As I discussed in the October 2007 issue of D&DH, the dispersal behavior of young bucks has received considerable research attention. However, we know very little about range use by mature bucks; how large of an area (home range) they travel; how strongly attached they are to their established ranges; how their movements and use of core areas change with the seasons; or how such behavior changes with herd composition and deer density.
Likewise, there is scant published data concerning regional differences in mature buck movements; how environmental factors impact buck travel patterns; or, more specifically, how the behavior of mature migratory bucks differs from that of nonmigratory individuals.
Most of the information we have concerning movements of mature bucks involves the radio-tracking of relatively few individuals. Marking a large sample of mature bucks for study is difficult because bucks tend to be intensively harvested — hence, scarce. Even when a large sample of young males is marked, only a few them are likely to live to maturity for study.
In South Texas, management for mature bucks is widely practiced, wherein bucks are protected from harvest until 5½ years old or older. This type of management allowed Caesar Kleberg researcher Stephen Webb and his associates to capture bucks after 4½ years
