August's End

Like most good things, August had to come to an end. In August alone, I got pictures of all 6 bucks on the new Summer Hitlist. I had some pics from before, but all 6 bucks showed up this month too. What a great time of year to locate big deer. The only new confirmation photos were of Scabby 8. He's now Scabby 10 with double crabclaws. So we can confirm that Whitey is NOT Scabby 8. He may still be his cousin or brother, but they are, in fact, two different bucks. Here's Scabby 10 last year and this year:

I got a few more pictures of Curly:

I also got a new 10 point that I'm hoping is a three year old:

Lastly, I got my first buck out of velvet:

Zach Johnson and I went for a drive last night and saw a few deer, but it was hot out. We did manage to lay eyes on Skyscraper again. He's pretty - symmetrical and clean. August was good, but things are going to change rapidly now. These bucks will likely disappear until the end of October unless I find where they live. Fingers crossed.

The Boys of Summer

I was able to get out and check the cameras yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at the quantity AND the quality of pictures I got. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised because of the bachelor group I spotted at a half mile, but I guess I was pleasantly reassured as to which bucks comprised the group. I got a few more pictures of Inside CrabClaw, Whitey (Scabby 8's Cousin), a couple younger bucks, and No Name 10. Last year we had a few pictures of a very respectable buck come into the bins. There wasn't much for unique characteristics on this buck last year, so we struggled to name him. This year, he grew a bunch of stickers - some of which curled so dad named him Curly. Confirming the trend, he packed on the inches this year and blew into a beautiful 140-150's class buck. He's five this year. Here is Curly last year and this year:

Also, in a place I call the island, I got two pictures of Skyscraper. He's a mid 130" 5 year old 10 point that is right up there on the hitlist this year. He's looking super healthy. Here's a comparison from last year to this year:

More pictures of Inside Crabclaw:

I also moved a camera from out west to up near the Refuge. I'm hoping to get a picture of a buck that I'm going to call Lefty. He's the one I posted about a month or so ago. I have pictures of him from the last two years. He's another mid 130's 4 year old.

Inside Crab Claw

I've seen this buck two or three times this summer in the binoculars and, finally, I got a picture of him. He's a stud! A four year old that put on somewhere around 30 inches this year. Who knows, maybe more. Here's the best comparison photos.

As a 3 year old:

And now as a 4 year old:

The only other photos of real interest were from out west again. I finally got some pictures of the buck I'm calling Dropper and it turned out that he did grow about a 3 inch drop tine off his left mainbeam. The other buck we're calling Cage. Sort of a rib 'cage' effect to him.

I was able to get a camera set up in the spot I saw that bachelor group of mature bucks. Across the road, I've seen a buck we called Skyscraper last year. He's put on some good inches, too. I'd say he's for sure P&Y, maybe even 135 net. I wonder if the wet June we had is giving these bucks the greens they needed in early July. Things are looking good for 2010.