Doubled Up

[blueKYstream]

This morning was an eventful one. I watched a doe walk towards me at the same time as a button buck who was further away. The buck got close and she realized he was a buck when she circled around him. She wanted nothing to do with a buck. Another doe came out and did the same. They hung out in the shadows while he ate. Eventually one of the does walked downwind of me and caught my scent. She blew, so I popped her.

About an hour later another doe came out, then the below buck. All of a sudden, a 4-pointer and spike showed up from somewhere. I immediately recognized this buck. My dad missed him Saturday night. He was one we wanted take knowing he wouldn't score much. He ran 5 yards and dropped. What ensued was quite funny.

The 4-pointer immediately went and bred the doe. They both walked towards the spike. The spike & 4-pointer were about to fight. Apparently the 4-pointer didn't want any and conceded. However, the spike wasn't real sure what he "won". At this point the 4-pointer swooped back in and bred her again. The doe ran down the hill with the 4-pointer in tow. All of a sudden, a 3-legged 10-pointer busted out of the woods after them. I'm not sure if this deer can jump the fence, because I only see him in this particular field. As I was leaving, I guess the fawn came to find the doe I shot. It was only somewhat concerned about seeing me as it was smelling something down the ditch. She ended up having milk when I gutted her. I watched a doe feed a fawn last night too. I'm not sure if that's good or bad to still have milk this late. At any rate, it was a fun morning! He's not the biggest I've shot or seen on camera this year, but a cool one nonetheless.

Any guesses on age? KY for reference. I'll give a little extra info later on and see if that changes your mind.

 

[Someday isle]

Nicely done and great story.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Cool buck. He looks old to me, I'd guess 5.5+

 

[blueKYstream]

I have pictures of him from at least 2019. I have some videos of a buck in 2018 that looks similar to this buck in 2019, but I'm not certain it's the same one. I'm not an expert at aging deer, but to me he looks 2.5 in 2019, but wouldn't rule out 3.5. That would put him at 5.5, or possibly 6.5, years old. I'm going to pull the jaw and see if that has any extra clues. It's kind of interesting, to me anyways, to see the history.

A lot of people assume that a buck will get better with age, but this buck hasn't really changed a whole lot over the years. In 2020, his right beam tapered off somewhat strangely near the end and had a couple kickers off his brows. In 2021, he had a small 9th point and a kicker off his left brow (not sure about right). He seemed to have regressed a bit in 2022.