I pulled my last camera today. There were 250 pictures in one week. Three different bucks, a yearling, a two year old, and Scabby 8 - all of them bald. There has been a lot to learn throughout the season, and I have to say, most of these lessons are made possible by using trail cameras. I've spent the time to make a detailed spreadsheet of all the bucks sited on camera this year and I made note of their age, how many points, rough score, location, time, and tried to attach a picture. It was a lot of work, but i'd have to say that the most interesting part was watching the age structure of the deer around where we hunt. Being able to figure out how old each buck is and how many other bucks there are for competition and for dominance. I quickly realized that these bucks really are traveling a few miles to pass through the area, simply because in a normal herd, there is not enough room for multiple four, five, and six year old bucks. The hard part begins this spring when I will be looking for areas that these more mature bucks called home right prior to the rut, honing in on them, and figuring out if there is a way to hunt them before the rut drags them all over the place.
It was great to see a few older bucks after the rut thanks to the 'second rut' and a very confined food source. Now I can't wait for May & June to come to get some mineral site pictures. Bring it on 2010.
