Just checked camera behind the house and got some good pics of this dude. Not a shooter in my book, but a solid 8pt worth sharing. Checking my main cameras in my honey holes next weekend…stay tuned 
First camera check
- Thread starter 13pt
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Pretty nice deer. I'm having trouble locating a big one so far this year. I've got probably 8-10 bucks on camera between 120-125" but none I want to shoot.
Maybe this is a little bit of encouragement. Last year all the way up until a few days after bow season opened I didn't have anything on 4 hunting leases that would go over 125", then out of the blue a 132" 10pt shows up I hadn't seen all year and nailed him with a bow. The year just got better after that. Plenty of time left my friend.
My property is the opposite. I get nice ones on cam all summer and never lay eyes on them during season !! I do food plots and everything. Just can't figure them out.
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
I'm having the same issue. My hope is that with the amount of does I have on camera, instead of bucks, that come rut I'll be loaded with targets….we shall see
I know that joker is in velvet but if the mass on his bases hold true then he's going to have some thick antler bases.
Yep that mass does have my attention. It seems a bit odd how much more mass he has at his right base. It appears a full inch more than his left which is very rare without having trash down there low. I guess I won't write him off until he fills out up top. Maybe a good bow kill. And depends on camera check next weekend at my two honey holes.
BSK
Well-Known Member
If you have the does, you'll have bucks come fall. Generally, if you're seeing a lot of does but not bucks in summer, that means your property has the best habitat.
wsm
Well-Known Member
Good buck .
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
One of my places has more does than I've ever seen a property carry. Its the first year I've had this place but when we walked it in Feb we spotted two mature bucks with a doe pinned down on the ridgeline. It's 298 acres and as best I can tell there are between 50-70 does. However 95% of them are also carrying fawns with them and there's lots of twins and a couple triplets. The habitat is not overbrowsed and the deer are fat and healthy. I'm sure excited for October to roll around.
Thats a good deer for his ageJust checked camera behind the house and got some good pics of this dude. Not a shooter in my book, but a solid 8pt worth sharing. Checking my main cameras in my honey holes next weekend…stay tuned
philsanchez76
Well-Known Member
He's thick!
BSK
Well-Known Member
From that description, I would be excited too!
BSK
Well-Known Member
Also remember that where a buck spends his summer may be VERY different than where he spends the Fall hunting season. Older bucks tend to bunch up on bachelor social groups during summer, but once velvet starts to shed, these social groups break up and bucks move their fall range. This fall range can literally be miles from their summer range. So it's possible to see a drastic change in the bucks are using a property in summer than fall. Not all properties are like this, but some are.
Yeah I'm not worried too much about it because I have plenty of does so I know I'll have some bucks this fall. Not looking good for the velvet hunt though.
Very true! I leaned a ton about seasonal patterns, and just ranges in general, when I managed a 3,900 acre lease in west TN for 10 years. One of the bigger bucks I took stayed in one area all summer. So much so we name the mineral lick after him. In early October he abruptly left that area and I ended up getting him over 2 miles away in his chosen fall territory. Many leases are only a few hundred acres, so if a buck moves a few miles away you'll likely not see him again unless he survives and returns. The flip side of that, someone else's trophy might just find your area as his new home for the fall season. And as you mentioned, we had what we called the "homeboys". One in particular I remember never seemed to stray out of a 300 acre zone…ever. He was on my hit list for 3 years before I got him, and still in the same area. I'm sure there are studies that conclude why some do and some don't, but I echo this post…some roam away (a long way) and some don't, and it will likely be late September or into October before those moves are said and done for the most part.
trout
Well-Known Member
This is awesome young deer with tremendous potential. Hope you find another deer so you can see what one more year growth looks like.
BSK
Well-Known Member
This is the situation my property is in. It is 3/4 of a square mile of ridge-and-hollow hardwoods surrounded by thousands and thousands of acres of river-bottom agriculture. Few deer live in the hardwoods during the summer because the food sources are so good in the bottoms. But once acorns begin to fall on the ridges, and the crops are harvested in the bottoms, and my place becomes flooded with deer, many of which are older bucks. Often the same older bucks year after year.
Actually, all the studies can conclude is that each deer is an individual. Some are true homebodies and some like to roam, even in the same habitat. In fact, the range of behaviors are so vast that most researchers hate giving an "average" home range size because no bucks actually have that home range size! Some will be much, much smaller than the average, and some massively more than the average.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Great buck. You may be surprised on how the tine and beam length ends up. They have fairly large bulbs and still growingJust checked camera behind the house and got some good pics of this dude. Not a shooter in my book, but a solid 8pt worth sharing. Checking my main cameras in my honey holes next weekend…stay tuned
Joe2Kool
Well-Known Member
I think he might surprise you!
Can I come and shoot one ? J/K Zach
Nice buck .
Volbuck777
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Reckon how old he is there, newbie.
Come on! Seriously I'd be glad to have you. I'd try my best to put you on one.Can I come and shoot one ? J/K Zach
Do you have woody browse and cover
I know you would I have no doubt . Maybe one day brother that is a tremendous gesture and I really appreciate it, your top notch in my book !
I have a ton of cover. Very thick areas you can only hunt the edges of. Very little hardwoods. But some. I do my best on the farm sitting between thickets letting the bucks scent check the fields or open areas. But I'm trying a new approach this year with my place of the evenings of how and where I go in at.
