Over the years I have taken my kids to watch deer in some fields
near where we live. I drove to one field with my son and we saw 3 deer. We
watched for a few minutes and decided to go to another field down the road to
see if we could see more deer. When we returned, there were 18 (yes eighteen)
deer in the field. This was in March so no deer had antlers. A couple
deer had larger bodies so I assumed they were bucks. The back side of this
field is 360 yards away. I took pictures sitting in my truck resting my camera
on my window for stability. It was somewhat difficult to keep still with a large zoom. As the light started to disappear I would adjust the aperture, shutter
speed and the ISO in various combinations to try to get the best shot at that
distance.
One year I went back in June and started taking pictures. One buck
caught my eye. It was a very large 8-point buck. He was heavier than the other
deer and had the start of a huge rack. There is also a 9-point buck that is
very nice. I focused on the large buck. Notice the progression of his antlers,
weight, and even fur color as it gets later in the season. The 2 pictures on
the left were taken (June 20). The picture on the right was taken (June
30). Notice the antler growth since June 20. With this I thought I would frequent the fields and take pictures of this deer's antler growth.
(July 25) It was very bright out. The deer were in
the shade browsing and resting.
(August 7) The way the big buck was strutting around
it was clear he was the dominant buck in the area.
These pictures are from (August 11).
Because of other commitments I wasn't able to get out to
look for the deer. The field was also fertilized and the deer don't like that.
I did go a couple of times but didn't see any deer. I thought they may have
moved to a different area. October was the next time I get out to see deer in
that field.
I arrived at one of the fields to look for the deer as I
hadn't had time the past few weeks. It was (October 23). Just after
4:00PM several deer came out into the field. I saw a small buck and another
buck with 4 points on the left and no antler on the right. Must have been
fighting. I kept watching with my camera ready and the blinking light saying my
batteries were low. I noticed several deer start to look in the trees at the
back of the field. I had my binoculars up scanning the woods. Suddenly I saw
movement of a very large rack. I knew it had to be the big 8-point. I quickly
replaced my batteries so I didn't potentially miss some good shots. Then I saw
him. He came out of the woods 30 yards from where I saw the rack move in the
trees. OH MY ... he had put on some weight, his neck was much larger due to the
rut, and those antlers ... OH MY again ... There ended up being 15 deer in the
field.
I was able to get 11 of the 15 deer in one shot. The big
8 point is in the back row on the right next to the woods. He didn't seem to
venture out into the field like the others.
My plan is to go shed hunting in February/March and see
if I can find this 8-pointer’s headgear. I have a couple random shots of other
deer taken at different times below.
Above are a few random pictures.
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