First Cam Check

This one was way ahead of everything else

Very nice

Nice!

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Looking good!

Nice buck!

I bet, great buck there. Thanks for sharing.

Looks like a good one


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Great buck!

I just looked at him on a computer screen instead of my iPhone, that deer is going to have some darn good mass measurements this fall. I know the velvet is there, but he will still carry his mass even after he sheds it. Good buck, best of luck with him this fall, if he is still around.

Nice buck

That's probably the most mass I have ever had on one, had deer that scored 140 before but didn't have as much mass. Maybe he will stick around. Getting him regular right now, always by himself

any age guesses?

smalljawbasser":87g4yn5r said:

any age guesses?

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I am not keen on anyone's aging ability in July, including my own, but I feel certain he is 3.5 and most likely older. If I had to pick an age, I'd say 4.5.

Nice, Good Luck.

Andy S.":8jh2hhy8 said:

I am not keen on anyone's aging ability in July . . . .

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x 2
But I feel less certain about this particular buck being 4 1/2 (or older), as my best guess is he could be either 3 1/2 or 4 1/2.

Assuming this buck lives in Desoto County, Mississippi and is thriving on great Mississippi River Delta soils with lots of soybeans, the chance that he's only 3 1/2 becomes higher. Under ideal growing conditions, young bucks can easily appear a year older than under less ideal conditions. But like Andy has alluded, this time of year it's a wild guess for even experienced agers.

Last year I was presented a very similar picture of a summer velvet buck (one which actually had larger antlers than this one) growing on some very fertile farm land. At issue was trying to figure out whether the buck was 3 1/2 or 4 1/2. The buck was killed a few months later. Teeth said 2 1/2.

Ruthunter, how do you like the Browning trail cam?

Wes, I bought 2 last fall to start with and liked them enough that I bought 6 more. I'm using the dark ops, am very pleased with them for the money. I live in Desoto county, wish I could find a place to hunt close in the county, but this deer is from Panola county in the hills. He has mass like the deer in the delta, which makes me think he is at least 4.5. I have other deer that have good bases and are gonna be wide but are way behind him.

ruthunter":2ir122p8 said:

. . . . I'm using the dark ops, am very pleased with them for the money. I live in Desoto county . . . . but this deer is from Panola county in the hills.

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The "dark ops" are the same Browning units I'm using. So far, they've been the best overall value (for the $) of anything I've used.

Knowing this is a "hill country" deer, I agree, 4 1/2 is the best bet. But I would not be shocked if he's only 3 1/2.

If you've been running trail cams in that area for at least 2 years, and don't have another buck from the past couple years that looks like him, that increases the odds he's only 3 1/2. Each buck has a rack that's as unique in configuration as a fingerprint or a snowflake. There is normally a huge jump in size from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2, but normally pretty easy to tell whether it's the same buck. Normally less dramatic size change from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2, but even easier to identify as same buck. So does this buck have a rack that seems to just be a larger version of anything you photographed in that area last year?

ruthunter/Wes - what model number is on the back of your "Dark Ops" cameras? I have a friend that is looking for a blackflash in this price range. I want to be sure I relay to him the exact model you two are speaking of. I think the model number is "BTC 6", but want to be sure. Thanks in advance.

Mine are in use, so can't actually look at the cams now. But here's a link to the cam.

http://www.trailcampro.com/browningdarkopsreview.aspx

"Dark Ops" is black flash, 10mp, and overall very comparable to the Covert Black 60.

A few things I like better about this Browning Dark Ops over the Covert Black 60:

1) Smaller size
2) Needs only 6 AA batteries
3) More programming options
4) Generally available at a lower price than the Black 60

At present, I can see no reason to pay more for a Covert Black 60.
IMO, that's what it best compares to, overall.