..that have mentioned this deer are on BH.com.... And i have seen him exactly 1 time in my life. From the people i have talked too (my township is roughly 3,000 people), he has been sighted approximately 15 times in 3 years... I think that's a great testament to how smart these mature whitetail deer are, and how difficult it is to hunt them. I have to give kudos out to any hunter who has put down a mature whitetail buck, This is the 3rd season in which i have limited myself to only shooting a mature whitetail buck, and i have loved every second of it!
Cool buck! That's the kind of buck that keeps you pluggin' day after day in the woods...they are out there.
His last spotting was last year during muzzleloader season by a buddy of ours, but caleb found his shed after that so chances are he is still alive.
Like Isaac said, plus there were a few possible velvet sightings in July, but its hard to be sure. These pictures were taken with a buddies camera in July of 08'.
Hes not spending the majority of his time on my 100 acres, thats for sure. Its had 7 years of constant trail cam surveillance with 1 picture being taken and 2 actual sightings... Jeff, ive seen 3 mature bucks in 4 years while hunting if i remember correctly.. The thing is, knowing what i know now, i feel like i could have had ALOT better chance at all 3 of those bucks then i did then.
Same here Jeff, not gunna happen... Two of my mature buck encounters were when i was walking too/from my setup. That told me alot. The first one was October of 2006, i was walking to my stand in the PM and he was walkign on an opposite ridge, i caught a few glimpses of antlers and he kept on going...not sure if i spooked him or not... The second one was October of 2007, same woods, it got dark in the forest, as i was walking out it was lighter out in the feilds still, and i spotted a mature buck watching me from 150 yards out. My 3rd sighting was last year, and you have heard plenty about that... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcYzEXP8LmI All 3 locations have a history of mature buck travel..and i have sets covering my bases this year. And im doing alot less "sloppy hunting" then i was my first few years... Should (is) be fun :D
Yea, and 99% of the pictures are at night :D Daylight traffic by mature bucks is almost exclusively during the pre-rut and rut (mine and other local hunters observations)...this even includes summer feeding where we rarely make a sighting on "my" huntable grounds.
Go ahead and say it. I believe a lot has to do where you hunt. I have a funnel stand that runs behind a dam of a lake and 40yards on the other side is about a 50 yard wide creek. All along this bottom is bedding areas. During the rut in 2003 I saw twelve different bucks from that stand from daylight till 11:30pm. Out of those 12 four were P&Y's. At one point there was 7 different bucks chasing 1 doe up and down through that bottom. It was the best day of hunting I've ever had and have never witnessed it again.
i have got my share of big bucks,almost all have been rutting and lost there mind in some way during the peak of the rut, i have been hunting a buck for the past four years i have been hunting a buck that leaves leg sized rubs along my ridge and have never seen him and neither has my hunting partners.. smart and nocturnal tried trail cams so far only have gotten back half pics all between 10-1 at night, a few big deer on cam but again only night pics real nice deer. last year and this year i am only hunting with the wind and only during the rut, i hunt other areas to keep sharp and focused
Great looking buck. What do you estimate the age 3 1/2? Would like to see him at 51/2. Any tips in looking for a reputable outfitter in Missour?
As of last year we were thinking that he was 4 1/2. A buddy of ours found a shed that seems to be him at 3 1/2 two years ago, so that would make him 5 1/2 this year.
And this is why we love it !! If you shoot that deer, ok, WHEN you shoot that deer- I'll come to Ohio and drag him out FOR YOU !!
