Three year study of whitetail bucks

[Charmin]

We have been feeding the deer by our house for the last four years. We put out corn in the early fall(Sept./Oct.) to coax them in and then feed a combination of cattle cake, milo, and corn throughout the winter months. It gives my daughter the perfect opportunity to take some really neat pictures and also study whitetail habits. She enjoys seeing bucks come in from year to year and see how much they grow in body size and in horns. The bucks in these collages have been coming in to feed for three years now.
The first picture is of the "Tall Buck". He is a cool looking buck with a double throat patch and really long G2's(back tines). We even found his sheds last year and measured them---the G2's were 11 1/2"! He is also a fighter--last year he came in and had lost his left eye while fighting with another buck.
The second collage/picture is of the "Yard-Tard" (as my husband calls him ). He has perfectly formed horns on the left side but his right side never grows normally. Still a neat looking buck.
The last picture is of the "Old 7 Point" buck. He is a very aggressive, mature buck. The first two years he was a 7 point but this year he is just a 6 point. His body mass has increased with age as you can tell.

In these pictures/collages you can see the difference in these deer from year to year. To us, its so interesting to see how they've changed in just three years and yet we are still able to recognize them!! All these bucks are free ranging, but stay in this area, I guess because they know there's always food here.
Hope you enjoy the pictures and thanks for looking!
~~sandcreek~~

[Monty]

The largest deer I ever harvested was only an 8 point, but his antlers were massive. The game warden said he was between 4 and 5 years old. The deer in that area fed on alfalfa and milo and were very heavy. He was the second heaviest buck taken in the county that year. Those are some very fine looking animals. I see you are in Oklahoma and so am I. I can remember when it was just luck if you evere even saw a deer during deer season and now they are thick statewide. Let's don't forget that there are more deer in OK now than when the pilgrims landed and it is due to good conservation practices. And who paid for the improvements? Why the hunters did from taxes on hunting gear that goes to wildlife conservation. And of course ther are the private deer management folks like you too. Thanks! Monty.

[Charmin]

The largest deer I ever harvested was only an 8 point, but his antlers were massive. The game warden said he was between 4 and 5 years old. The deer in that area fed on alfalfa and milo and were very heavy. He was the second heaviest buck taken in the county that year. Those are some very fine looking animals. I see you are in Oklahoma and so am I. I can remember when it was just luck if you evere even saw a deer during deer season and now they are thick statewide. Let's don't forget that there are more deer in OK now than when the pilgrims landed and it is due to good conservation practices. And who paid for the improvements? Why the hunters did from taxes on hunting gear that goes to wildlife conservation. And of course ther are the private deer management folks like you too. Thanks! Monty.

Thank you, Monty!
Its all about the nutrition with these deer---we've noticed a major increase in the quality of their horns since we've been feeding them. But the most fun is seeing a deer that had came in the previous year and my daughter getting pictures to compare.
And I think you're right about the deer be more abundant here than say 30 or 40 years ago--and that's just because of the good management by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife.
kindest regards,
sandcreek

[fossis]

Some nice pic's of the deer, they sure grow larger than our deer in the SE part of the state.
Monty is right about the hunters license fees paying for the management of our herds, I've heard the Old hunters say"when we saw a deer's tracks, we would rub it out with our feet, to not let anyone else see them", they were that overhunted.
In the Ouachita Forest before they bought the land, the 'Old Timers' said it looked like a 'burned over', overlogged, wasteland, so we owe the 'Conservationists' a debt of gratitude.

Fossis.................

[Charmin]

Some nice pic's of the deer, they sure grow larger than our deer in the SE part of the state.
Monty is right about the hunters license fees paying for the management of our herds, I've heard the Old hunters say"when we saw a deer's tracks, we would rub it out with our feet, to not let anyone else see them", they were that overhunted.
In the Ouachita Forest before they bought the land, the 'Old Timers' said it looked like a 'burned over', overlogged, wasteland, so we owe the 'Conservationists' a debt of gratitude.

Fossis.................

Thanks Fossis! I think the deer in this part of the state are getting bigger. I remember when my dad and grandad used to hunt, they would bring in 8 points and that was huge to them! Grandad told me when he first moved to this part of the state (to be an oilfield pumper), there weren't hardly any deer in here. He said the deer are what brought the ticks into this area, though .
Its just fun for us to watch these things and as long as we can afford to feed them, we will. I think since we live along a creek it helps too---the deer always have food and water and don't need to stray far!
regards,
sandcreek

[seger98]

That's really neat to see that year over year & watch them change. Your daughter takes some real nice photos!

[Monty]

Sandcreek, cudos for feeding the deer but don't try to interact with them . If they lose their fear of man they won't last long if they stray off your property. I have seen what I called stupid deer that would come up to me in hunting season and knowing I was there they would just hang around. I have thought about it and now I think perhaps they were semi domesticated by some well intended people who got too close to them. I'm not scolding, just cautioning for the sake of the deer. You probably already know this and if so, I am posting this for those who may believe the Bambi syndrome. Beautiful animals. Even though I am a devout hunter I have let many more walk than I have ever put in the freezer. My heart beats faster just from seeing them and watching their behavior. I love the critters! Monty

[Charmin]

That's really neat to see that year over year & watch them change. Your daughter takes some real nice photos!

Thanks seger98! It is super cool to watch these things and see how they change. And thanks for the compliments on my daughters photography!
regards,
sancreek

Sandcreek, cudos for feeding the deer but don't try to interact with them . If they lose their fear of man they won't last long if they stray off your property. I have seen what I called stupid deer that would come up to me in hunting season and knowing I was there they would just hang around. I have thought about it and now I think perhaps they were semi domesticated by some well intended people who got too close to them. I'm not scolding, just cautioning for the sake of the deer. You probably already know this and if so, I am posting this for those who may believe the Bambi syndrome. Beautiful animals. Even though I am a devout hunter I have let many more walk than I have ever put in the freezer. My heart beats faster just from seeing them and watching their behavior. I love the critters! Monty

Monty--we don't ever try to interact with these deer, because we understand that they are wild animals and not to be trusted. Especially the bucks during the rut--they are so aggressive during that time span. My daughter takes most of her pictures inside our yard fence or looking out the windows of our house. We have a healthy respect for nature and don't tempt the deer to eat out of the feedbucket . It just a lot of fun for my daughter to take pictures of them and say "that buck was here last year" or "that's the old 7 point buck" and so on.
I agree with you on the "Bambi syndrome" and think people should be extremely careful around any wild animals ! Good advice!!
~~sandcreek~~

[Tnmountains]

They are just beautiful and they are growing very old. I enjoyed the deer your daughter took this year. Here it against the law to feed but we are all soy beans and corn so thats ok. We know we can not change the genetic traits of the horns but with minerals we can change the mass size. I manage around 4000 acres for wildlife. Yet when me and my friends can we come out to Oklahoma for a hunt every now and then on the Canadian River. ( I always want to look for arrowheads lol )
As always great pictures Sandcreek. Thank you.
TnMountains

[Ray S S]

Great pics, sandcreek, that is pretty interesting seeing the running tally of the progresive years. Good job.
And your daughter is to be commended for her photography.

Ray

[RON (PA)]

Great pics of some great looking animals. You and your daughter are doing a great thing.

[Charmin]

They are just beautiful and they are growing very old. I enjoyed the deer your daughter took this year. Here it against the law to feed but we are all soy beans and corn so thats ok. We know we can not change the genetic traits of the horns but with minerals we can change the mass size. I manage around 4000 acres for wildlife. Yet when me and my friends can we come out to Oklahoma for a hunt every now and then on the Canadian River. ( I always want to look for arrowheads lol )
As always great pictures Sandcreek. Thank you.
TnMountains

You know, TnMtns, we have so enjoyed feeding these things and watching them grow old. I can see how it would be against the law in some states to "bait" the deer, because they sure love the cattle cake (cookies)--and they can't seem to ignore it and stay away if the food is there. It is funny to watch them come running in, licking their lips . My daughter loves to hunt but won't shoot anything off the feedline---its kinda hard to shoot something you've given a name to . These deer around here don't know how lucky they are , they've got the "good life"!
Thanks so much for the comments and glad you've enjoyed the pics.!
sandcreek

Great pics, sandcreek, that is pretty interesting seeing the running tally of the progresive years. Good job.
And your daughter is to be commended for her photography.

Ray

Thanks Ray! It is amazing how these things change from year to year! We are blessed to live in a place where everything is set up right with the deer so Josie can take as many pictures as she wants.
kind regards,
sandcreek

Great pics of some great looking animals. You and your daughter are doing a great thing.

Thanks RON! Glad you enjoyed the pictures! Here's another buck that we think is one from previous years. We call this one "Elliot". He has a knot on his head that's always made his horn grow funny but this year it seems to be okay. You can still see the knot if you look closely at the 2009 picture.
kind regards,
sandcreek

[Woodland Detectors]

Wow, Fantastic photos. Again. Thanks for sharing the story and discussion...Mike

[Charmin]

Wow, Fantastic photos. Again. Thanks for sharing the story and discussion...Mike

Thank you for the kind words, Mike !
We're glad you enjoyed the pics.!!
kind regards,
sandcreek

[Tnmountains]

This is a good post. Elliot is amazing. I always thought after an injury like he had and grew his horns down they would keep doing that year after year.I have seen it in an animal for two years running. Elliot finally healed and his rack came back OK after three years. Correct me on this but the average life expectancy in a buck if he survives is around 7.5 years while we have had biologist age some of our does at 19 years.
Great photographs and the perfect season for them
TnMountains

[Charmin]

This is a good post. Elliot is amazing. I always thought after an injury like he had and grew his horns down they would keep doing that year after year.I have seen it in an animal for two years running. Elliot finally healed and his rack came back OK after three years. Correct me on this but the average life expectancy in a buck if he survives is around 7.5 years while we have had biologist age some of our does at 19 years.
Great photographs and the perfect season for them
TnMountains

Yes, Elliot is amazing and we weren't sure if he was still alive. He hasn't been coming in until just a couple of days ago. I guess he remembered where the cookies are . His horns (on the side with the knot) don't have as much mass as the good side, but at least they grew up instead of down. Last year when he just had the one good horn, he would turn it towards other bucks, showing them the "good" side--he thought he was tough! He really postures now that he's got two good horns!
I'm not sure how long the life expectancy of a buck is--it'll be cool to see if all our "regulars" come in again next year. And hopefully we can find some of the sheds from these bucks. We love finding those and measuring to see how they've grown.
Thanks again for all the kind comments, TnMtns!!
regards,
sandcreek

[kuger]

That is pretty neat.I used to keep a tally on bucks,and buck doe ratio's when I was doing predator control.I did quarterly deer counts and fawn survival reports to show my efforts were working.Some of the neatest work I did,really enjoyed it and got to see a lot of different country.Great post!

[Charmin]

That is pretty neat.I used to keep a tally on bucks,and buck doe ratio's when I was doing predator control.I did quarterly deer counts and fawn survival reports to show my efforts were working.Some of the neatest work I did,really enjoyed it and got to see a lot of different country.Great post!

Thanks kuger! We've probably got 10 doe to every buck around here. I'm surprised we don't have more predators with all these deer! (And we may but just don't see them). I know the coyote population is really getting bad. I sure don't want to see any big kitty's dragging off one of these deer .
regards,
sandcreek

[kuger]

That is pretty neat.I used to keep a tally on bucks,and buck doe ratio's when I was doing predator control.I did quarterly deer counts and fawn survival reports to show my efforts were working.Some of the neatest work I did,really enjoyed it and got to see a lot of different country.Great post!

Thanks kuger! We've probably got 10 doe to every buck around here. I'm surprised we don't have more predators with all these deer! (And we may but just don't see them). I know the coyote population is really getting bad. I sure don't want to see any big kitty's dragging off one of these deer .
regards,
sandcreek

Those are the two main predators.(thats where my screen name came from)I was a Government Hunter and Predator control specialist.I trapped and ran hounds for years before that though.You do have a healty coyote population there in Ok.take some time in the spring and get rid of as many of them as you can,they raise havoc on your fawns.If there is a high population of deer(too high)you might not want to though as that is natures way of managing her own.Disease which follows over population is not pleasant eitherIn certain areas of my studies I didnt take predators,to compare to areas I did.It was never easy to watch the preds doing there thing,they have to make a living too though,but you kind of get attached to certain deer after watching them year to year.An adult lion needs a deer or equivalent a week to sustain