01What the research found
RECEIPT
The study
Pennsylvania: farm country against the big woods
WhereGettysburg and Susquehannock State Forest, PennsylvaniaSampleGPS-collared deer, number not given
What they did
Compared average buck home ranges in fragmented Gettysburg with the big woods of Susquehannock State Forest.
What they found
- The researcher's words: "the rule of thumb that a buck's home range is one square mile is most often wrong."
- In Gettysburg, an average buck home range was about half a square mile.
- In Susquehannock State Forest, an average buck home range was about two square miles.
- In both places, an average buck range took in about 2 doe home ranges.
Limits
- A research blog post, not a paper.
- The post doesn't give the number of deer or the season for these averages.
Source. Diefenbach, D. "One Square Mile - The Sequel." Penn State Deer-Forest Study blog, Jan 6, 2015. deer.psu.edu →
RECEIPT
The study
Big woods bucks in November
WhereLarge tracts of contiguous forest, PennsylvaniaSampleGPS-collared deer, number not given
What they did
Tracked buck home ranges through the fall in big, unbroken forest.
What they found
- In November, buck ranges grew to nearly three times larger and averaged almost 3 square miles.
Limits
- A research blog post, and the sample isn't stated.
- Big woods deer only. The author says other parts of the state differ.
Source. Diefenbach, D. "One Square Mile." Penn State Deer-Forest Study blog, Dec 19, 2014. deer.psu.edu →
RECEIPT
The study
Buck 8917: one buck in the rut
WhereBald Eagle State Forest, PennsylvaniaSample1 GPS-collared buck
What they did
Followed one buck, captured March 29, 2013, through the rut.
What they found
- The researcher's words: "between the 4th and 27th of November (24 days) he traveled 85 miles."
Limits
- One buck.
- The post doesn't say how the 85 miles was measured.
Source. Diefenbach, D. "The Life and Times of Buck 8917." Penn State Deer-Forest Study blog, Oct 8, 2015. deer.psu.edu →
02My read
MY READMy tactic, not a study result
On a small property, you're not hunting his whole range. You're hunting the spot where he crosses yours.
That's how I hunt it, not something these studies tested.
03Field notes
- Don't plan around the one-square-mile rule. In this Pennsylvania data, an average buck used about half a square mile to about two.
- On a small property, find the spot where his range crosses yours and hunt that.
- Check your own state's season dates and legal hours with your state wildlife agency.