Where's Waldo?

I wrote earlier of my frustration with the void of quality pictures... well any pictures for that matter, of a bunch of last year's hitlist bucks. I have not seen nor have I gotten any pictures of Mr. 140, Splitbrow, Chippy, Skyscraper, Curly, The Big 8, or Bullwinkle. That's seven bucks that should be 4 years old or older. These bucks are not dead. They're just more stationary. This would prove my theory well that as bucks get 5+, breeding/feeding become second and third to surival. Not being seen is a deer's number one priority. I need to find them. They are not going to come to me.

After the shedding of velvet (right now), these bucks are breaking up their bachelor groups and spanning out into their fall ranges. Fewer than half the bucks keep the same range from summer to fall. I'm beginning to think that Mr. 140 is now the dominant buck and wouldn't have to change ranges. If there was a northern bachelor group, it probably would consist of Chippy, Mr. 140, and Splitbrow. That's all speculation. They have shared the same ranges in the past, but it will be interesting to see how things shake down in the next three weeks. I might try get into the swamp for the early stages of October. I've got a few good ambush points.

Like I said, I need to keep the cameras moving, probably into locations that I may have never considered because of their obviousness (i.e., field edges, watering holes, etc). I guess I've been a little paranoid of getting a camera stolen, because the majority of my camera setups are on public land. But so far it's paid off at least once in the last week. I hung a camera on the north end of an overlooked bean field that runs into some swamp grass and jungle brush. Sure enough, the first evening the camera was hung, I got this beautiful 3 year old I'm going to call HighRise.

I would probably shoot this buck, even if it contradicts my standard of needing to be 4 in order to harvest. He'd score about 125-130 and would make any hunter proud. My hunch regarding this area was partly based on what I saw last October out in the same field. It was seeded into winter rye and I saw two bucks fighting in the spotlight. Both should have scored over P&Y. One was tall and narrow and the other was wide and heavy. If this new buck is three, neither could have been him last year. So, that means there are more good bucks in the area.
My plan at this point is to just get my cameras into areas that I've neglected in years past. This time of year is becoming more and more about packing on the body weight for the upcoming rut, so even if the pictures are all night time photos, I need to get on the best food sources. We've had an incredibly dry summer and we might even get to mow trails and get the shack field turned over. The crops have peaked early and the soybeans will likely be harvested in the end of September or first few days of October (about two weeks early). That will leave October the month of food. Sunflowers and rye grass are going to be hopping and we just happen to have that deadly combination in the same location - at least until they harvest the flowers. I saw deer filtering into the sunflowers, so I know that's just getting going. Now it's a matter of finding the best camera locations to pick up on these ghost bucks. They'll show up. Trust me.