How they get old

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BSK

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 1999
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92,859
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Nashville, TN
They never move during daylight :mad:

I have over 50 pictures of this buck, and not one during daylight. Check out the beam length on this guy!

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For sure. I know that feeling all too well. Trail cameras will humble a hunter in more ways than one, albeit, they will teach us more than we could ever learn in a century in the woods during daylight. Great buck Bryan, best of luck with him for the remainder of the year.
 
BSK...I've mentioned this before but you really ought to keep hunting through December. The majority of your does may have already been bred but surely not all of them. I've seen some dandy bucks late into December after the few does that weren't bred earlier. I wouldn't give up on that big boy yet.
 
Andy S. said:
For sure. I know that feeling all too well. Trail cameras will humble a hunter in more ways than one, albeit, they will teach us more than we could ever learn in a century in the woods during daylight. Great buck Bryan, best of luck with him for the remainder of the year.
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Unfortunately, my chances are pretty much over. If we don't kill a particular 3 1/2+ buck before Nov. 12, odds are exceptionally low we will kill him that year.
 
Great buck and I know the feeling. I've got 2 whoppers that's only been photoed during the night and no one has ever seen them...I sure wish bucks got dumb and senile in their old age instead of smarter and wiser!
 
BSK said:
Unfortunately, my chances are pretty much over. If we don't kill a particular 3 1/2+ buck before Nov. 12, odds are exceptionally low we will kill him that year.
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I have gathered this based on your posts over the years, but I will never forget that stud of a buck that you photographed in daylight about 50 yards from your stand on December 4th or so few years back, if my mind serves me right. I know it is a long shot and the exception to the rule, but it could happen. Regardless, best of luck for the rest of the season chasing that dandy of a buck.
 
I know the feeling also. The daylight picture of the mature buck I posted a couple of days ago has been the only daylight mature buck picture I remember getting this time of year in about 7 years of using trail cameras (and his headgear was nowhere near as impressive as the pictures you posted above!).

Don't give up completely, though. Over the past 10 years, I have killed about the same number of mature (3.5 or older) bucks at the tail end of the season (after Christmas) as during the rut in mid-November just down the road from you in Hickman County.
 
Andy S. said:
BSK said:
Unfortunately, my chances are pretty much over. If we don't kill a particular 3 1/2+ buck before Nov. 12, odds are exceptionally low we will kill him that year.
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I have gathered this based on your posts over the years, but I will never forget that stud of a buck that you photographed in daylight about 50 yards from your stand on December 4th or so few years back, if my mind serves me right. I know it is a long shot and the exception to the rule, but it could happen. Regardless, best of luck for the rest of the season chasing that dandy of a buck.
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Yup, we will get a picture or two of a mature buck working scrapes during daylight sometime during the first week of December. And that's why I was out last weekend and will be out this weekend for one last long-shot! :)
 
woodchuckc said:
Don't give up completely, though. Over the past 10 years, I have killed about the same number of mature (3.5 or older) bucks at the tail end of the season (after Christmas) as during the rut in mid-November just down the road from you in Hickman County.
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Although we will get a daylight picture or two the first week of December, in 25 years, no hunter has ever seen a 3 1/2+ year-old buck after Thanksgiving week, and we do hunt right into early January.
 
Around my home place here I watched a buck for 2 years on my trail cam, ridiculously wide and tall rack, a drop tine and one split brow as of the last pics - at least 12 pointer. I've never scored a deer in my life (not a big deal to me) but my neighbor who had it on trail cam too seen it and said it might go 160. From what I've seen from you guys I think that might be a little high on his scoring, but regardless of score, very much mature and very much nocturnal. Unfortunately, I have not seen him this year since January 15th (I have that date committed to memory).
 
BlountArrow,

I feel your pain!

Interestingly, some bucks learn to be nocturnal over their lifetimes, while other bucks are nocturnal from day one. I've watched individual bucks on trail-cam over the years become more and more nocturnal as they get older. Yet I've seen a few individual bucks that were almost completely nocturnal from the time I first started tracking them on camera (generally 2 1/2) and stayed that way their entire lifetimes.
 
BSK,
It gets worse. I know there is no way of knowing it is the same deer but in my area there just aren't a whole lot of "big, mature bucks" that are seen. My long time friend and local game warden got a call early this year that a red truck was pulled off on the side of the road at night one ridge over from my property and (2) guys had shot a .22 multiple times at a quote "very big buck". My friend and game warden responded to the call but the truck was gone, no sign of the deer, no blood either though. I figure maybe this buck has ulimately fallen prey to the poacher(s).
 
Tha would truly be sad BlountArrow. Luckily, my place is extremely difficult to poach (no open areas along roads).
 
Great buck! It's very frustrating when they go nocturnal like that. You pass them up till the get older then turn pretty much unkillable.
 
primos32 said:
Great buck! It's very frustrating when they go nocturnal like that. You pass them up till the get older then turn pretty much unkillable.
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And that's why I don't pass up anything 3 1/2! Too darn hard to kill after that!
 
I remember that buck pic Andy. He was a dandy and might have been on BSK's wall now if he hadn't given up hope of taking a buck after muzzleloader season. Chances might be slim to none after that but I learned along time ago (especially concerning deerhunting) to never say never. Slim as they may be hunting season isn't over til the fat lady sings and that's when I throw in the towel for the year.
 
Mike Belt said:
I remember that buck pic Andy. He was a dandy and might have been on BSK's wall now if he hadn't given up hope of taking a buck after muzzleloader season. Chances might be slim to none after that but I learned along time ago (especially concerning deerhunting) to never say never. Slim as they may be hunting season isn't over til the fat lady sings and that's when I throw in the towel for the year.
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I remember the December 4th pics year after year as well. Oddly enough, I have a location just like that, that gets pics of bucks just like that on DECEMBER 4th as well. Though every year, something comes up to where I can't get out there. Today, I was in a staff meeting from 8:30 - 5:30 and then a Christmas party :/
 
I'd love to share (2) photos of my East TN night time bruiser that I was telling BSK about if anyone can post the pics for me. I know it's a pain but thought I'd ask, I just can't post them from this computer. Anyone interested? PM me or what have you and I will send them via email.
 
Thanks, BSK...Yes, above is the object of my obsession ;) .
Pretty darn good for Blount County. We watched him for 2 years and haven't seen him since 1/15/12.
 
Very nice buck BlountArrow! Hopefully he'll make one last appearance for you this year! Anyone ever find any of his sheds?
 
BSK you ever do much shed hunting on your place? Just curious if you've ever found any of them from the monsters that hide on your place.
 
Hollar Hunter said:
BSK you ever do much shed hunting on your place? Just curious if you've ever found any of them from the monsters that hide on your place.
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Never have shed hunt.
 
southernhunter said:
I don't understand with all the bucks people get on cam each year , why finding sheds is near impossible
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Thats a good question. I havent used cameras long but Ive known what lives on my place and do good to pull one or two sheds a year out of there. Im gonna approach things a little different this year and see what happens.
 
geezer said:
southernhunter said:
I don't understand with all the bucks people get on cam each year , why finding sheds is near impossible
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Thats a good question. I havent used cameras long but Ive known what lives on my place and do good to pull one or two sheds a year out of there. Im gonna approach things a little different this year and see what happens.
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I have a partial answer, although it still remains somewhat a mystery to me why we don't find more sheds in TN.

1) We have more cover areas than large fields. This is very unlike the Mid-West states where sheds are relatively easy to find by simply scanning large fields with binoculars & spotting scopes. Might also add that large sheds are more easily spotted than small sheds, and these Mid-West states have more larger sheds.

2) Rabbits & Squirrels can quickly "eat" a shed once found.

3) Coyotes ---- this one hasn't been discussed much.
I think in much of TN coyotes could be a big part of the reason we find so few sheds. When sheds are "shed", they have a amazing amount of deer smell on them. A coyote can often smell them when he gets within 50 yards downwind. He'll then pick it up and carry it back to his den, where he'll chew on it for a few weeks until it's totally consumed.

Although I've found larger single sheds, this past spring I found the largest matching pair of TN sheds I've ever stumbled across. Assuming a very conservative 15" spread, he would gross score 134" as an 8-point main-frame, and would be easily identified on good trail cam pics via all the "junk" (numerous small stickers near his bases). I'm pretty sure this buck was 4 1/2 in 2011 (5 1/2 in 2012). I expected him to develop into a 140-class mature 8-pointer this year as a 5 1/2-yr-old buck, and have hunted hard trying to find him, but have yet to see him while hunting this year.

And despite my best efforts placing numerous black-flash cams around his known bedding and rutting areas, I've failed to get a single pic of him during the summer, fall, or during the rut. It's possible he died in the Spring, but he sure appeared healthy around shed time. I'll sure be looking hard for his sheds again this Spring, and if he's still alive, you can bet I'll be looking even harder for him in the Fall of 2013.
 

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