We often challenge ourselves to take a mature deer. We tend to dream about big-racked bucks. The following pictures are from the same buck that lives on or near our property that I would like to get close too during daylight. He does not have the biggest rack, and he may not look like it, but he is very smart and elusive. He injured his skull sometime before 3 1/2 years of age. I saw him in 2005 and passed him up in 2006, but was really surprised to see that his rack made a nice come back in 2007. I think he is 6 1/2 years old this year. He was active during the rut in pursuit of does, but has mainly gone nocturnal now. He is a testament to the uniqueness and toughness of whitetails. Ha!
Mike
2005 photo
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/w-buck2005.jpg)
2006 photo
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/w-buck-2006.jpg)
2007 photo
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/w-buck2007.jpg)
Wow!
You think that was an injury from a car??
Amazing he's still going now,looks like a pretty bad injury,possibly brain trauma..........
He would definately be a trophy to be able to get a shot at.What a survivor!!
Indeed a testament to the will to survive. I killed the doe last year with the broadhead inside her skull. The next week my wife shot a nice 10 point and when I did the Euro mount we realized that the face was distorted. Obviously hit by a car or something similar. They are incredible animals. Nice photos Mike! CK
That is neat, they are amazing animals.
Evidence that time heals all wounds.
Hey Mike, Thanks for the neat story and good luck on your quest. The fact that he's is still chasing does at his age after all he's been through is an inspiration to us old guys :biglaugh:
We named him "The Whitey Buck" after my youngest brother because he is so smart and handsome. Ha!
DTala You are mostlikey correct.
But we have taken old bucks in the past (8 ½ - 9 ½) that you could not really tell age that well. In fact their antler were nearly the best they ever had and skin fit well etc. With so much food available and keeping numbers in check in some areas of Illinois, the deer don't stress as much as other parts of the country. I send a lot of teeth in to Matson's Lab in Montana for cementum analysis.
I judged him conservatively, but again some of the photos were taken in late december and body mass is less. I usually field judge buck's age by looking at the head and skull structure, but in this deer's case it is tough to go by when the pedicel and eye socket have been damaged. He may have had an infection or something during the growing season of 2006, because his antler appeared very dark and porous on the right side. I saw him in October and he did not have that side. Again your assesment is logical looking at these photos. Thank you for your input.
Mike,
A trophy indeed! Have you guys named him yet? I'd call him Gene due his age and cunning ways,but Gene has a bigger rack and a bum knee.Got any bucks like that?
I was writing while you were posting. Late again!
Hes a beaut, Id be more than honored to get a crack at him and equally rewarded if he duped me and died of old age.I wish you luck with him.
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.
QuoteOriginally posted by herkimerhunter:
Hes a beaut, Id be more than honored to get a crack at him and equally rewarded if he duped me and died of old age.I wish you luck with him.
Well said.
Marty,
No we don't have any that round that we could call Gene, but can you guess why this one was called "Misser"? Yep, right over its back! Ha!
Mike
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/misser.jpg)
Mike, I am playing the same nocturnal game with a big ten, Playing the wind all season, I have only seen him twice with one trail cam pic. I only have three days left.
Barry sent me a pic of a buck about three weeks ago that looks alot like the one above. I forgot his name though. I figued he would share with everyone if he gets him. He shared the same story I had. Right set up, wrong time. You just have to appreciate some bucks and their sense of survival or sixth sense. Tim in NC
wow, i had a similar experience with a northern mn deer eluded all of us including the timber wolves. i was always one step behind him. he was a stud at 5yr. i finally shot him when he was aged at 8.5yrs. his rack went down hill but that simple fact that he was so smart made him all the more a trophy. that deer in your pic would make an awesome european....id like to see what type of bone growth that is on his skull
We look for sheds very heavily and if we find his remains some day it may help complete the story. That is part of the facination of whitetails. We can better follow the life of an individual animal easier than other big game like elk or moose. This becomes even more enjoyable for us who are blessed to be able to hunt, scout, and explore the same areas year after year.
Mike, the deer Barry sent me a pic of was named Starbuck. I keep waiting for him to post a pic of him on the ground.
I have photo albums going back 3-4 yrs. It really has made my hunting more enjoyable. Tim in NC
Mike, I agree that you are blessed to be able to hunt, scout and explore the same areas over the years, and get to know individual whitetails by name. No chance for that where I now live, but during my 6 years in Cincinnati I got to know several bucks very well. My favorite was called "Spoontip", who provided me with great video footage, some shed antlers and memories. In all those years of hunting hard during the 4 month season, I never saw him outside of his refuge ajacent to the properties I hunted during the season. He was definitely 1 1/2 years old when I first saw him in '96 and 8 1/2 when I last saw him in 2003. Besides his unique rack, he had a short "bob" tail and I can see from some current deer on this farm that he had spread his genes. Thanks for sharing the photos.
What a cool story.
And to think, with all the hazards these amazing animals have to endure, these die hard survivors are EVERYWHERE. Rare is the glimpse into the secret world of the elusive whitetail such as this.
I had a bad day at work, and this has made my day!
Thanks for posting this.
P.S. I`m kinda cheering for the buck. I`m betting ma nature is gonna take him. :thumbsup:
Mike,
Cool buck. Heck even in 06' he was twice as big as anything I saw in a week in Kansas this past Novemeber!! Hope you get him. PS...don't ever hunt Kansas!
Pete
Wow that buck had to go nose to nose with a car or something.Looks like an old prize fighter. The TIMEX BUCK takes a lickin' but keeps on ticken!
Thanks for sharing ....and good luck...thats one smarty for sure... :)
thats the greatest of challenges to find a big old buck and hunt him till you get him. But it sometimes keeps me from filling that tag at all. The big one this year is probably 6 1/2,heavy horned,nine pts.,with 11' brow tines. I keep passing some really good bucks up waiting for him. I hope you get him,it`s such a huge accomplishment to take one of the really old timers like I suspect he is. We call this one Stretch. When my brother in law seen him he remarked"Thats a whole nuther class of deer,right there".
Last year my wife killed a big 8 pt. and when Euro cleaning the skull I found the end of a .22 bullet sticking into the left eye socket about a 1/4 inch,did`nt seem to bother him a bit, Damn poachers.
Night Stalker- Yes Gene and Barry sent me pics of that deer too. Set cameras are kind of setting a new age of "hero photos". Ha! Ha! Actually Gary Logsdon, the Brothers of the Bow web designer is setting up a trail camera page on the site so we can show many more photos and stories of animals we have shared the woods with. It should be ready soon.
This thread as taken the fascination of a single whitetail and turned it into a celebration and respect for whitetails as a whole. The land is the key. I know there is much talk of food plots ect, but for us cover is more important. Cover is a valued commodity in our area. We have planted thousands of trees over the last few years and it is starting to pay off for the wildlife. We have the freedom to hunt and to kill, but sharing the woods with deer like The Whitey Buck or passing up young bucks like my brother did with the 10 point in this photo has made our hunting complete.
Oh, and even though I'm still in the ring swinging, I secretly have my money on The Whitey Buck too. Ha!
Mike
My brother passed on this buck in 2006.
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/CDY_014110-pt2006.jpg)
i'd set up a blind close to the mailbox,that buck is definately drawing a social security check,herdbull
In my experience w/ older and wiser deer as they age their core area gets smaller, some even using only 1 bedding area. Look in an inconspicuious spot. You just might find him!
Great pics! What a hog...I shot a 6 1/2 year old deer 3 years ago that is not the highest scoring rack on my wall, but he means more because I knew him. I had laid in ditches to glass him, passed on other deer, and ate a tag more than once. When the day arrived that I got my shot and held that deer in my hands it was as emotional as it gets. I might kill bigger deer but I think arrowing one of these old warriors is as close to perfection as there is in what we do.
My oldest buck was 8 1/2. It was a basic 8-point frame in years prior, but the year I got him he grew a basic 3x3 with a drop tine on either side plus an addition drop out twoards the front on the left side. He stilled carried a good rack with 26 inch beams and 8 inch browtines. I think it grossed over 160 and netted 156 4/8. The funny thing is my brother shot the deer in the front shoulder neck area a few weeks earlier. On the day I took him, I was still hunting from a morning stand to an evening stand and shot the deer on the ground while it was tending a scrape. The broadhead was all walled off with connective tissue and there was really nothing wrong with the buck at all. I gave the broad head back to my brother. Ha!
We're due for some snow down here Mike and I have the right wind to hunt an old buck that made it through the gun season(s). He's got a busted G3 with scars on his back and face: an old and tough one. This is the third year that he has shown up in this area after gun season that I know of. He's no dummy, and I love the idea that he's survived this long. I'm kinda rooting for him too, but I'll take the gift if he wants to walk in front of me.
Amazing pictures that tell quite a story. A buck like that is a testimony to natural selection making them tough as nails.
Chris
What a brute Mike! Not carrying the most inches in IL, but a very cool old dude regardless!
Man I love threads like this!
I sure envy you guys that are able to hunt the same Bucks year after year. I've only been able to see the same Bucks 4 different times. One for 3 years, I missed him when he was 4 1/2. Two others for 2 yrs. and another that I killed when he was 5 1/2 as a 3x3 which is all he ever was except the year before I got him, when he grew a short G3 on one side. He went around 107". I had seen him around the "Hood" for 3 yrs. He's still my favorite though I've killed bigger score wise too. I think I've only seen one Buck that I would guess was over 6 1/2.
Mike, I bow shot a doe in the KY portion of TVA's Land Between the Lakes many years ago that got the attention of the TVA biologists at the North check station. She was thin, ragged looking, with extremely worn down teeth. They extracted a tooth for cementum analysis to see precisely how old she was. Turned out she was 13 years old and the oldest deer ever recorded taken there by any method. I kept reminding my hunting buddies that I had taken a deer that "had been successfully avoiding public land hunters for years"; she HAD to be one sharp cookie. On the other hand they kept telling me that she was "old and senile" and had probably "died of a heart attack" when she heard the twang of my bow string. I'm sticking to my story:^)
Now thats a great story, Gary She had Deer Dementia
I know what you mean Gary when you tell folks abouit taking an old deer, maybe with one eye, or bad leg etc. The response could go either way. Ha!
Mike , I know what you mean, the late season snow has arrived for us now too. Good luck.
Mike
My brother and I continued to hunt in the presence of the buck original to this thread through the rest of the 2007 season, but unfortunately I found his remains over a month ago while looking for shed antlers. He was tucked away on a side-hill as if bedded. The coyotes took care of some of the meat. But his antler was frozen to the ground. I am not sure of the cause of death. His teeth do not look to bad, and the dentine is slightly more than enamel. I don't think he was older than 6 ½, but won't know for sure until I send the incisors in for cementum analysis. We were lucky to share his world. Mike
Nice pics, Its not always the size of the antlers that matter, but the journey. :thumbsup:
Now we know...the REST of the Story"!
Thanks for following up on the great thread.
Daryl
Herdbull
Got any pics of his skull?
Yes I have some pics of the deer when I came back the second time to retrieve it, but I don't feel it is tastefull to post here. However, once I get the skull boiled and bleached I could post some then. Near the pedicel on the left side there is a third point breaking the surface most likely due to trauma to that side of his face. I really can't tell too much until I get some of the flesh off. Stay tuned. Thanks!
Seen a few wallhangers but at odd times & places almost like when least expected (even the middle of the day). They learn from their mistakes. Suggest get off the beaten path. Slowly stillhunt (slowly) the (slowly) thick stuff, watch the wind, look for him lying down in shadows. He'll be watching for you too. Good luck.
Cool thread Mike.....thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing his story Mike!
Wait a minute....I KNOW that deer!
Good luck with the ol' bruiser. Your relationship with this buck is why no one should judge anothers trophy.
We had an old matriarch doe on our farm that loved to hunt my dad, brother and myself down in our tree stands. I think it became a game for her. I got really tired of her busting up my sets one year and we put a bounty on her. Well it took me two more years and dozens of encounters but I finally killed her. I am just as proud of her as I am the bucks I have on the wall.
Good luck.
I can understand, now I have a buck that I hope I see this year, by all right he should be a 10 pointer. I mistook him for six pointer last year when he was really a pointer and I could have taken him. I was following the rule you know. But let him come that close this year, and I'll make my best effort to get freezer time for him.
The one in the photographs is really a big body buck, and I can understand why you think he 6 1/2 years old. Hopefully he will meet each other this year.
Carl
I thought of this buck quite often this past winter.
I wonder how many of them are out there that are just like him.
I wonder how many times he caught a hunters scent, and slipped away unseen? Or how many times he stayed in his bed and allowed a hunter to walk past without moving.
Thanks so much for the update.
I wish you many encounters with his prodigy.