BSK
Well-Known Member
We don't see many 2 1/2s that look like this in my area. Average 2 1/2 scores only 82.5 in my area. Hope he makes it and hangs around for next year.
Heck of a 2 1/2
- Thread starter BSK
- Start date
Do you run nothing but video on all your cameras now? Great deer by the way.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Just video. Even though the resolution of video is lower than still images, I find I can identify bucks (by their antler configuration) on video much easier than still images. Plus, I find video provides much fuller data, as often it would be impossible to know if a picture involved a rut chase, but on video it's obvious. You can even hear bucks off camera grunting.
Now I would never run a baited census with video, as analyzing the data would take forever, but for a non-baited census (just trying to catch the deer doing their normal thing), I can live with having to look through the videos. MUCH longer data analysis time, but higher quality data.
Now I would never run a baited census with video, as analyzing the data would take forever, but for a non-baited census (just trying to catch the deer doing their normal thing), I can live with having to look through the videos. MUCH longer data analysis time, but higher quality data.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I'd love to see him survive to 5 1/2
Uncommon for such a top-end 2 1/2 to make it to 3 1/2 in most hunted areas of TN.
Considering he has survived the local rut, would you give him 50/50 for surviving the remainder of the 2023 deer season?
KTS
Well-Known Member
That is a great 2 1/2 year old, would love to see him in a couple of years. Is that a drop tine on his right antler?
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BSK - is it possible this is a 3.5 that looks like a 2.5 due to the same things you mentioned in the other thread?
Chain him up to the nearest oak and hand feed him for the next 3yrs! Holy smokes he's going to be big. Drop tine too! I'll be interested to see his progression if he survives.
He will be a great buck in 2 years. He needs to be on the do not shoot list next year.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Not me! If he makes it past 4 1/2, he will be virtually unkillable.I'd love to see him survive to 5 1/2
95% chance. No one deer hunts after Thanksgiving in my area. They're all duck hunting.
BSK
Well-Known Member
No, I picked him up first time just before the rut. Definite 2 1/2.
BSK
Well-Known Member
He will be my prime target next year! I have no problem killing a nice 3 1/2.
I'm not a good enough hunter to count on killing a 4 1/2+.
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Super nice buck. He will be a dandy.
That hasn't been my experience at all. What I see is that as bucks get into maturity they significantly shrink their home core to a spot they feel secure, and that's where they spend the majority of their time. Any given season I'll have one or maybe two on my place. They show up between velvet shed and pre-rut, and often stay until green up. Those are by far & large the most visible deer on my place because they're all over the property all times of day & night. There just aren't very many of them.
What brand camera are these taken with? Video quality is really nice.
I have experienced the same thing. Once they get to a certain age, they seem to be less nocturnal and easier to kill than a 4.5 yr old.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Super nice young buck
Drop tines themselves are pretty rare, I don't remember ever seeing a non-high fence drop tine in a deer so young
That's 100% true. Not sure exactly why or what triggers it but I've seen it far too often for it to be coincidence.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's not our experiences at all. We picked up the first mature buck on camera in 2003. Since then, we've had a total of 59 mature bucks on camera. Some of those are the same buck one year to the next, but in a given year we have "X" number of mature bucks to hunt. Add those all up and it comes to 59. Of those, how many have we killed? Just 11. And seven of those are mine ( four 4 1/2s, two 5 1/2s, and one 6 1/2). All other hunters combined hunting my place, just four (all 4 1/2) in 21 hunting seasons. Once they hit 4 1/2, they become ghosts. They are rarely (and some never) photographed during daylight, and they are rarely seen during daylight. Only once has a mature buck been seen other than the instance when he was killed.
To me, pursuing that kind of animal isn't fun. A worthy challenge, absolutely, but not fun.
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BSK
Well-Known Member
Can't remember ever seeing a 2 1/2 in my area with a droptine either. Droptines are quite rare in my area.
