OH Deer - Deer Antler Growth

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.

Antler Hunting

I took many pictures of a big buck in my "OH DEER" post in 2008. I decided to look for antler shed's as there were 6 bucks (4 were 8 point or greater) that I know of in the area.

Katelyn, Kevin, and I went hunting for antlers on February 16. The area is just over 1 square mile surrounded by roads. I know the deer cross the road on one side were other fields are. Kevin and I went on the other side (right side of the road) a year ago and got hung up in a swamp. We kept getting pushed away from where we wanted to go because of the water so I finally told Kevin to climb on my back and I carried him across 2 different streams. The water was just over my knees.

The warm weather the past couple of weeks has caused much of the snow to melt so we can hike in the snow to look for antlers. The ice is now thin and the streams are running which makes it more difficult. The left side is the side I took my pictures on so we will look on that side of the road.

We headed into the woods following a well traveled run that crossed one of the roads. Once we were deep enough in the woods the deer sign was everywhere. One run seemed to be more well traveled so we followed it for a .8 mile as it weaved through the woods. My Garmin GPS (60CSX) does an excellent job.

The deer jumped a stream on this particular run. Kevin and I looked around and found a tree to walk cross. Katelyn was still 50 yards away coming down another run to the stream and was approaching us. Kevin and I made our plan to cross. I would carry his pack and go first to knock the snow off the tree. It was 8 feet across and the stream looked to be 18 inches deep. I was about ready to cross when Katelyn arrived and asked what we were doing. I explained our plan. She laughed and told us 15 yards down stream there a place about 2 feet wide where we could cross. We stepped across where Katelyn showed us. So much for using our Boys Time Superman outfits. She certainly showed us.

We kept following the run. Katelyn's toes got pretty cold (wrong boots) so I decided to turn and loop back toward the truck. We ended up at the big field where I took my pictures. We crossed the field and into the woods by a stream. The stream was flowing so we were unable to cross to go to the area where I saw deer beds with Kevin. I will go back there myself. We did find a deer kill. Lots of hair, blood and a few bones. Looks like the coyote had been feeding.


Kevin and I went out again on February 21. We followed the same deer run and kept going where we turned off last week. There were a couple small ridges we went up and over following the run. The first one had large rocks 40 feet up. I was on top and saw a path being used by something. Kevin went down to check it out. There was some kind of animal going in and out of an opening between the rocks. The path was icy so I couldn't see a good set of tracks. We couldn't see how far in the hole went. Before we left I stuck my camera in the opening and took a picture with my flash. When I loaded the pictures on my computer I was surprised to see the back side of a porcupine in the opening. It was about 2 feet from the entrance. I am glad I didn't stick my head or arm in there ... THAT WOULD HURT.

We continued to the next ridge and ate lunch. As we came down the other side we noticed more deer beds. We continued on the run through a swampy area that was mostly frozen. I wish I knew where these deer are going.

We had to turn back again because of the time. Found another deer kill on the way out. We will head out a third time and continue the trek. I would like to figure out where these deer end up.

I went out again on February 28 by myself. The recent warm weather melted much of the snow and caused me to break through when I walked. That combined with the ice made it more difficult to walk in the woods. My GPS said I walked 4.8 miles. More deer beds, huge runs, rubs from this past rut, but still no antlers. I was hoping I would come to a pond or swamp and have the run turn back toward where I started. Unfortunately the run I have been following has jumped a road to a new area. I love the section I am in and have more walking to do.

On March 2 it snowed 14 inches. I didn't have a chance to go out again. Once the snow is gone the antlers should look bleached a bit from the weather so may be easy to spot on the ground before the leaves come out. It is great to get out in the woods regardless.