Yager Ridge

Do bucks move more or less in the rain?

This is a common question I am asked and a controversial one just like the last video about deer moving in the wind.

In my personal experience, I have seen more movement in light rain, but was curious about heavier rain and how that impacts buck movement. Especially hunting on public land where most hunters are not willing to go sit in heavier rain, is it even worth it?

So what does the research show?

Some research suggests that light rain can increase deer movement, while heavier rain decreases movement slightly. But more than the actual amount of rain is the temperature plays the biggest factor in regards to precipitation.

Deer will move more when they are trying to stay warm, so heavier rain or snow in colder regions may lead to deer picking up their movement for the day and spending less time bedded.

Deer also rely greatly on their gut microbes and the microbes can only live so long without food, so regardless of the amount of precipitation, deer will have eat one way or the other.

Deer will also need to eat to maintain energy to stay warm, which also requires movement.

One specific study in oklahoma was conducted, and they concluded rain had little to no effect on deer movement.

Scientific results on this topic are inconclusive. And sometimes it is hard to conduct your own research on deer movement during terrential downpours, because we are comfort creatures and it is hard to sit and stay patient in pouring rain for hours on end when there is a nice warm truck waiting for us.

But one thing is true, ***Deer live outside all the time and are constantly needing to balance nutritional needs, predator avoidance, and survival. Since there is little they can do about rain, it's not likely a deer is terribly affected by it.***

What have you experienced with deer movement and rain? Let me know in the comments.

How can you tell a buck’s age just by their appearance? Part 1. In this video, I am going to cover the difference between 1.5-2.5 yr old bucks and why it matters.

Here’s 3 reasons why you should know how to age bucks by their body and at the end of the video I will explain how.

Number 3: Allowing bucks to age gives them time to spread their genetics. Obvious one right. If you kill it before it breeds, you won’t have good antler diversity.

Number 2: A balanced age structure improves the overall deer herd.

Number 1: Not shooting younger bucks and taking the correct number of does helps balance the buck to doe deer population ratio.

So how can you tell a bucks age?

1.5 year old buck.

Antlers are 20-30% of potential, just inside the ears. Likely a spike, four pointer, or small six-eight pointer

Head is long and slender

Belly does not sag

Very long legs compared to the torso

2.5 year old buck.

Antlers are 50-60% of potential. Near the width of the ears. Antlers range around 8 points but do not carry mass.

Head is still long and slender

No sagging of belly or back

Long legs compared to torso but start to even out.

The main difference between 1.5 and 2.5 yrs old is the width of the antlers relative to the ears.

Some people will say, I already know this, or, it doesn’t matter, I just hunt for meat. That’s great. I am invested in becoming a better hunter and sharing information that some may find interesting. So follow for part 2 where I break down the difference between 3.5-6.5 yr old bucks.