First shed buck of the season = injured?

[WNY Bowhunter]

This guy showed up on a couple of my cameras friday evening. It appears that he was shot right above the shoulders?

Based on the shape of his face and ears...I'm 95% certain that this deer is a cool looking 2.5 year old buck that I watched all summer...

I ended up getting about 30 pics and he doesn't seem to be any more run down looking than the other deer, but I'm betting that the injury has caused him enough stress to drop his antlers early. I'm really hoping that he will make it through the winter...

[phade]

looks like backstraps...lucky it didn't hit anything solid. Probably one of those deals where the deer drops and the hunter thinks he got it only to watch it jump up and run away...

[landtracdeerhunter]

Just below the spine and above the lungs. Looks to be another " No Mans Land" shot deer.

[BizCT]

He might be a cool non-typical next year.

[rotorooter23]

or a 1 horned wonder... hopefully that is not the case!

[phade]

Just below the spine and above the lungs. Looks to be another " No Mans Land" shot deer.

 

LOL. Heerrrrre we go!

[G-Man]

That shot is above the spine for sure.. I believe you may be right in it being same deer. I got a buck on Dec 13 that had lost both horns from a pass thru sm caliber shot in its brisket. Stress is stress...

[sampotter]

The only thing that shot was below was the hair line... Definitely above the spine... by several inches. I bet he makes it. He looks to be in good condition otherwise. Maybe he'll sprout some NT points next year as a result? He already had awesome brows for starters.

[t_barb]

In the picture with the antlers there appears to be a little notch in the ear that I do not see in the other pictures. Could just be the angle

[WNY Bowhunter]

In the picture with the antlers there appears to be a little notch in the ear that I do not see in the other pictures. Could just be the angle

 

I also noted the notches in the ear but the new pics are fuzzy and the deer have "furrier" ears in the winter than in early sept. when the antlers pics were taken and these small notches could easily be cover up...

[WNY Bowhunter]

The only thing that shot was below was the hair line... Definitely above the spine... by several inches. I bet he makes it. He looks to be in good condition otherwise. Maybe he'll sprout some NT points next year as a result? He already had awesome brows for starters.

 

I'm really hoping he'll stay a big mainframe 6-pt...

[t_barb]

Good point on the heavier coat in the winter. That may be the difference... The rest of the facial features are an exact match..

I always start with the ears, as that often seems to be the best way to differentiate them..

Edited December 30, 2014 by t_barb

[WNY Bowhunter]

Good point on the heavier coat in the winter. That may be the difference... The rest of the facial features are an exact match..

I always start with the ears, as that often seems to be the best way to differentiate them..

 

I agree, the ears are one of the best features to identify individual deer.