Did I shoot any of the bucks on trail cam pic?
- Thread starter blgoode
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I really doubt it. The trail cam pics are months old and those bucks look well on their way to decent antlers then. I hope this isn't taken poorly, but my guess is that the trail cam bucks outgrew the two you shot... But, as you noted, there's no way to know for sure.
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Guyon is probably more right than you think. Pics were taken in May, but velvet is not shed until August or September. That's a lot of time to grow- antler is the fastest growing animal tissue. I can't tell on the skull, but looking at the long skinny nose of the 30-30 deer, I'd say he was pretty young- like first set of real antlers young. Deer don't really start growing antlers up to their genetic potential until they stop growing their bodies. That can be 4.5 years or older before they really start making antlers. If you are only seeing little antlers, then you are probably only seeing the youngest (dumbest) deer.
It's said that the biggest/best bucks die of old age- never glimpsed by hunters. Think about that the next time you are paging through the B&C record books...
It's said that the biggest/best bucks die of old age- never glimpsed by hunters. Think about that the next time you are paging through the B&C record books...
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Ya that velvet is very slimming 
No, after that middle guy shed his velvet, he probably looked like this...
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Brian, NO. Both of those bucks in velvet although early are carrying more mass than the two bucks you killed. I would have shot either and or both of the bucks you shot so don't get me wrong, but the two on the trail cam pic probably did wind up to go something more close to that picture than you realize. Just look at the mass.
To further illustrate my point our lease is 2,100 acres every year we get between 30 and 40 bucks on trail cam pictures that no one ever sees during day light nor do our neighbors, they just seem to vanish until next year and we see some of them again on trail cam pics. They go nocturnal and that is it, you don't see and neither does anyone else, they have learned that as soon as human scent starts returning to the woods en mass, to operate strictly at night until the scent goes away again. Our lease usually kills 20 to 30 bucks a year on top of that.
To further illustrate my point our lease is 2,100 acres every year we get between 30 and 40 bucks on trail cam pictures that no one ever sees during day light nor do our neighbors, they just seem to vanish until next year and we see some of them again on trail cam pics. They go nocturnal and that is it, you don't see and neither does anyone else, they have learned that as soon as human scent starts returning to the woods en mass, to operate strictly at night until the scent goes away again. Our lease usually kills 20 to 30 bucks a year on top of that.