He's Back (updated 12/30)

[backwoods_boy]

very cool! I still have a tag if you want me to put him on the ground for you! 

[SGM R]

Dark horns, nice and tall---you know his home is thick and deep! Way to stick with him. Dedication will prevail.

Good luck

[Kent Hunter]

Stay after him Bow4elk!! You'll prevail. Like you, I LOVE hunting blacktails. That buck is a dandy!!

[patton1]

Great buck.  I'm sure you'll get him.  With all the good tips and advice you give on this site, you're bound to get him.  You really seem to know those blacktails.

[bow4elk]

thats an awesome buck!!! wonder how old he is?

Well, based on his 2006 shed (the weathered one), he was probably 3 1/2 then, so he's probably going on 7 years old.  Here's another pic from the other day, passing through.

[Alan K]

Nice!!! His gland is still pretty stained in that last pic too.

[lewy]

How far have you documented that buck moving? Does he just winter were you pick up the sheds and get the pics? You have got some great history on that deer nice work!

[bow4elk]

How far have you documented that buck moving? Does he just winter were you pick up the sheds and get the pics? You have got some great history on that deer nice work!

I wish I knew more about him.  I just I've only got a handful of photos and they are completely random, both in location and time of year.  He just shows up enough here and there to drive me nuts.  But I don't have a single photo of him in velvet so it's very possible he moves into this area to winter or rut or both.

I typically find that with every clue I find I need to look back at my notes and shed pile to figure out the puzzle, or to see what's missing.  Sometimes it's a year before I make the connection.  Sheds match up with cam pics and that starts the gears turning.  I cringe to think how many times I've been watched by blacktail bucks.  Every single time I step foot into my hunting areas I am conflicted about being there.  On one hand, I need to scout but on the other hand, it's one more day of spreading scent around and disrupting things.  The more days per year an area is left alone, the more secure it will be and more likely to attrack bucks.  Sloppy scouting can make a mess of a good thing.  I honestly thought this buck was dead because it's been a full year since I've picked him up on a camera, and I run them year-round all over the country he's living in.  I have between 600-700 active camera days in this general area in the spring and summer.  I have about 8 photos of him.  Do the math...

I went out during the recent snow to look for tracks and current travel activity.  3 hours, only cut one track - a doe I jumped on the way out.  I assume they were just sitting tight to wait for the warm front to move in.

[lewy]

Nothing tougher to figure out than a mature bt buck. Looks like all the pics you get of him are at night too.....

[Dipsnort]

I'm rooting for you to get him next year.  Sounds like you have a location that few others hunt.  Is that because it's private land or because it's difficult to access?

[bow4elk]

I'm rooting for you to get him next year.  Sounds like you have a location that few others hunt.  Is that because it's private land or because it's difficult to access?

Almost all the deer, including this one, I have posted are on public land.  I work hard all year every year to find places few others bother to hunt, but like I've said in the past, I've never once seen any of the bucks I get on camera.  The buck I shot this year was a great example.  I have three summers and two falls & winters of him on multiple cameras but the only time I ever saw him with my own two  was that fateful day on 10/24 at 18 yards.  I work hard at scouting and hunting smart, and I'd like to think it's starting to pay off 

[bucklucky]

I bet the next pictures you get of him if anytime soon will be with no head gear. I finally got on my masher buck yesterday only to find his big ol' roman nosed white face , huge double throat patch and silver dollar sized pedicles with no horns 

[Ripper]

This is really cool Bow4elk. You deserve a lot of credit for all the work you put in. I believe that if anybody gets him It'll be you. I wish I had the time to spend scouting and documenting info like that. I've never hunted just one or two specific animals before. Looks like I have a new goal!

[bow4elk]

I bet the next pictures you get of him if anytime soon will be with no head gear. I finally got on my masher buck yesterday only to find his big ol' roman nosed white face , huge double throat patch and silver dollar sized pedicles with no horns 

Took a walk today just to see if there were any obvious sheds yet in a couple different areas..now you've got my fire lit!!  I've been buried in deadlines for work for the past three weeks, but as of today I'm taking the rest of the year off till Jan 4.   

I found three does chowing on blackberries this afternoon.  Just sat and watched them to see what they were eating.  I have never found a shed in blackberries but I look religiously because they seem to eat them all winter long.

[lewy]

I have found a handfull of bt sheds in the blackberries, the really pound them in the winter for a food source.