I recently received a question from a hunter that wondered why mature bucks weren’t staying on his property. He described his property as 168 acres in central Michigan. There are about 27 acres of corn each year and 6 different small ¼ to 2 acre sized plots planted in various food plot blends.

The property includes 70 acres of hardwoods, mostly maple, and not many oaks. There are lots of apple trees spread around the property. There is a sanctuary area of about 20 acres and there seems to be lots of resident does and fawns.

I shared with the him that buck home range size varies based on the quality of habitat and many other factors. Based on lots of research throughout the whitetail’s range it is common for bucks to have a home range of more than 640 acres (a square mile).

A very important consideration to determine why bucks may not be spending more time on the property is what resources are available there versus on the neighboring properties during the hunting season. This could be as simple as where standing corn is located and, just as importantly, where the hunting pressure is the lowest.  A 20-acre sanctuary equals 1/8th of the property. If deer have to run a gauntlet of hunting pressure to get to the sanctuary or human scent frequently blows through most of the sanctuary then deer will likely seek cover elsewhere.

So – if this property is in the middle of a heavily timbered area I suspect that food plots would be a major attraction – a limited resource. If the property is surrounded by similar habitat with ample quality forage readily available, then hunting pressure/security cover may be the most limiting factor and where bucks spend most of their time during daylight.

I always consider what deer need then work to ensure that the most limited resource (food, cover, water, security) is available where I can hunt.  Taking time to determine which resources are available where and which resources are missing, especially during the hunting season, is a great tool to making a great hunting property!

Enjoy Creation,

Grant