First Sheds of the Year - Now Just To Find Them!

Joe and I went out with the bows yesterday afternoon and before I got settled in I decided to check the trail camera I had out there. After several does, fawns and yearling bucks, I got two pictures of a buck that had shed both sides! I'm almost positive that it's a buck I nicknamed Whitey. In the picture, he's leaving a field and coming back through the swamp. His pedicles are still pink, so I'm lead to believe that his antlers are just out in the field behind him less than a couple hundred yards. The funny part is that the first time I laid eyes on this buck, he was out in this same field. I got pictures of him west a mile, south east about 3/4 mile, and now here he is again. It would be very interesting to see what his antlers score. I'm sure they're around 52 and 48 or so. He was a very aggressive buck this late summer. There were bucks that were four and five and they were all shying away from this big bodied three year old. I'm pretty sure he is three because of his short main beams. He's a very stocky deer and should grow into something good next year. I gotta scoop up those antlers. I also got another picture of Contender and one of another buck I had pictures of late summer, but haven't seen until this month. I'll give him until next year to name himself.

I also was able to get out to the camera that's been on the creek. My hopes were high and when I opened the lid and saw that the batteries weren't dead after 18 days, my hopes were even higher. I rifled through the 50 some pictures on there only to see 1 yearling buck and a coyote and everything else does and fawns. Needless to say, I moved that camera. I also made it northwest of the bus with the snowmobile and checked that camera. Those batteries died on the 15th. I debated leaving that one, but I figured I'd bring it back in a week or two. It was good to see a few pictures of Contender and I also got some pics of the buck I let walk on the 18th of November. I'm glad I did. He wouldn't score more than 105. He's got nice potential. He has a big body, but I can't see how he's more than 2 years old. Here they are:

Soybeans

Deer need food. Nothing complex about that. This time of year, it's surprisingly easy to get pictures of deer and/or bucks I've been looking for all season by finding the best food source. There is a bit of myth to be busted regarding 'food sources' though. Not every buck is going to choose an agricultural food source over their own survival. Last winter at this time, we were getting amazing pictures around some grain bins with spilled soybeans. However, the bigger bucks were only coming through for an hour or so once every week or every couple nights. Not consistent. The only thing that made sense at first was that there was a bit of 'second rut' activity going on. There were a few bucks who would pass right through and only give you that one picture every two to three weeks. Obviously they weren't as concerned with the food.

This year, I've pin-pointed the best three food sources - all agricultural remnants. I've set up five of my six Cuddebacks on the heaviest trails I can find heading to these sources. Even if I don't get any 'new' bucks, I'm hoping to get better pictures of a few of the ones I already know about. I only have one instance of a buck I'm pretty sure is Mr. 140, but I really don't feel 100% confident that it's him. I would also like to get a picture or two of Skyscraper out of velvet. That has yet to happen this year. Those really are my two goals. Beyond that, I would be fit to be tied if I could confirm if The Clown or WideWeb were still alive. Boy would that be something to see. An in-law of a neighboring hunter said he saw a monster at a half mile opening morning of rifle season. He was sitting up on the west end of the swamp, along the border. WideWeb? Anyway, I'm starting to get some pictures of some bucks I really haven't seen much of since late summer. Pretty neat. I just replaced a bunch of batteries, so hopefully I can keep my cameras out until New Years.

Black & Blue

I went up to the hill to do a few things and as I was hopping down from my endgate on my truck, my left foot (my first foot to hit the ground) landed on the slope of a track in the snow. I don't know if it was a truck track or a snowmobile track or what, but it was very uneven and I rolled my ankle hard. I came down with all my weight (and then some) and folded right to the ground. I heard my ankle pop or crunch. I rolled around in pain for a minute or two and then I told myself to get up and see if it's broken (which I immediately thought it was). I stood on my good foot for about a minute before I tried to put any weight on my left. Slowly I was able to put weight on it. I knew that it was a matter of time before it would swell and that if I was going to finish my project, I needed to get right back to it. That was friday.

Today, tuesday, I can walk on it without too much pain. I limp a little and I've been trying to ice it in bed.

Besides that depressing story, I still managed to check two cameras that were close to the main road. I was pleased to see some pictures of Scabby 10. He's a beautiful deer. Last year he was a marginal heavy 8 point that would've net somewhere around 120. This year he should net around 130. He's got a tiny bit more mass, he's got longer beams, and he added some G4s. His 3s might be a half inch shorter, but he makes up for it all around. He's very dark this year, which suggests at least 4, maybe 5 years old.

I also got pictures of the Pencil 7, which is now a 6! he broke of his left G3 completely. I got another picture of the little buck I'm going to call The Mouse. He's got 8 legal points, but wanted to be a 10 with double split brows. Next year he'll probably be that 12 point 120 as a 3 year old. If he makes it to 4, He just might be 150.

I'm hoping to check and move some cameras on thursday but for sure by the weekend.

December's Off and Running (Sit # 26)

Well, on my sister's birthday I headed out to check a few cameras and try to kill a doe. I got a few decent pictures (one more of Bullwinkle) along the creek, but they sure are slowing down. I put a camera along John's farmyard on the 16th of November and since then I've missed 4 big bodied deer. All I'm getting are their butts. Of course this is a trigger speed issue and I completely blame my one and only Wildview camera. The more unbelievable part is that I put up a Cuddeback only 100-150 ft away and wasn't getting any of these deer at all. I trust my Cuddeback completely, but this does go to show how setting a trail camera in a 'good location' can only give you so many predictable deer pictures. Deer are not predictable 100% of the time. Camera scouting is a game of percentages, predictions, and possibilities. I can't stand when I walk up towards my camera in the snow only to watch the deer tracks walk directly behind my camera or cross the trail just 50 yards wide of the camera. Thinking back over the years, if I knew some of the deer that I just missed, I think I would be sick to my stomach.

Anyway, we're definitely post-rut, with a sprinkling of second rut about to begin in 4 days to a week from now. Food is now the top priority and since we've had a lot of snow early, the deer are getting a little desperate to find good browse. I moved a few cameras to try to capitalize on this desperation. I'm thinking December will bring out some good photos.

I sat from about 3:25pm to 5:05pm and I froze. It was zero when I got back to the cabin. I was a bit surprised that I didn't see anything. Almost every day there has been does and fawns walking right by that stand - just like last year. The times I choose to sit... nothing. Maybe I stink.