Is it me or....

[growalot]

Are we seeing a big increase in whopper deer being caught on cams this year?...I know a lot of these pics aren't coming out of AR areas(not to make that the topic)....I think the mild winters and the selective trigger pulls are working finally...I also think like it or not... someone(s) using minerals...Mr B joked when he saw my pics that "so and so's" minerals are working...I told him that it had to be more than one person...seeing how many bachelor groups are moving in from different areas...sporting such racks....we've always had good genetics but this is unusual ...lol  So what do you take from the sightings?

[growalot]

PS...there should be some CRAZY fights heard in the woods this year...I'm thinking that rattling will be the thing to do early season....Who is starting early scrapes...I wish I owned this particular black walnut tree..lol

[genesee_mohican]

Life is good? 

I'd say it's a combo of things; more camera's out there, more people letting bucks live past 1.5 years, better nutrition through food plots, some mild winters and good growing conditions this spring.

It sure is nice to see the mature bucks showing up on here.

 

[growalot]

If we have a mild winter this year ...Wow...Talked to the neighbor and while he was cutting fire wood and I was pounding fence post a set of twins walked between us...He said he'd been pushing them around all summer and that he has two sets of twins and a set of triplets plus singles on his place...and the two sets of triplets and twins  plus at least one single on us...that's a lot of fawns in a relative small area...the way our properties are set up we know these are all different deer..if you were to go from our line to the end of his it covers one mile from the top of the hill going down hill crossing one road....when the fawns are fairly young they only move so far with mom then she drops them off and continues moving during the day and picks them up late afternoon...This happens until after they are bred and then the fawns travel with them all day...at least that's what happens here every year....

[phade]

I've seen the opposite here. Seeing fewer mature bucks personally and in my circle. I think this year's number of deer posted here that are in the "stud" category are much less than last year.

 

Growth seems far behind in my area. Clear 3.5s are sporting what has historically been to me, a 2.5 y/o size rack.

 

I do see a ton of 2.5s though...more than usual. That bodes well going forward.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Im seeing a ton more 2.5s, and some of them are really looking nice this year. A couple of older bucks here and there. Antlers on the older guys seems pretty much on par for my area though.

[Bambam]

We're just in the process of buying up trail cams to replace old crap ones... then we'll know I guess.  Seems like it could be *MY* year if there are a ton of big bucks out there! We're in the don't shoot 'em young club too.

[CuseHunter]

I know personally the spots I've scouted aren't showing any monsters :/ but with that being said, in the past if it was brown it was down as the motto I've always been told but that's changing this year because of the education and different mind set this forum has brought me.

[G-Man]

I always get good bucks on camera, its a completely different thing to hang one up. There is always a wopper in everyone's area, depends how many bucks you let go by if your gonna have a chance to see them. Only took me 7 years to get a big buckI had on camera to Hang on my gambrel.

[Paula]

Love that picture of the one on hind legs

[gjs4]

Agree with a few of the above- seems way behind last year but there are some studs being posted online...personally feeling we are a month behind last year in terms of the growth  periodand last year had some magic this year doesnt for most

[growalot]

Maybe it's the new influx of ag crops...and more ppl holding off on pulling the trigger here but what I'm seeing is way different than past years...

I think the  biggest difference is the number of bachelor groups moving in and or through(Oct will tell that story) and the # of large racked buck in those groups...I really haven't looked into it and honestly stopped reading magazines and such because other than new equipment it seems they are just a rehash of past years...that said is it usual to have a few bachelor GROUPS with in the same area..or moving through at the same time?...We always get 1-2 what we call monsters...but then the others are usually small 8 ..6's or 4 points...even the two 4points around have over 1 ft beams before they split..

From what I gathered from neighbors last year several nice buck were taken as well ...my nine and a large 8.....2 very big 10pts from properties that border us...I don't know how the entire hill did.

[phade]

You'll have a much better idea of the talent pool after Labor Day weekend once the velvet comes off and they break-up.

 

One buck that's me and my hunting partner are after is known to be a resident on our hunting ground from Sept. through Feb./Mar. He's been eyeballed on an adjacent property a few times this summer that has some quality summer food sources, but we haven't picked him up on camera on our ground, which is largely bedding and transition. It's a bit dicey not having the pics this summer, but it's much more comfortable knowing that we have the pics from Sept. through Feb/March and have his sheds. He'll be coming home soon enough.

 

Every time I get worried about the lack of pics or smaller than expected growth, I have to remind myself that things almost always change around Labor Day weekend.

[BizCT]

Phade- approx when is a buck still in velvet but done growing inches? Now or late august?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[phade]

Phade- approx when is a buck still in velvet but done growing inches? Now or late august?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

I don't think there's a firm answer on that date-wise...too many variables individually and environmentally.

 

Many hunters look for the drying velvet appearance and tines that become pointy in nature rather than bulbous or rounded. I think the time after the first few days of August is more about gaining mass and the last few inches of tine length. Frame shape, length, etc. are largely what they are at this time.

[Five Seasons]

...I know a lot of these pics aren't coming out of AR areas(not to make that the topic)...

 

then why mention it?

 

[phade]

then why mention it?

 

 

I'm sorry, did you say something about xbow inclusion in archery?

 

I must have overlooked it. LOL.

[BizCT]

Thanks, Phade.  Hoping this 5 pointer I got pics of can crack 40" lol.

[growalot]

 So here's my question...I'm use to the boys showing up now and then sparing in the field during day light hours in Sept...but I'm not use to seeing so many small groups of buck coming in to different "zones" of the property...So is it normal that a few different groups would come into an area at once...how many bachelor groups will take up ...say a 2sq. mile area during the summer?...

See by the time I see buck...it's because they are on the move from their summer feeding/ resting area...... I realize they will roam a very wide area from Oct through Nov...some take as long as a 3 day rotation in their travels..which equal several miles...

[G-Man]

Well I have 5 different groups on 274 acres. Its all about habitat (cover and food) . Some home ranges just touch a few acres of the property, some are completely on it it seems. I get more 1.5 Year olds on as we target the doe with button bucks ..no mom to chase them off so the only home the know is what mom showed them.

[Cabin Fever]

I'm not getting squat for bucks on my cams! Not unusual for this time of year though, but disappointing none the less. I always get more pics after they rub out through November, when it really counts anyway! 

[sweet old bill]

The bucks like to be in a cool place were little activity except in there buck groups.