he returned, part 2

well, one year and 3 days after he returned last year, big boy showed back up. unbelievable, he hasnt been seen since 10/6.

Sneaky bugger isn't he?

wow....big buck

He didn't make it this far being dumb.

Nice buck!

weird for him to take that long to come back around

Did the exact same thing last year, didnt see him from late september 2011 until march 2012...

Oh man I am so happy to see he is still alive! I was rooting for you all deer season to get him, and now I will root for you this deer season...

he is a big bugger, love the nice large rack (what guy doesn't ). Like it was said above, he didn't get that big being stupid. The thrill of the hunt is almost better than the trophy...I said almost...

one thing I am surprised to see is that he still has his horns this late...when do bucks start shedding in n tx?

that's gotta be disheartening........you need to find out where he snowbirds to.

Don't get big for being stupid he's a smart one and beautiful 10

I have a few shedding now

Well, the good news is if he is around, you might be able to find his sheds!

Nice buck!!

The good thing is now you know we're you aren't going to find him next year!!!

Need to find alternative spots for trail cameras to find out where does he go during season. Try to find where he drinks water.

Same thing with a big 8 at my place, nice deer

Hell of a deer

He's a stud.

for a little comparison, here he is pre-rut, and some of the last pics of him until today:

That deer gave me wood. Good luck

Wow, How many years have you been seeing him?

i have never seen this deer in person, first pics i got of him where in the summer of 2011:




he was a no show from sept 2011 to march 10, 2012:




fed him all summer and he disappeared on 10/6 until today. supposedly has never been seen by anyone around me, in person or on camera, lol, only person that has seen him is an old guy that lives right next to my place, he saw him once in person during the summer of 2011.

i posted this last year:

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3178231/1

(my photobucket crashed and all my pics were deleted, but its the series from 3/10/2012)

i had given up hope and was really thinking about stopping my protein feeding and just spinning buck ration to save money.

not any more.

That is what becomes of a great mature deer. No one ever sees him or gets a shot. Damn shame but what a royal animal.

the only chance i could have had with him was on 10/3/2012, he was at my feeder from 7-730am but i was in a differnt stand that morning, trying to play the wind. i was 50 yards away and was disgusted when i checked the cams later that day.

that buck is the reason for my obsession, after years of hunting mediocre/immature (if any) bucks, he grabbed a hold of me and hasnt let go. he is my nemesis, and i get really nerdy talking about him and thinking about how i am going to hunt him and kill him.

There is a great chance he will win the battle. But at least you are in the arena. If you don't succeed there is still no loser. You will be one with nature and a great animal in his element. It does not get better than that!!

Again. Best of luck and enjoy.

Nothing better than chasing a ghost, especially one of that caliber. Sure hope you get him this coming season.

No idea where he might go?

i THINK i know, and they shot me down when i asked to hunt the place last year after he left. i may ask again though if i need to, with a titch more presuasivity.

Ha. Hunt their fence

Do you know if they hunt it at all?

they do not hunt and seemed to maybe be a bit against hunting, but i didnt press too much and only talked to them for a few minutes so i wouldnt be opposed to asking again, especially with a little $$ in my hands. they have a few hundred acres of almost solid timber that is rarely visited bu humans, with plenty of water, if i had to bet, that is where he goes.

there is a small piece of gubment land (not legally hunted) between me and them that i think he uses to get back and forth. but, i had a camera on that corner of my place over hand corn for most of the season and never saw him, i think he leaves and sets up shop for the winter and doesnt stray too much.

i was stressed out last year before bow season, cant wait for this season and hopefully another shot at him. i will definately be doing what i can to keep him close this summer.

There are several deer on our place that do the same thing. We get pictures of them until September and then they are gone. Occasionally we get a spring picture but usually just during the summer months. This has happened 3 years in a row.

Good luck in your quest!

I have had some of the biggest of my life disappear before season. Never to be seen on cam again until well after season is over. I just kills me that I never get a look at them in person.

it is crazy, i had a tall 8 that did the same thing this year, disappeared around the beginning of bow season and hasnt been seen since. i think i caught him in the background of a pic this past week too. i am really looking forward to seeing what this deer looks like next season and then just want an oppurtunity.

The best possibility is he is distributing his genes. Good luck, might have to get out of those stands to find the old soldier.

Great buck. I hope you get a chance at him next year

hows you doe count? Are you gonna do anything different this year to keep him in the area?

i think its pretty high. this place is only about 45 acres and i estimate that i feed 15-20 deer per day, mostly doe and small bucks, with this guy back i have 4 bucks now 4.5 or older.

Was he hitting the black eyed peas you mentioned throwing in other posts?

Yes, for a month or so until i ran out.

you need to tie him some wimmens up to the feeder legs! Good to see you've still got a chance at finding him next season.

good lookin buck

Have you tried to decoy him in yet? He looks somewhat skiddish in some of the photos'. I bet he circles the area down wind before he comes in. Might need something to spark his interest a little more, might give a try this year. Even early season it can produce results.

i have not but definately will try it next season. i agree, he appears real nervous in some of the pics and doesnt like to eat out of that feeder. i am going to have to be super strict on when i hunt him. i am getting ready to start a 1.5 acre food plot around that protein feeder with a few different stand setups.

Sounds like a plan...hope it works out for you. He'd be a very nice one to have on the wall for sure.

WOW!! He didn't ever break a point either. Any one care to throw out a B&C score. I'm no expert by he looks like a book deer to me.

He is a good deer in my book but won't make the "Book"

I'd say upper 150s to lower 160s on him.

I agree with Rifleman, he may even touch the low-mid 160s. He has really good length and carries some mass throughout..

One thing I'm certain of, he is bigger than 140s and I'm sure some "hardcore" scorers were thinking in that range.

I have him mid 50's

TX, I could see mid 150s, they always look bigger on camera don't they?

Most the time. Seen a few that shocked me the other way, but a 140" deer can look like a moose at the right angle

It looks like all he broke was the little inline tine between the g2 and g3 on his right side, u can see it in the pic from september.

By far the best deer i have ever had the chance at.

House, just bust him this season and put some tape on him so we can all find out and relish in your trophy..

Haha, done deal.

I still hold out hope that this guy is somehow still alive,





Thinking the 2011 picture was maybe him as well.

ohhhhhhhh reeeaaaaallllllllyyyyyyy, now

Jedi mind trick melded with some miyagi, there is no try, there is only do...




With a whoooooooolllllleeeee lot of hope!

I need to give that a try

Great looking 8 DQ, good luck getting him back

And the Buck says (in classic Arnold): "I'll be back"

House do you think the 2011 pic is the same buck, kind of looks like it. Unfortunately, not sure that I saw him on pic in 2012, so that may be a bad sign..

Yeah its hatd to tell but definately could he, has some similarities, just a tough angle.

You oughta search high and low for any more. I'll keep my eyes peeled for you and let you know if I come across any.

I hunt a very similar situation on 60 acres and have had the same experience with a ghost buck. I know the feeling of bring obsessed! This past season I put in a fall plot and it held alot more deer on my property or at least they travelled thru more frequently. I have tried everything to draw that buck more regularly -- corn, roasted soy, apples, pears, peanuts and every gimick product. Finally figured out he liked the salted roasted peanuts from the grocery store!

House do you think the 2011 pic is the same buck, kind of looks like it. Unfortunately, not sure that I saw him on pic in 2012, so that may be a bad sign..

Wow, he even has the MLD schedule down. If that continues, he's gonna drive you crazy.

Never know. We have some that disappear and show back up a year or two later but most the time it isn't at a feeder. Good looking 8

Hard for me to tell in the 2011 pic. Not a great angle and if I zoom any, gets fuzzy.

same thing TX said, that pic makes it hard to tell but he has some of the same features, good luck getting him back.

It could be the same deer DQ. But that bottom pic looks a little heavier, and more of a paunch to his belly. Either way nice buck/s. House, that's just amazing that you have those quality deer so close to town.

thanks, but these are hunt county deer, out in the sticks.

Glad to see he made the season. He is giving you more pieces of the puzzle to up your chance of success this year. He is in great shape.

yes, sir, i will have a dang camera in every tree of that place this summer to see where he is coming/going.

i have him at 5.5, you guys think thats good?

i also had him in the mid' 150's this year and mid 140's last year...what do you guys think he will add for next season?

cant wait to go look for the sheds.

I think he is mature- 5 or 6 from those pics this year. Black and white and post rut pics are hard to age by also. I would say he looks to be in the upper 150's to right at 160 in some pics and others a bit less. I would move TC to trails now to find his movement patterns now. Plot watcher might be valuable to get pics at better distance range wise.

FYI, bucks on my place still had their horns as of the 11th. Checked cams this week and they had not shed in my part of Young County

Is the plot watcher a cam setting Ranchman?

It is a seperate system, but some TC now have the same feature.

its one that records continually so they dont have to be within a certain range to trigger it, u just look through the footage when u check it. never had one but i assume u can fast forward through it pretty fast and just stop when u see deer.

I do not have one either. They offer a better distance range in pics from what I have read on them. They do not use any motion sensors. You can view the pics like a streaming video of sorts on you computer. They only work in daytime also I believe but taking pics every few seconds you do not miss much. Battery life on some is not good and on some it is better now. Some of the new TC cams have the same feature also built into them.

yeah, worrying about age isnt an issue any more with him lol. if he hangs around long enough i will probably even carry the rifle with me this year to keep from goingt through all of this again.

he picked up the little inline in his right side and a g5 on his left from last year to this year...any educated guesses on what he may add next season? the right g5 looked like it almost wanted to come in in some of the velvet pics from the summer, a nice big, clean, 165" 12pt wouldnt be to much to ask for would it?



haha, i dont care what the antlers do at this point, i just want to SEE this buck come october.

Guessing scores for this year is tough for anyone to say. I have seen bucks that are mature stay the same from one year to the next. I have seen them jump 40" also in one year. You just can't tell. He is in very good body shape for post rut and coming into spring green up. With him being on feed the last couple of years he could do 10-15% increase easily. He is not growing anything but antlers now once he is fat again in the next month or so. Time will only tell on him now.

he started shedding this past week so i know what i will be doing next week. we rolled up 40 mins after he walked away...

At least you know what area he is in. Good luck finding the sheds