Do older bucks rut differently than younger bucks?
Yes. Mature bucks (4½+) typically enter the seeking phase a few days earlier, shift to almost-pure nocturnal movement under hunting pressure, and tend to skip the visible chasing displays that yearlings and 2½-year-olds make. They breed efficiently — find an estrous doe, lock down, finish, move on.
Yearlings are the deer making most of the daytime chase scenes hunters watch. They run does that aren't ready, get rebuffed, run another, and make up the bulk of visible rut chaos. Mature bucks under pressure shut down those visible displays and shift to brief, targeted moves through pinch points.
This is why rut hunts on heavily pressured public ground feel different from pressure-light private ground. Same biology, different visibility. Plan around the seeking-phase shoulder of peak — a few days before the calendar peak — for the best mature-buck daylight movement, especially under cold-front conditions.