Recognizing specific deer from year to year

This question is directed to anyone who can give any insight.

One of my favorite parts of bow hunting is running cameras on numerous different properties and analyzing photos and following particular bucks throughout the season, and during the course of their life.

As most of you know it can be very difficult to follow a certain buck from year to year that doesn't have a distinctive marking or characteristic that identifies them. This can be even more difficult when the deer you are trying to follow is a main frame typical buck and is still not fully mature. Another reason this is difficult is when you hunt an area that has a large deer herd, determining one deer from another becomes even more challenging.

When a buck gets to be 4 or older they become more easily identifiable mainly because they are one of the oldest bucks in the area and they typically have had the same general core area for the majority of their life. I also found it easy to find a certain buck on large tracts of public land in Northern Wisconsin simply because the deer population is smaller on those large tracts.

When following a particular deer throughout the season from when their antlers begin to grow until they shed, it is remarkable how much their coat changes and how much different they look at different times. This is why I am asking if anyone uses a certain method in identifying particular deer from year to year. Other than the obvious markings or features on a deer is there anything that you look at that helps. I have a really nice up an coming 3 year old that lost his eye so that is an obvious one to me. I have a few bucks with little scars that help me as well.
I guess what I am asking is if anyone has a "go to" feature of a deer that they look at to help them identify them from the rest of their deer herd.

-Tony

 

I just realized someone just posted almost the identical question. haha whoops!

 

This is like Deja-vu all over again.

 

I have a few does that I can pick out of a line up, usually when they have fawns they are easier to keep track of. I have on doe that has 1 fawn every year for at least the last 3 years. I have on huge doe that has twins she lives up top away from the swamp.