The Disappearing Act

[CHD]

I have spent a great deal of time around mule deer bucks in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. Here is one of the behaviors that I have observed in mature bucks.

 

Many mature bucks are plainly visible in the spring and summer when they are growing their racks. They continue to be visible for a month or so after their rack growth reaches its peak. But after rubbing, they cannot be spotted. Then, when the rut comes around, there they are again in plain view in their home territory. Many a hunter has had a big 'ol buck picked out in the summer but he seems to disappear after rubbing and then reappear for the rut. What happens is these bucks become purely nocturnal and/or more brush-oriented (if they live in brushy areas) after rubbing. They become sluggish or inactive during daylight for 5 to 7 weeks after rubbing. They are still there in their home turf, but you rarely spot them. It seems as if they are gone. They suddenly become visible again 1 to 2 weeks before the rut.

 

I'm not talking about bucks disappearing due to hunting pressure. This nocturnal behavior seems to be a natural one as I have witnessed it with bucks in areas that receive little or no hunting pressure. Also, I am referring to mature bucks as those that are at least 5 years old. The 3-year-olds don't seem to follow this behavior. Not all mature bucks exhibit this behavior, as some remain visible throughout the fall. But I think most do, and I have come to expect this behavior in a 6 or 7 year old buck. It's not just a situation of the bucks being hard to spot because they moved into the brush, as I have witnessed this nocturnal behavior in open, treeless, sagebrush country. The reasons for this behavior are many IMO, and probably worthy of another discussion.

 

My question is for you knowledgeable hunters who have spent a great deal of time scouting and observing Mr. Coues. Do mature Coues bucks exhibit this behavior and seem to disappear after rubbing? If so, the 5 to 7 week period after rubbing would take in the Oct and Nov seasons. This natural behavior by itself would make it very hard to find an old buck in the early seasons.

 

What do you all think?

 

Chris Darnell

[coues addict]

Hey Chris, I know exactly what you mean about dissappearing deer, but, I have hunted all of the Arizona hunts Oct., Nov., and Dec., I personally like the Oct. hunt better than the Nov. hunt for two reasons, 1st, I believe the deer are a lot less pressured and don`t quite know it`s that time again. 2nd I am getting close to the big 50 mark and for me hunting for 4 days all out is about all I can take. I usually try to get back as far from a road as I can and have not had any great difficulty in spotting deer. It is tuff though to seriously trophy hunt with only 4 days, sometimes you end up shooting a buck that you would have passed up if it were the Dec. hunt. Oh and I almost forgot , If You put in for an Oct. hunt as a 2nd choice , You are probably going to get drawn,Hey, thats three reasons ,sorry, Hope this helps. Coues Addict

[Guest Chris Denham]

Chris

 

I don't believe there is a huge difference in coues deer behavior after they have rubbed clean. This is my opinion-coues deer live in serious lion contry and the cats own the night, because of this there is not alot of nocturnal activity hence more predictable day time activity. Couess deer don't seem to pay attention to the clock as much as elk or mule deer, whereas it is very rare to see elk up feeding in the middle of the day it is not uncommon to see coues deer roaming the hills at high noon and laying down 30 minutes before sunset. This is why so many of us use binoculars on a tripod, you have to be patient and work it all day, you cant hand hold bino's from sun up to sundown.

 

Hopefully this will spur some response, I am curious to hear others observations on this.

[COUESAZ]

Lions may have a little to do with it, But most lions I have seen kill deer has been during the early mornings I have seen two coues deer killed By lions and they were killed soon after that by me and a friend. I do know that deer will change everything they do when lions are in the area.

[CHD]

Hey Chris Denham, welcome to this site and thanks for the input. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

Hey Bret M (Bullwidgeon), in your post of July 2002 under this category in the thread titled "Coues Deer Patterns" you made a reference to Coues bucks becoming nocturnal after rubbing. Care to elaborate??? We would love to have your input.

 

 

Here are some of my thoughts on the reasons for this 'disappearing act'.

 

1. Many of the older bucks have survived because they are more brush-oriented than other deer. Cover=safety= life to them. They are more visible in the summer because they don't want to bang their tender, growing antlers. After becoming hard horned, they no longer have a reason to be in the open so much and move back into the brush as their instincts tell them to do. These bucks may not be purely nocturnal, but can't be spotted very easily because of thick cover. I'm not sure Coues are as concerned about bumping their tender antlers because the brush in their country isn't as thick and they are smaller deer with smaller racks and can glide around easier.

 

2. The timing of the 'nocturnal mode' may not be triggered by rubbing, but by an increase in the nutritional content of certain feeds. The nutritional value of certain feeds skyrockets in the fall after the first frost (does it ever freeze in southern AZ, LOL!). Given a higher nutritional content of key feeds, the bucks are able to get their fill by feeding solely at night and are therefore not up and visible during daylight. Just by coincidence, the timing of the first frost coincides approximately with the timing of rubbing. Sudden quality changes in feed is the most likely reason for the 'disappearing act', IMO.

 

3. Old bucks teach the younger bucks this behavior while in their bachelor groups.

 

4. Hunters have culled the bucks who don't have this behavior. The ones that do have it live to pass on their genes.

 

I am doing a little more research into this behavior in Coues deer and will soon add a little more to this thread.

 

Chris Darnell

Edited January 1, 1970 by CHD

[Rembrant]

Thanks for the continued research, Chris.

Please be sure to list your references.

Mike

[NMTcoueshunter]

In my experience I have found that coues tend to be more active during the day while in velvet. I dont know why, but they just seem to be out more.

[TREESTANDMAN]

Several yrs ago in August, I sat some salt in unit 27. At 8 am a spike mule deer came in. One lone whitetail forky came in at about 10am. At 12.30 2 whitetail does came in. At 1:00 pm a 100+ whitetail buck came in. The reason this salt had so much activity I believe that day was that a large ponderosa had fallen over the only dirt road to my stand and there were no humans in the vicinity. This may not have much to do with the topic, I just thought it was kind of interesting that this monster came into this salt at 1:00 in the afternoon. This was a cloudy rainy day raining a little and then stopping for a few hours. A typical white mountain summer day.

[CHD]

I had a fantastic telephone conversation the other night with a super duper trophy Coues deer hunter, definitely one of the all-time best. He spends a great deal of time out in the hills (I think he lives out there!), and is incredibly knowledgeable about the habits and behaviors of older bucks. He most certainly knows how to think like one. I know he will read this message, and I really wish he would join this forum and share his knowledge about such a magnificent animal like I have been trying to get him to do. How about it JR???

 

He indicated to me that, yes indeed, he has had trouble relocating some of his scouted older bucks after they rub. He seemed puzzled and speculative about the reasons for their disappearance. He didn't necessarily think that it is a natural behavior (as I do), but may be an adapted one. The reasons aren't really important, though IMO.

 

In fact, I'm not sure that knowledge about this behavior (if it is a natural one) is all that important for Coues deer. Why? Because 1) the seasons are short and you have to pick only one, 2) there is plenty of hunting pressure of many kinds to make the older bucks nocturnal and/or less visible, anyway. It may be important to know if you can't relocate your mature buck in the few weeks after rubbing. Don't get alarmed and change areas, he is still there. Also, if you are hunting mature bucks in Oct or Nov that haven't been spooked by hunting pressure, it may still be difficult to spot a buck at that time of the year.

 

If any of you are interested in pursuing a mature Rocky Mtn muley, knowledge of this nocturnal behavior is important and can be a deal-maker. If your season lasts for the entire month or the last half of October (the nocturnal month!) like many in Nevada and Wyoming do, choose your hunt for the last week of the month! On or about October 25th, the older bucks suddenly (and it can be overnight!) become very visible during daylight. You can be hunting the same open country for 10 days without spotting one and then all of a sudden there is a great buck (or several!) right before your eyes. Believe me, it will make you think "where did that big #$% come from?" and it will drive home the importance of understanding mature buck habits and behaviors if you want to consistently harvest them.

 

Anyway, I thought it was worth discussing on this great forum.

 

Chris Darnell

[TAM]

I have had some trail cameras on water tanks in unit 24b for about a year now and have noticed an interesting point. In this area of scrub oak, manzinata, and junipers the coues deer rarely come in at night. The area around these tanks is very thick and IMO they are just to cautious to come in during darkness. I'll bet that I get one picture at night for every 12 or 15 pictures during daylight.

[couesn]

Ummm yeah they disappear. I have hunted them for 23 years..And we always find a real nice shooter during scounting..but umm Nov comes around and where did he go... Until 2001..I found this 100+ buck with his crew in September.. my buddies hunted the area where we saw him at really hard for the first morning..Later that day about 2 miles into the canyon a friend shot his first coues a fork..I explained to Steve go down the canyon make as much noise as possible as you pack out your buck..Two hours later here he comes up the creek from the canyon in the thickest stuff I have walked in.. I was sitting on a cliff with a 20 ft drop..when I least expected it he was under me. a 30 yard shot and he was mine..But the point is..they seem to disappear..they are there just hiding and sitting tight until there are no other motives but to get out of the Honey Hole.... as I call it..