December buck returns after 3 year absence

[Native Hunter]

That is cool to see Native. I agree, we miss bucks on camera but certain ones do seem to disappear and then return. I always think of the gps monitor of a buck that was shown on the other forum that returned to its birthplace only once before he returned there again several months later to die. Much like birds, I think deer just have an inherent sense of many things that we as humans have lost touch with perhaps.

dogghr, I remember reading that whole thing about the gps buck. I agree, that was truly cool.

Yes, so many things about nature that we don't understand. A man could spend his whole life studying only one single thing (many do) and still not have all the answers. Deep thoughts...........

 

[deer patch]

Wow, 8 years old and gone all that time. I hope you post this up when you get the results.

Just remember I put an IF in there as I'm not a 100% sure it is him. I never got a pic of him back then but Dad and I did see him on the hoof that year. I hope it turns out he is that old even if I'm a year off he would still be 7 which would be the oldest off the farm. When I get the results back I will post the results even if it means I was wrong.

Sounds like you have your cameras setup well.I have watched bucks in the past come into a foodplot but would walk around a camera to never get his pic taken and I don't check my cameras but every two weeks and some may go a month before I check them. A mature buck is just a special creature in my book. Since your buck showed back up if you think back you should ave more that's done this in the past.

 

[Native Hunter]

Just remember I put an IF in there as I'm not a 100% sure it is him. I never got a pic of him back then but Dad and I did see him on the hoof that year. I hope it turns out he is that old even if I'm a year off he would still be 7 which would be the oldest off the farm. When I get the results back I will post the results even if it means I was wrong.

Sounds like you have your cameras setup well.I have watched bucks in the past come into a foodplot but would walk around a camera to never get his pic taken and I don't check my cameras but every two weeks and some may go a month before I check them. A mature buck is just a special creature in my book. Since your buck showed back up if you think back you should ave more that's done this in the past.

10-4 on the not 100% sure. Still very interested in what you post.

Yes, I've given a lot of thought to camera placement. Places like fence gaps, etc are a sure bet.

I can recall others coming back after a good while, but never remember going 3 years on one. But then again, all are not as easy to recognize as this one.

 

[Rickey]

I think the GPS reference was good for this buck. He is a fine specimen. I think etrex would be fitting.

 

[Jeff H]

Prodigal Son

I was thinking Prodigal Son also. Second guess would be Lazarus.

 

[alldaysit]

OMG, I just realized that you are right about that. That is truly the case with the ones I've seen. Can you explain why or do you have any theories?

They probably leave to avoid other mature bucks, and in doing so they avoid fighting. Hence, no broken tines.

I think about that episode of "The Crush" when Lee Lakosky shot that Gnarles Barkley buck. You could see it on television and Lee said that, that buck wanted nothing to do with other bucks and would back down to any shown dominance from any other buck.

Maybe these bucks are pure homebodies who are then only driven by hunger, and not breeding. When you think about it, they most likely couldn't breed because they would be forced to fight off even small bucks. And when you think about it like that, there tolerance of even does would most likely be extremely low.


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[alldaysit]

I checked a couple of cameras at lunch today and couldn't believe my eyes. A deer is back that I hadn't seen since December 2013. There is no doubt it is him, because you can check out the little kicker on his right G2. Check out the history pics below:

Interested in your thoughts on why such a long absence and why back now???? Also wonder if you agree with my aging of 6.5 this year.


2012 - First year I saw the deer. Came in December 2012 and had a broken beam on the left side. I aged the deer that year at 2.5.



2013 - The last year I saw this buck. He grew some from the year before.



Here he is back in 2016. He has gained a little mass and length, but pretty much just a slightly bigger version of 2013.

I do have a question that goes against some of this theory. Why does this buck look so skinny...... and Young in these last few pictures to me? Is it just me? I can't remember where your located in the US so maybe it's a regional weight/size thing.


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[Native Hunter]

I do have a question that goes against some of this theory. Why does this buck look so skinny...... and Young in these last few pictures to me? Is it just me? I can't remember where your located in the US so maybe it's a regional weight/size thing.

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I'm in KY, and nearly every big bodied old deer that I see at this time of year looks that way and will be 50 pounds lighter than they were at the end of October. I could show you pictures of others in the past, and you would gasp at how they changed. And, when they get that skinny it makes their face look different too - like a young deer. Believe me, I've seen it many times. I bet if you could see that deer two months ago you would say his body was a tank.....

 

[Native Hunter]

You guys are witty with your names. So good it makes it hard to choose one.

I will throw in another one for you to ponder - Duncan MacLeod. I could give several reasons it would be fitting. Guess if you want to.

 

[Gravel Road]

The 2012/13 pics show a main frame 9, but the recent ones show he's now an 8. Is that typical regression for his age, and is that the reason to mainly go by brow tines?
The difference between night time pics vs day time always surprises me since both the horns and body look so much smaller in the daytime. His face does look young but the body looks old with sunken haunches.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Native Hunter]

The 2012/13 pics show a main frame 9, but the recent ones show he's now an 8. Is that typical regression for his age, and is that the reason to mainly go by brow tines?
The difference between night time pics vs day time always surprises me since both the horns and body look so much smaller in the daytime. His face does look young but the body looks old with sunken haunches.
Thanks for sharing.

The telltale signs to me for a match are:

1. The high brow on the left side
2. The almost identical kicker on the right G2 (only larger now)
3. The shape of the rack (not extremely unusual, but somewhat unique looking)
4. The appearance of advanced age in the body (especially the haunches like you mentioned) which would align with the picture history.

You are correct about going from a mainframe 9 to a mainframe 8. I noticed that too, but based on what I've seen in other deer, that factor is not too surprising. I killed a deer in 2015 that a state biologist aged at a minimum 6.5 and said was likely 7.5. I had good history on him with lots of pictures. In 2014 that deer had forked G2s right at the top of each G2, but they disappeared the next year. I've also seen other deer gain or lose a point or two. I had one to go from an 8 to a 12 in one year and another to go from a 10 to a 12 in one.

If anything, I'm starting to wonder now if the deer is older than 6.5 this year..

I guess we can never be sure about one gone that long, but I'm pretty convinced. Thanks for looking and commenting.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I do wonder where the heck that deer has been all that time. Blows my mind.

There is a level of intrigue for me about a deer that does something like this. I want to know all the answers but know that I will never find them. I think a psychologist would tell me that its because he is the phantom of the night, and free spirit I can never be - appearing like a ghost when and where he wants to, leaving the ladies breathless, and avoiding the arrows, bullets, coyotes, dogs, vehicles and all the other things that are out to bring him down. Okay, I will stop now.

Sounds like me from my younger years

 

[Native Hunter]

Sounds like me from my younger years

Yep, I've dodged a few bullets, but only one arrow. Idiot buddy of mine shot one straight up in the air out of sight once. We all looked at each other and everybody took off running like rabbits.

Here is a more straight on pic of the deer, and I tried to change the contrast a little so I could see his rack better against those trees in the background. Just because of the age and history, I really hope he stays around and is here next year. It would be cool to show the same deer at 2.5 and 7.5.

 

[alldaysit]

Those bases look big and that picture makes him look like the same buck.


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[Native Hunter]

Those bases look big and that picture makes him look like the same buck.


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Yes, I thought the same thing.

 

[deer patch]

I agree with your age on that one. He is run down from the rut. Just look at that body...sunk in sides...deep gut...deep sagging chest and what mass he has at the bases. I hope he sticks around also. He would make a good addition to your wall.

 

[Native Hunter]

I agree with your age on that one. He is run down from the rut. Just look at that body...sunk in sides...deep gut...deep sagging chest and what mass he has at the bases. I hope he sticks around also. He would make a good addition to your wall.

Thanks deer patch. It would be great to do that. I love to show folks mounts that bring up unusual stories and special old memories. Can't think of a better story than one that returned from the dead.

A friend of mine told me this week that he thought I was running a "rest home for deer." I told him they were certainly all welcome here!

 

[Paradise725]

You are correct about going from a mainframe 9 to a mainframe 8. I noticed that too, but based on what I've seen in other deer, that factor is not too surprising. I killed a deer in 2015 that a state biologist aged at a minimum 6.5 and said was likely 7.5. I had good history on him with lots of pictures. In 2014 that deer had forked G2s right at the top of each G2, but they disappeared the next year. I've also seen other deer gain or lose a point or two. I had one to go from an 8 to a 12 in one year and another to go from a 10 to a 12 in one.

.

I've got history with a buck that was a 10 at 4.5, 8 at 5.5, then back to a 10 at 6.5. Unfortunately he got killed by the neighbor this year but that's a different story. It's really cool how unique each deer's rack can be and how it's possible to track them from year to year.


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[Chainsaw]

That is a great shot of that deer. I presume the camera is in a rock pile or log on the ground. And the base of the antlers are just plain huge! I hope you have some encounters with him early next year.

 

[Native Hunter]

That is a great shot of that deer. I presume the camera is in a rock pile or log on the ground. And the base of the antlers are just plain huge! I hope you have some encounters with him early next year.

Thanks Chainsaw. That camera is mounted on a fence post about waist high.

I'm really anxious to check camera on Saturday and see what has been going on at my place this week. If he left before because of the pressure from other bucks, he shouldn't have any worries right now. At the time he left that wasn't the case. There were 2 or 3 big bad hombres here.

Most of my plots are pretty much eaten up, but there is still one with a lot of nice green wheat that they weren't able to get ahead of. That plot should be getting a lot of attention right now and hopefully he will be in it.