texas deer real estate made up of three different ranches throughout the state, my responsibilities elsewhere prevented me from pursuing the deer early in the season, but upon returning to the ranch the day after Thanksgiving, I dedicated as much time as possible to relocating the big nontypical. Much of it was spent on oat patches close to where I first saw the buck, but after not catching a glimpse of him over a two-week period, it was apparent that the buck had moved — but to where was the question.

Making it even more challenging was the fact that we did not distribute corn as an attractant on the ranch’s various senderos — which is a legal and common practice in Texas — so I concentrated on the various oat patches located nearby to find the buck, but he never showed up; that is until mid-December, when one of my interns caught a glimpse of him approximately 1 mile south of where he was first observed.

Excited, yet preoccupied, I failed to pursue the buck until early January, when I accidentally drove up on him feeding on a recently roller-chopped roadside a little over 2 miles south of where I expected to find him. After that, I saw the animal daily on the same strip of brush while I awaited the arrival of the ranch owner, whom I hoped would harvest the special nontypical.

Following the owner’s arrival, we got situated in an elevated position awaiting the appearance of the now predictable buck. But when he appeared the owner simply blew the shot.

The following year, 1993, the nontypical showed up once again in early January on the exact strip of brush where I had found him in ’92. This time, however, his rack had retrogressed slightly. Once again, the owner returned, and this time his shot was true, resulting in an 81/2-year-old buck decorated with 195-6/8 inches of antler.

Encore Appearances

Locating a particular buck several years in a row was an event I thought improbable early in my career; however, over the past 14 years, I have spent every day from December 11 through December 22 in search of bucks to film on a 40,000-acre ranch and have filmed some of the same bucks annually for consecutive years at the same places they surfaced the year before. And if I didn’t, my companions found most of the ones I missed. This is even more unique when you consider that the annual home range of a whitetail in South Texas approaches 3,000 acres. Relocating a particular buck would be like finding a needle in a haystack, except for the fact that they don’t occupy that substantial amount of habitat on a seasonal basis.

The home range of a buck varies seasonally, when the animals concentrate on much smaller areas that are conducive to their well-being, and more importantly for a specific purpose, such as rutting activities.

For example, in the semi-arid region of South Texas, deer spend their summers concentrated around water sources in environments with some slope, such as drainages, which not only represent a food source, but more importantly screen cover that protects them from the brutal rays of the sun. But a high percentage of bucks return to their breeding core areas each winter, making their relocation somewhat predictable — an occurrence that I have employed as a management strategy on ranches I hoped to improve antlerwise. Based on the predictable presence of highly desirable bucks at specific areas during the rut, I would prohibit doe harvest in order to increase the number of females that could be bred by those genetically superior males.

The ability to relocate the same bucks year after year can be enhanced by baiting where legal. The 40,000 acres I presently work on distributes corn on the roads throughout the rut, increasing deer visibility and enabling me to film a high percentage of bucks seen in previous years. Most of the deer are observed in the very same areas year after year. The greatest challenge is verifying the animal’s identity, because their antlers can vary in size and number of points annually. I have seen deer with double drop tines one year fail to develop them the next year. I have also seen 10-pointers one year retrogress to 8-pointers in the following year, only to return with 10 or more points in the following years.

Obviously, climatic factors play a role in antler development, but injuries, even stress from excessive populations, can also impact what those calcified appendages look like. Thus, you might see the same buck several times over its lifetime, but because of changes in antler confirmation, the animal’s identity cannot be verified. In order to circumvent this problem, you must scrutinize the animal for any distinct body characteristics, such as a double throat patch, torn ears, damaged or shortened tails, or any obvious scars. Thus, when the animal shows up the following year, its identity can be verified regardless of changes in antler configuration.

Cataloging Specific Bucks

The relocation of bucks on an annual basis based on visually identifiable characteristics is what I refer to as cataloging bucks. Land managers interested in optimal antler performance and more importantly augmenting the genetic integrity of the deer on their property must catalog bucks in order to protect those that have not reached their optimal antler growing years extending to 7 and 8 years of age.

The fact that bucks often return to their same breeding core area every winter can be employed in the management scheme. But where do you start? What I have learned is to start filming deer exhibiting exceptional antlers at 3 years of age. Exceptional antlers at this age are often an indication of how those antlers will progress in the future. I focus on 3-year-old bucks initially because they no longer demonstrate the slim body configuration and obvious smaller rack size of younger males. Once the images are analyzed, all unique antler characteristics, including any distinguishable body features, are documented for future identification. Once this is accomplished, the buck can be monitored annually to see how he progresses antlerwise, but more importantly to prevent the harvest of those desirable males.

For example, an above average 3-year-old is observed in year one, but returns in year two with a smaller rack. You might consider removing the 4-year-old as a management buck, but because of its history, the animal is passed over. In year three, a substantial amount of rainfall occurs during the spring, augmenting the abundance of nutritional vegetation, resulting in an increase in antler size, and the buck’s rack dramatically increases in size. With a substantial set of antlers in year three, you might want to harvest the animal, but it’s only 5 years old and shy of its optimal antler size — but you have the option of allowing the deer to walk based on its previous history.

Cataloging bucks is a viable option for deer managers attempting to realize optimal antler performance, but how applicable is it on small landholdings where deer are continually moving on and off the property?

Habitat Enhancement Helps

One option for landowners with smaller parcels is to make their property as attractive as possible to deer. This can be accomplished by dramatically reducing hunting pressure while fortifying the entire area with food plots, additional water sources, even providing a source of supplemental feed if legal. I recommend the development of a sanctuary as small as 5 acres located somewhere near the center of the property. It should be an area that provides ample forage, water and cover for deer with minimal human disturbance.

Over time, the sanctuary will become attractive to deer from within and outside the property boundary. Inevitably, it will be occupied by a substantial number of does, which will lure in additional bucks. It’s important to note that the core breeding area for a buck is small. Most of the bucks I relocate annually are within a 200- to 300-acre area or less.

The amount of area a buck covers on an annual basis has been researched repeatedly over the years. Figuring it out is truly challenging, because the animal’s movements are complex and dependent on a number of factors, none more important than climactic conditions.

The fact is, 3,000 acres is just the average amount of country a sample of radio-collared deer will cover in a year. Some will cover more, some less. The area inhabited on a seasonal basis represents only a fraction of the entire home range. More importantly, bucks often return to the same core areas annually, particularly when it comes to the rut, and based on this information, landowners can learn more about the deer they manage while employing the information to see even larger bucks in the future.

— Bob Zaiglin is a certified wildlife biologist from South Texas. He has been a D&DH contributor for more than 20 years. He is the CWB coordinator of wildlife management, Southwest Texas Junior College.

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