Bully Bucks

I think most hunters have seen bully bucks, especially during the rut or late pre-rut. It’s not at all uncommon to witness aggressive behavior from bucks during that time of year, but what about the rest of the year? How can you tell if you have a bully buck or bucks?

Often times we don’t actually witness the aggressive behavior between different bucks, but here are a few ways I use to help identify bully bucks!

Broken Antlers: Although broken tines don’t always come from fighting, they can be a sign of aggression just from the shear force required to break one. Bucks can break points off when making rubs, but so there are other factors that can cause broken antlers. Remember, just because you see a buck with a broken tine, it doesn’t automatically mean that particular buck is a bully, but it can help identify aggressive behavior.

Scrape Behavior: It’s common for bucks to visit scrapes, but if a buck continually checks the same scrapes, especially multiple times in the same day, it can mean that he is wanting to keep tabs on all the other bucks in his area, and make sure his scent is fresh. Much like a male dog marking his territory, no matter who or what pee’s in his yard, he has to go mark over their scent with his own! Simply using a trail camera can help give us some insight on that particular bucks personality and attitude.

Covering Lots of Ground: If a buck is consistently showing up on trail cameras all over your property throughout a 24 hour period, specially before the rut, it can help us identify him as a bully buck. Much like with scrapes, a buck who does this is constantly wanting to keep tabs on activity in his area.

So why is it important to identify bully bucks? Bully bucks often lack the antler size and characteristics that we are looking for, and they can suppress the activity of less aggressive bucks. In some cases they can actually cause other bucks to disperse, leaving your property to find an area that they can have. Bully bucks will also take over the best bedding, food, water sources, etc. Aside from the obvious stress that this behavior puts on other bucks, it can also make harvesting other bucks very difficult simply because they are often on pins and needles!

We as hunters and land managers have a hard enough time keeping bucks on our property, we sure don’t need any help from another buck. Keep an eye out for bully bucks, and don’t be afraid of harvesting them. Removing a bully buck can allow the other bucks in the area to express their full potential, and open up space for other bucks to move in!