Author: theoutdoorsguy

From rumblings around town, this year’s deer season saw some pretty mixed reviews.

For me, the deer hunt was both exciting and disppointing..I did capture some great trail cam photos..of bucks travelling in our hunt area – but mostly during the dark hours..

Never before have I seen such nocturnal whitetail activity,  I couldn’t believe it..but hey, the trail cam doesn’t lie..the time stamp is right there to prove it!

I wish someone could come up with a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Sure its great to see movement on the trail cams..and capture some buck shots..but it would be nicer to see some real life daytime action.

I’m not saying that every hunt camp got skunked..but from most I’ve spoken with, deer numbers and sightings were both down across the board…although deer sign on the ground appeared to be about the same..my feelings is because the buggers went nocturnal!

Our record snowfall two winters ago certainly pounded the piss out of the deer population- excuse the expression – and I suppose now we are paying the price for Mother Nature getting even.  But hey, where was the Ministry’s Emergency Winter Feeding program that year???? If ever there was a time for it..but I suppose that’s a story for another day.

Anyhow, it will certainly be neat to watch the herd ‘rebuild’ over the next few years…

BTW I’ve got lots of neat pics and vids on hand, so as soon as I figure out how to post them I’ll make them available right here!

Yours in the Outdoors..

Outdoorsguy

Well, now I can honestly say I’ve seen it all!

I’ve had this lone deer coming into my property the past week or so..my wife first saw it around noon one day…she said it came to our feeder but was very skittish…it fed there cautiously for a few minutes and then left. The deer was very large, and after putting binocular on it.. determined it was a ‘spike’ buck..

Well, this past weekend I got a chance to see our new ‘spike’ buck..he was way out in the field when I first caught a glimpse of him.

“That’s got to be granddaddy” I thought..another giant buck we have living in the back..but as he approached, I could see no antlers.

Finally when he made it to my property line,  I saw what appeared to be a spike on one side of his head…but what a big deer it was, much larger than any yearling buck I’ve ever seen.

After putting the binocs on him myself this time..I could see that, what was thought to be a ‘spike’ was actually 4-5 inches of broken-off main beam sticking out…and just a small chunk of antler on the other side.

This poor beast – believe it or not – had both antlers broken right off!!

 I couldn’t believe it. He had a good solid base on him too..prob 4″ or more circumference, with only a small piece protruding out on the other side; at the pedicel.

I did some reading and apparently it happens that a buck will break one or both sides of its rack completely off in a fight..but I’ve personally never seen it.

I felt sad for this poor boy..even when he headed back to the field that day, he stopped to tear up a sapling with what little main-beam he had left..in a futile effort – as if to say, don’t laugh man, it’s all have to work with…hehe

I don’t think this poor guy had a very fulfilling rut, if you get my drift..and I can only imagine the battle which would cause this much damage!

Has anyone else ever seen this in the wild?

Outdoorsguy