I didnt even realize it, when he was killed by my brother in law over Thanksgiving, he had decline a bit from the year before, he had a broken g-2 tine, it simply threw me off. Not to mention we were hunting so hard and my brother in law left the day after he killed him so I really didnt take the time to look him over closely, finally he looked a lot like a different buck I had missed the season before that was also a split browed (left side) 6x5. Fast forward, to my visit down to my bro in laws this past weekend for state basketball to watch my niece play. Matt had the buck done in a Euro for now until he can afford to get it mounted. As soon as I was able to lay my eyes and hands on the cleaned up skull and rack, it dawned on me it was him, NO doubt. He had simply declined a little as a 6.5 year old from his 5.5 year old trail cams (where he had sported his best rack)... He actually looked EXACTLY the same as his 4.5 year old rack, trail cams and THE set of sheds I had found from him after his 4.5 year rack was shed. It was exactly the same, just a little heavier when Matt killed him. Hoss as I called him is DEAD. I was kind of shocked that I didnt put it all together over Thanksgiving, but like I said I was busy hunting hard and Matt was only there with the buck for a day before he took off for home.. As a 4.5 year old he was a 6x5. He has a bladed left side browe and split right side brow. As a 5.5 he added drouble browes to the left side and a little junk on each side ie a small droptine and extra tine inbetween his g-3 and g4 making him a 7x7. But his main frame was still exactly the same configuration. As a 6.5 year old, he went back to the 6x5 rack he had as a 4.5 year old. This buck showed himself to myself and Matt just 3 times in 6.5 years during daylight hours. Matt killed him on a blizzardy morning just at the crack of dawn as he was headed back into the timber. About 400 yards from where I would get all the night time trail cams and about 1000 yards from where I had saw him on the hoof and found his sheds. Hoss was a lengend in my own personal book of hard to kill, nocturnal bucks. On a side note, The "split 6" buck that i am currently hunting and that I would love to kill this coming season has a lot of similarities. He runs the same areas. He will be 5.5 this coming fall. In order below is a T/C pic of Hoss as a 4.5 year old as a 6x5, (its hard to see his split brow in that pic but its there) then his 5.5 trail cams as a 7x7 (he really added some junk this year) and finally Matt holding the broken g-2 Euro mount. Ironically he had a broken g-2 on the set of sheds I found from him as a 4.5 year old as well. (pic of sheds at home on pc will add later.
Great story. That is what I love about hunting the most. The memories that can be made over the years with each buck you hunt. Tell your brother-in-law congrats. Beautiful deer!!
I remember you talking about Hoss before. I'm not sure If I missed It or not In your post but didn't you have a close encounter with this buck In 2009? Great story Troy!!
Great story!!! I can see how you would be thrown off by the buck once it was harvested. At quick glance they do not look the same, but when you add up the pictures and the euro mount together it becomes more obvious. That is an awesome memory to have with your family!!!
Steve, yes I walked right up on him with a bedded doe, they were laying about 20-30 yards from my tree stand, I got in too late! That was with his best rack on his head too.. the 7x7 headgear.. It's amazing to me how he was so strong in his headgear as a 5.5 and then went exactly back to his same 4.5 configuration as a 6.5.. I got all of these trail cams at night a mineral lick in the summer of 08 and 09... I coudnt trail cam the lick in 10 ..this year because the land owners wife didnt like seeing my cam there, they asked me to move it.. GRRR so I never was able to get pix of him in the summer of 10.... I could still hunt it, she just didnt like seeing the cam over the bank at this waterhole mineral lick site.. I'd like to know physiologically exactly what caused that jump up in "Junk" as a 5.5 then the decline as a 6.5.. his main frame always stayed exactly the same.. His bases this year were down a bit but he still had real good mass out in his mains.. I have a bunch of field photos coming from matts camera of him too.. one other note he had a tooth busted out of his mouth too.. I think he was a fighter! I am still hoping i come across those 7x7 set of sheds ... I hope they havent been found yet! from 09... finally I believe he would have been about 165-166 gross when he was sporting that 7x7 headgear.. we scored him at 158 gross giving him a 9 inch tine credit for that broken one.. as a 7x7 he had big mass in that one c-4 measurement, then the extra three tines.. adding up to about 7 or 8 more inches..
Wow that's pretty nuts Troy, I followed your saga of Hoss very closely. Do you think food source changes or severity of winters played into his rack size?
Troy I think the tough winter in 2009/2010 had much to do with his poorer rack in 2010. I remember you having a lot of snow already when you came here to hunt in late December. You figured there would be a lot of winter kill and stressed out elk and deer. I would imagine that winter was real tough on him and he hit spring in pretty poor shape. Not only was he trying to grow a rack... he was putting a lot of nutrients into getting back in shape. That does effect antler growth more then most think. The year before that... I am pretty sure you said you had a very mild winter. He would have been in great shape going into the spring. Being in better shape going into antler growth... everything went into his rack. Which would explain the great rack he had as a 5.5 year old in 2009. I have seen it effect bucks here on a mild winter verses a harsh one the next year. At 6.5 he isn't past his prime. He is still in it. If everthing was equal from one year to the next... his rack would have been bigger at 6.5 then at 5.5... unless injured. Congrats again to your brother !! Tim
That's a great buck Troy, I to remember your postings of him in the past. Congrats to you both on a great whitetail!
Undoubtably Tim and Ryan.... One other factor, in 08 and 09 Hoss always pigged out at this mineral lick all summer long in the dead of night.. in the summer of 10, the land owners and his sons spent many days out "shooting" their rifles right next to the mineral lick. Not only did I have to pull that camera ... those guys disturbed that mineral area a lot. Hoss was never one to like any pressure and I believe he stayed pretty clear of that mineral lick. If I was a betting man I would bet he moved back up over the mountain side where I found his sheds ... and hung out up there all summer. I doubt he had any minerals over there which definatley would have had to have had some sort of effect on his antler growth this past season. When Matt killed him he definately has a little taller tines than my 08 set of sheds and you can see that in the pix, and a little more mass out on his mains... yet couple that with that tough winter like you said and the easy easy one he had before his 5.5 year ....and all the minerals he devoured during his 5.5 year.. I do agree that it made a difference in the rack he grew. I agree at 6.5 he was still in his prime years he just didnt have "prime" conditions like he did at 5.5. I am kind of heart broken in the sense that I never did get a shot at that deer. Also my wife Dee should have got this buck. Matt killed it out of her ground blind I set up for her. She took 1 morning off over our Thanksgiving break, and Matt jumped in that blind and BAM.. he gets the legend.. Dee was sort of bummed too but she learned a valuable lesson... and she and I were both happy for Matt, but I have to admit, I would have loved to have that old boy hanging in our house.. I am glad hes in the family though, every time I go visit Matt I will get to see old Hoss.
