Daily Deercam

  A trophy buck I don't recognize yet.  Only stayed for one file.  Flabbergasting genetics in this bottom.  Notice how short his legs look and how rounded his belly is.  Mature buck.  5 1/2- 6 1/2.  Cruises in.  Gets one photo made.  Gone.  What else is out there?  Bigfoot?

  This 1 1/2 will be nice next year, and better in 2010 if he makes it.  Probably an eight point next fall about eartip wide.  He's peeing in the scrape.  Deer this age are dumb.  The big bucks run them off, the does run them off and they wander around until some new shooter sees them. 

  Doe still smelling the licking branch.  Mature doe.  Big body.  No doe tags in Smith County so ladies like this one get old and experienced.

  Deercamming today when my Alpenflage chest pocket rang.  It was my daughter, and we chatted along as I strolled out to cam one with a gallon of corn, a card and an AR carbine.  I rounded the corner and could see deer backs floating along in the grass.  Hung up.  Spilled some corn.  Dropped my cell phone down inside one leg to my rubber boot.  Very exciting.  It was the big doe and her two button buck fawns.  All together.  Rut over for a bit.  I had the wind and they never figured me while I watched them off one knee.

  I knew it wasn't one of the big bucks because if you can't see the horns with your eyes, right off...then there aren't any horns worth seeing.

  Scrapes still being worked.

  Across the creek I cleared the cam and then took a little off-trail line to see some of the habitatup the creek.  Perfect for deer.  Not a sign of a person- I don't think anyone ever goes up in the brush.  I pushed some deer ahead of me up a sandy bottomed deep-cut creek keeping one eye on the gravel banks for arrownheads and pottery.  Rubs, tracks, sign.  Perfect cover, abundant food.  I would never come back here during summer months.  With the leaves down you can just find your way.  God help us when a fire comes through.

  I ought to cut a trail into one of the flats along the deep creek, put a feeder and a cam back here with a nice discreet tree seat.  Or just improve some sight lines on the seat I have near the cam.  Cut out a tree so I can see the scrape.

Update:  Alan sent jaw teeth photos of my deer to the local state biologist.  4 1/2 years old.  He was a fawn in Spring of 2004.