Intro
If you have not yet seen the 2015 hopeful hit listers, check them out also. So far, I have not had any deer that I can say for certain is 4 1/2 years old or older. That being said, I’ve got a few bucks that have been caught on camera that are interesting enough to share. First, the deer in the feature photo above is one that I think is 3 1/2. I am thinking his name is going to be Hopeful 10, but we shall see. He’s a great looking buck, and I have no doubt that if he is seen by a hunter this year that isn’t me, he’s going to have a shot taken at him.
Goofy Rack 7
Goofy rack is a buck that I’ve been watching all year. He is very active on our property and has been seen all over the 80 acre farm. I have been lucky enough that he is actually pretty active during daylight and I was able to watch him feed for over an hour out in front of me during my early October trip to Southern Illinois. Lucky for me, he does not actually qualify as a shooter on the property that I hunt because he only has 7 points and there is an 8 point minimum. Which will hopefully turn in to an opportunity for me to harvest him next year when he turns 4 1/2. By then, hopefully he will no longer only have 7 points so I don’t need to explain the age factor. Because of the antler restrictions on our land, I am only slightly worried about him making it through this season, especially since he seems to spend a lot of time on our property during the daylight.
WTF
WTF got his name for what I’m hoping is an obvious reason. I have no idea what the hell is wrong with his rack. He is at least 3 1/2 years old but his rack just grows sparsely. I’ve got pictures of him from during the summer as well and knew already that he was going to be an oddball and easy to pick out. He has not been nearly as visible as Goofy Rack 7 has and he has also been much more nocturnal than Goofy Rack. There are no visible signs of anything being wrong with this deer in terms of injuries or anything like that so I think that if given the chance, this buck might hit the ground. The final decision however is going to be reserved for in the stand after getting a naked eye view of him. Again, because he does not have 8 points, I know that I will be the only person to harvest this deer from our property if given the chance. I am not sure about the neighbors, but none of them strike me as the type to want to harvest him.
Conclusion
Though I have yet to get any hard antler photos of a fully mature buck, I know that they are around. I will soon be making another trip down there for an early November hunt, so stay tuned! Upon my return I will be sharing how the hunt went as well as another update to the hit list if I’m able to get some big boys on camera. Hopefully I’ll have better luck than during the last trip trying to self film the hunts. Until then, Happy Hunting!