saw a big buck that had a real big rack on him today

Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:57 am

I saw a big buck that had a real big rack on him today.

Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:05 pm

I have seen many more deer but only a hand full of bucks this year. I have not seen any as big as the guy I saw the other day, that buck was so big he must be an old timer. When hunting season comes the bucks will get closer to houses and areas the hunters can not hunt in so I may see him again. Soon it will be time for the Elk to come by, now that is a big animal. I came up on some kind of big bird this week with a 6 foot or so wing span but did not get a good look at what it was as it scared me as much as I scared it.

Keeping my land good for wild life.

Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:18 pm

tomf wrote: When hunting season comes the bucks will get closer to houses and areas the hunters can not hunt in so I may see him again.

They are smarter then they seem eh?

Grab your camera next time you see him! We have lots of deer in the area but our neighbours are pretty dedicated to their venison so we don't see to many in fields surrounding us

.

I just heard from another neighbour that their is a fox sneaking about though. I have to go on a steak out to find him!

Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:36 pm

We get some decent size Bucks here, bu I haven't seen anything special. My Brother inlaw has a good herd of about 20 deer running around his property, so I'm sure a nice buck will show up to get the does.

Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:08 pm

It's a little early for the bucks to be chasing does just yet. They will all be running in bachelor groups or sitting under a shady tree somewhere during the day.

Depending on where you live, they are probably still in velvet too. They should be coming out in the next month or so.

You'll have a very hard time seeing the really big ones. Those mature bucks are very smart guys and know the safe/unsafe areas in their home range. Your best bet right now is early morning and late evening somewhere between their bedding area and food/water sources. When they start chasing does, all bets are off. They'll be where the hot does are.

And yes, I do hunt.

Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:29 pm

Please do grab your camera if you see one again! I've only seen one buck in person and he was magnificent.

Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:25 am

jmoore wrote:

Depending on where you live, they are probably still in velvet too. They should be coming out in the next month or so.

One rubbed a Currly Willow I transplanted last year and killed most of it, being a Willow it is coming up from the base.

I do not burn but use a big brush hog on my tractor to grind up limbs and such. Well I came down a road and lowered the mower on to a pile of branches, this makes a lot of noise. A deer was not to far away at the time; wow they can jump high.

Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:04 pm

That's great! Well maybe not for your tree, but to have a buck rubbing around your property. That means it's part of his home range and he's getting rid of the velvet. Mating season is not too far off now.

When hunters scout pre-season, we always look for rubs on trees. It's amazing how high up some of them are and how much they can thrash a tree. It's always exciting to find them, no matter how long you've been hunting.

It's also amazing to watch them jump. I've seen deer jump over 5' high fences from a stand still. It's nothing for them.

tomf wrote:One rubbed a Currly Willow I transplanted last year and killed most of it, being a Willow it is coming up from the base.

I do not burn but use a big brush hog on my tractor to grind up limbs and such. Well I came down a road and lowered the mower on to a pile of branches, this makes a lot of noise. A deer was not to far away at the time; wow they can jump high.

Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:06 pm

GeorgiaGirl wrote:Please do grab your camera if you see one again! I've only seen one buck in person and he was magnificent.

I can post some good pics from the trail cameras on my ranch if you'd like to see them. Lots of nice deer in velvet. A few really nice ones.

Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:38 pm

Please do post the pictures, love to see them.

Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:47 pm

tomf wrote:Please do post the pictures, love to see them.

Here you go.

Nice young deer

A really big guy in the background

Really big guy from another angle

This guy needs to gain some weight.

Guy on the right has a nice rack. Lots of points.

A little early breakfast for the boys

Twin brothers maybe?

Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:18 am

It looks like a cattle feeding station and the deer are helping them selfs?
Looks nice you have a wild life camera that trigers it self?
That may be some thing I may want to look in to.

Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:23 pm

tomf wrote:It looks like a cattle feeding station and the deer are helping them selfs?
Looks nice you have a wild life camera that trigers it self?
That may be some thing I may want to look in to.

Those are actually feeders for the deer. The one you can see with the downtubes is for protein pellets. The deer love it. It encourages antler growth. The legs in the foreground are for a corn feeder. That gives them some good carbs and energy. We feed pretty much year round on the ranch. It's a healthy bill every year but it keeps deer herd healthy and happy. Not to mention the racoons and wild pigs!

Yes on the camera. Look up "trail cam" or "game cam" and you'll get a bunch of hits. You can get them at any outdoor store - Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, etc. Even Academy has them. I put a camera on my bird feeder at home sometimes too. I've got some interesting pics from it. Mostly squirrels. If you have any questions about them, or hunting in general, feel free to ask away. I'll be glad to help.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:48 pm

tomf wrote:It looks like a cattle feeding station and the deer are helping them selfs?
Looks nice you have a wild life camera that trigers it self?
That may be some thing I may want to look in to.

My Wife's side of the family has deer feeders on every property they own, and have been setting up solar panels to their trail camers and have been watching the deer year round. You could easily spend a good $350 on a buck in a year(feeding it), and not necessarily get it during the season. Hunting ain't exactly cheap. Hogs frequest the feeders alot as well.

I'll try to get some pics from my brother-inlaw, he's got a couple good racks and my father-inlaw probably doesn't have many pictures. Every year on the day hunting season starts we all gather out at the camp house on Mama Jane and Papa's ranch, enjoy deer jerky, stew and have a good time. Sounds barbaric, but on atleast two of the properties, they're required to shoot a certain amount each year to keep populations in control. And hogs, well, they're such a huge nuisance even animal lovers don't like them.

Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:37 pm

a0c8c wrote:Hogs frequest the feeders alot as well.

That's the understatement of the week :lol:

If there is food around, the pigs will be there. A lot.

Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:47 pm

jmoore wrote:That's the understatement of the week If there is food around, the pigs will be there. A lot.

True, my wife's cousing lives down the road from my wife's uncle, and he said uncle Jim counted a pack of atleast 40 hogs running together. They're starting to hold up traffic

Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:35 am

I am glad we do not have hogs then. I came out of the house tonight and 4 deer were with in a few feet of the house, they just walked away. The bears are also pests and like to get into every thing including damaging fruit trees. We have Mt. lions around, I have never seen one but have seen the dropings.

Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:39 pm

tomf wrote:I am glad we do not have hogs then. I came out of the house tonight and 4 deer were with in a few feet of the house, they just walked away. The bears are also pests and like to get into every thing including damaging fruit trees. We have Mt. lions around, I have never seen one but have seen the dropings.

You better pray you don't get them either. Once they are there, it's dang near impossible to get rid of them. We have a standing order on the ranch to shoot any and all hogs on sight. They will absolutely destroy crops. All it takes is a few hours and they can root up a few acres worth. The ranchers hate them. I can't say as I blame them either. At least they are good to eat, so it's worth taking them out to fill up the freezer.

We've got mountain lions on our ranch too. Up until this spring it was only rumor. Then two guys saw one outside their camp. It was good to get a confirmation and not just see tracks.