bigbendmarine
5 year old buck +
Indeed had an old friend stop by this past week.. and for those with the patience to do a bit of reading his visit leads me to a question about buck behavior I find interesting and haven't seen mentioned much in writing.
Friend goes by the name of "Evander." Like Holyfield they both got their right ears messed up. His tucked-in broken ear has made him far and away the easiest buck for me to recognize on camera. That and his rack is pretty distinct, as it faces forward like the horns of a Spanish fighting bull and with his right horn kicking up more than his left. Right eye looks a bit glassy on some camera hits so I wouldn't be surprised if he's at least partially blind. Sure looks like he's gotten some pretty fierce swipes on this right side. Will say this for him too, though I get him on camera from time to time, I've only now seen him twice in person and just one of those times sitting in the stand. He seemed ULTRA-wary then, approaching a plot from the most remote spot possible at last light, and barely sticking his head out to scope the field a few seconds before ducking back into cover.
I suspect he may be one of the oldest bucks I have crossing through my place... yet he's tough for me to pin a number on. We moved to our place in 2014 and I got hits on him then and he looked fairly mature... two or three weeks into rut that year he was so beat up and crippled I wondered if he was on the declining side of things... yet in 2016 he looked about the same, if not maybe a little better... and here we are going into 2018, and though showing some battle scars he's alive and kicking though is rack never has progressed much and tine height wise (as humble as it always has been for him) seems to be declining.
Here's a chronological sequenced video of clips I've gotten of him over the years.
Besides wondering how the heck old anyone would guess him to be, here's the behavior note his recent visit drives... anybody else notice during rut that they will actually have a buck travel with another buck almost acting as a "domestique" (servant) does in the Tour De France, serving as wingman for a more healthy / dominant buck? Reason I ask is that I've probably seen paired up bucks traveling together during rutting season over a half-dozen times since I began hunting and not in the same way they buddy up when in bachelor groups... almost always just a pair, and they keep a respectable / set distance from one another but also almost walking in lock step. Not the norm, as I see plenty of solo bucks during rut as well, but I have seen it and when I have it was almost as if the lead was a bit of the sacrificial offering being used to lead the way into combat and potential danger by fire.
Always highly enjoy hearing what others on the forum think, so look forward to any guesses on age as well as thoughts on the "domestique" travel pattern. Let me add, not asking about age in any way to decide whether to target him. Heck, if ever a cull existed it probably would be him but seeing him overcome his injuries and physical obstacles has kind of left me with a soft spot in my heart for the poor ol' fella.
Friend goes by the name of "Evander." Like Holyfield they both got their right ears messed up. His tucked-in broken ear has made him far and away the easiest buck for me to recognize on camera. That and his rack is pretty distinct, as it faces forward like the horns of a Spanish fighting bull and with his right horn kicking up more than his left. Right eye looks a bit glassy on some camera hits so I wouldn't be surprised if he's at least partially blind. Sure looks like he's gotten some pretty fierce swipes on this right side. Will say this for him too, though I get him on camera from time to time, I've only now seen him twice in person and just one of those times sitting in the stand. He seemed ULTRA-wary then, approaching a plot from the most remote spot possible at last light, and barely sticking his head out to scope the field a few seconds before ducking back into cover.
I suspect he may be one of the oldest bucks I have crossing through my place... yet he's tough for me to pin a number on. We moved to our place in 2014 and I got hits on him then and he looked fairly mature... two or three weeks into rut that year he was so beat up and crippled I wondered if he was on the declining side of things... yet in 2016 he looked about the same, if not maybe a little better... and here we are going into 2018, and though showing some battle scars he's alive and kicking though is rack never has progressed much and tine height wise (as humble as it always has been for him) seems to be declining.
Here's a chronological sequenced video of clips I've gotten of him over the years.
Besides wondering how the heck old anyone would guess him to be, here's the behavior note his recent visit drives... anybody else notice during rut that they will actually have a buck travel with another buck almost acting as a "domestique" (servant) does in the Tour De France, serving as wingman for a more healthy / dominant buck? Reason I ask is that I've probably seen paired up bucks traveling together during rutting season over a half-dozen times since I began hunting and not in the same way they buddy up when in bachelor groups... almost always just a pair, and they keep a respectable / set distance from one another but also almost walking in lock step. Not the norm, as I see plenty of solo bucks during rut as well, but I have seen it and when I have it was almost as if the lead was a bit of the sacrificial offering being used to lead the way into combat and potential danger by fire.
Always highly enjoy hearing what others on the forum think, so look forward to any guesses on age as well as thoughts on the "domestique" travel pattern. Let me add, not asking about age in any way to decide whether to target him. Heck, if ever a cull existed it probably would be him but seeing him overcome his injuries and physical obstacles has kind of left me with a soft spot in my heart for the poor ol' fella.
