WNY Bowhunter

He's a mature deer...no doubt about it.

Got this guy at a new spot. Moved my camera this morning, hopefully the big buck that I'm after will make his appearance on my next card pull.

No complaints here, I was just hoping to see a couple of the bigger bucks on my cam. Yesterday, I moved it to try to get pics of a monster that I've got my eye on...

Just thought that I'd post some pics from my new Moultrie M-80. Haven't got any of the big bucks roaming around these alfalfa fields yet, but I did capture a few decent ones. Nice youngster... Found one of this guy's sheds this past winter in the same field... While the headgear on the buck in the left isn't too overly impressive, he's definately mature and looks like a small horse...

The neighbors won't kill all of the ones that you pass up. It's a chance you have to take to grow big, mature bucks. If you give in and put your tag on him you know for sure he won't be around for next year...

The neighbors aren't gonna either...

I got pics of this him in late Dec and early January, meaning he made it through gun season. He was part of a bachelor group of 3 yearling bucks. These three are still currently running together in the same spot as they were during the winter. Honestly, I don't believe that his rack is too different. Last year he has matching non-typical points growing inwards right in front of his G3's. This year the matching drops are in the same location just growing down instead of in.

I would feel totally guilty if I killed a young buck with so much potential. He gets a free pass from me this fall. So does his bachelor group buddy, "Wide Boy," another great looking 2 year old that I've been watching since last summer...

Just thought that I'd update this post with new pics. He's been playing hard to get for the past two weeks now. Finally, got him on a new cam set-up yesterday morning. Looks like he's about done now, except for maybe a little growth left in his G3's, beams and drops. Please make it 'til next year little buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/IM000168yururur.jpg[/img]

Duane Horton...1976. Actually, the head was at a local show a couple years back and I believe it grossed in the mid-180's but had several abnormal points.

That map is a good starting point, but the state records books have far more enteries meeting the B&C and P&Y minimums during that time period than what is being shown on that map...every county in Regions 8 and 9 should be dark orange or red.

Personally, I'm pretty "in the middle" when it comes to the great AR debate, but there is no debate needed on this one...it's just an undeniable fact that a dead buck won't grow when he's killed at a young age!!!

That's for sure!!!

I just scanned the latest edition of the NYSBBC record book and Steuben does have 4 net booners in the books: 3 non-typs over 200", another 198 bow kill and a 171 typical. While 140's-150's class deer are pretty common in my area (by NY standards), a net score of 170 is tough to reach. We have the most deer entered in the books and around 30 bucks listed over 160. I actually had my hands on a 181 gross B&C typical last season, but he fell WAY short due to half of the tines on his right side being broken off. If his rack would have had been fully intact, he would have grossed in the upper 190's typical. Outside of the bow only areas, Regions 7, 8 and 9 produce the state's largest bucks every season. To single one county out, I'd say that Niagara County currently seems to be the "hottest" in the state. There have been a number of booners taken up there in the past several seasons.

Here are a couple more that I'm watching at the same location... I got two pics of this buck back on 6/15. He should be a looker by now. Last year he was a beautiful 2 year old 8-pt. This guy is another two year old. He was a mediocre 5-pt. last as a yearling. The pic is from 7/9, he's grown a lot in the last week and a half. By the looks of it, he'll be wide but probably not too tall...

Not that I'm aware of.

My friend's father (the landowner) watched it happen @ 1:30 AM and found the buck (aka "Black Face") laying out in the cornfield the next morning with a bullethole through his shoulders. I had a pic of him chasing does an hour earlier across the road...

Thanks for the kind comments Muzzy. Developing a history with a particular deer is what makes running trailcams so much fun for me. I had 7 bucks last summer at this same farm that I had pics of over consecutive years. Here's a couple of them (sadly, the first one got whacked in one of the neighbor's deer drives and the other was poached at night on Nov. 2)...

He's got a drop on each side. This farm is in Pulteney, not Rathbone...

Dave, there's no doubt that it's the same deer. He's in a bachelor group with two other 2 year old bucks that he has been traveling with since late December of last year. Quite often, tears and nicks in a buck's ears are the easiest way for me to keep track of a particular deer over time, but you really can't compare a furred-up winter deer's ear to that of a summertime one. Like you said, he may have developed that rip in his right ear since the pics from last winter, or you just couldn't see it in the pics from last year with fur around his ear?

Last October I had an awesome little yearling 10-pt. start showing up on my trailcams on a farm that I hunt. I named him "Baby Freak-Nasty" and kept my fingers crossed that he would beat the odds and make it through the hunting season... Post season scouting revealed that he had indeed made it through the orange army!!! His rack was busted up but he was still very much alive!!! I couldn't wait to see him as a 2 year old... Well, here he is. He's officially graduated from "Baby Freak-Nasty" to "Little Freak-Nasty", I'd sure love to see him around next year!!! July 4th: July 8th: Hopefully, he'll countinue to drop by my cam set-up over the next few weeks.

Congrats on your bird too!!!

Finally found one that wanted to cooperate yesterday morning. He started gobbling @ 5:00...I managed to get set-up a mere 60 yds from him in the tree...hit him with a few soft clucks...he flew down @ 5:30 and was flopping on the ground a minute later. Short and sweet... . 22lbs, 10.5" beard, 1 1/4" spurs

Found two small sheds while out turkey hunting today. Unfortunately, no turkey to go with them. Anyways, they bring me to a total of 33 for the year.

I called quits on the shed hunting last week, but secured permission today to look on several hundred acres of prime big buck ground. I plan on doing a little walking around over there over the next few days before I get too caught up in the turkey hunting fever. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a couple of good ones to end the year with...