Buckwheat893

It’s public land, the pic is blurred because the water source in the pic is very unique, and the backdrop is kind of a dead giveaway to the location. There’s no box or meter in the pic

ttt

I agree with all the comments on lack of mass, I only estimated him at 34ish inches mass. He appears to be 5 years old or less from other pics I have, which would also explain lack of mass. I definitely won’t pass an opportunity at him, but if he survives I’ll be curious to see if he fills out with age

As mentioned above, do everything you can to face the cameras away from sunrise/sunset. Grass sucks especially this time of year, trim it as best you can but try to keep it from being noticeably maintained. If possible try to give the camera IR lights a skyline view (night pictures with trees in the background are really hard to decipher) or a fairly "plain" backdrop (the ground). I try to keep my cameras as high off the ground as I can reach, they tend to give the best views when looking downward, plus I've had everything from cattle to deer to raccoons screw with my camera when placed down low. I use the strap it comes with and hide the camera in plain sight, no box, no locks. I run 6 cameras and haven't lost a single one yet, and I've gotten plenty of pictures of people within feet of my cameras and none have noticed them. As far as photo/video settings go, videos will fill up an sd card fast. I keep my cameras on 6 photo burst (max for my cameras) with 5 second delays between bursts. With a 16gb card at 6mp that's over 11k pics before the camera is full. Cheap cameras can be loud, and I have had a couple massive bucks come in, hear the camera, and either see it and never return to the spot again, or hang up just outside of good picture range. The longer you run cameras the more tricks you will find out for yourself and what works for you. It's an addicting little hobby, good luck!

Love the tight fronts on him, awesome bull

I agree with this. Although I have held tangible proof in my hands that the antlers themselves do in fact shrink. The shrinkage occurs mostly at the mass measurements from what I have seen. I do think that once the velvet is peeled, the antlers shrink continuously, they're literally text book bones and when a bone becomes exposed to the elements it shrinks and cracks over time.

Another from the same property. A little buck that my dad took there when I was 5 or so, one of the first deer hunts I ever went on. It was a little 3x3, both sides are heavily palmated. My grandpa always told stories of seeing "dwarf" deer there, and after looking at this skull I wouldn't find it hard to believe that this may be a cross between a dwarf and a regular deer. The tallest point on the antlers when they were complete look like they were about 6", and the circumference at the bases are 1.25". Greatest spread is 5.5"

Not as freaky as some others, but I find it odd. Shed from my cousins ranch in south Texas, some strange genes out there. Good beam length!

All the snakes lived today! The second shed is at the top of the little wash just to the right of the prickly pear in the upper left corner

I'm not sure if they shrink while still attached, but I can tell you I picked up a mule deer brownie in April that measured 79.5" the day I picked it up, I rescored it about a month ago and it was 76" even. I don't think anyone has ever studied/bothered to check for shrinkage while they are still attached (would probably be difficult), but from real life experience I have taken bucks post-rut that did have antlers that had begun to show hairline cracks and what almost appears to be "peeling" on the surface. In my opinion It would only make sense that once the antler stops the growing stage and is calcified during the hardening process and the velvet is stripped that they would "die" and continuously shrink "forever" after that point.

They all get a pass from me. Never had a snake become agitated with me that wasn't justified (being stepped on) or provoked.

Pm sent

I bought a $10 card reader for my iPad on amazon, works flawlessly. Plug in, imports all the pics, you can choose which pics to keep or choose to import all. I will say as a word of caution, if you use stealthcam cameras, the lower end ones record video in a format that is not supported by apple products. For videos it's best to swap cards and take the one with videos home and put it in the computer.

Some good width genes in there. Most bucks in my area barely push past their ears... Love that freaky dude, I'm a sucker for unique antlers.

It's definitely pretty out there! I stumbled upon it years ago while playing with a rhino gps on a deer hunt, go figure. Almost every animal I've taken since has been during one of the movement periods, and every single trail cam picture I have is during one. Science is wild!

can you explain this in a little more depth? I've never really paid attn to lunar phase bc i usually just hunt when i can, but if i remember correctly the brighter the moon the less daytime movement? also i should look for more spring typw water sources than ponds? they just dont like the company/competition?Ok it sounds wild, but it's been proven true to me many times. Basically, the gravitational pull of the moon affects all living things on earth. Based on the phase of the moon, when it is overhead, and when it is underfoot, you can construct an accurate prediction of when animals will be moving. Every day has 2 major periods that usually last 1-1.5 hours when the moon is both directly overhead and directly underfoot. Every day also has 2 minor periods that are based upon when the major periods occur, and are shorter in duration. When the moon is either full, or 0% illuminated, things change and there are 1-4 major periods in a day, but they are longer and usually more intense. I know it sounds crazy but I've tested it in person, with trail cameras, for fishing, and it has always been accurate. I use the website "solunarforecast". Just type in the zip code for a given area and it will show you all the times forever based on the moon data. Hopefully it helps you out, it has helped me! As far as water goes, from my experience placing trail cameras in areas that have multiple water sources, but one where cattle cannot access, the deer will always go there. Cattle and deer are both ungulates, and they compete almost directly for resources. Naturally deer will go where the resources are not depleted by cattle. Wether it be a spring, trough, catchment or puddle.

From what I've seen, the largest mulies stick to the flats. Plenty of thick cover, food, and easy escape. Mule deer are very dependent on water and will usually not venture more than 1.5 miles from an established water source throughout the year. Try to find an area that is away from the roads, that is locked in by water sources on at least 2 sides. If you can find a water source that cattle do not have access to, you're in good shape. Remember you're not looking for bucks in December, you're looking for does because the bucks will be in tow. Pay attention to solar/lunar movement times, they are usually right. Don't get discouraged, during the rut things can go from 0-100 in an instant! You never know when that 180 4x4 is gonna pop out. Best of luck!

Found this set recently in a unit that holds both types of deer. Elevation is around 4500, terrain is flat, and the particular area is definitely dominated by mule deer. The set scores in the 130-140" range, so who knows? Strange mule deer, nice coues, or a hybrid? Tell me what you think!

+1 for huachuca. Spent a lot of time hunting there over the years, plenty of coues in T1-T3 and the U portions. With huachuca just be aware that they can close any or all of the units at a moments notice for training.

I'm a sucker for freaks.. gotta go with ol one antler

Well.. this wasn't my target buck going into this season. For that matter I didn't even know about him. But I think it's safe to say my priorities in life shifted today!

His ears are pinned back in all 24 pics I have of him unfortunately. The area he's in doesn't tend to have strong genetics in the width department, so I'm pretty excited about him.

If I had to guess he's somewhere in the 30-32" range, if those g4's continue to grow he may end up wider

I've known about this buck since January when I found 3 of his sheds in a single day. Since then I have found 3 more, but never laid eyes on him. I have enough sheds to confirm he is at least 6, but he is probably closer to 8 if I had to guess. Archery season can't come soon enough!

Went out shed hunting the other morning and jumped this guy up. Unfortunately for him he thought the mesquite tree between us made him untouchable. #4 buckshot disagrees!