What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Discussion about shed antlers, etc
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moondoondude
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What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby moondoondude » Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:28 pm

I have been watching a buck for 3 or 4 years now, since he was just a baby. I watch him year round now. Earlier this week, I saw that he had dropped his antlers. I decided to devote my weekend to finding those antlers. I will walk you through my day, step for step.

I decided to grid search and backtrack the area where I saw the buck coming out of in the evenings. There were some well worn trails leading back to lots and lots of thick cover. Although there was some primary bedding in very small patches, the entire area was bedding cover. I hit it for about 4 hours and found 6 or 7 dead bucks and a couple other dead deer. I decided to make a little move walk out to a different area.



I found some high grass and other browse/food stuff with some heavy sign and I picked up 2 probably 15 yards from each other. The antlers are from 2 deer I have seen all summer and through the year.




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I poked around there for a while looking for matches before setting back to the cover in search of bigger and better things. I hate looking on sunny days and I was thinking about how many antlers I have passed over through the day to to shadows, bright patches, etc. Right on cue a cloud came over and I picked up 2 more en route to the area where the big one dropped last year. I bumped up what I assume to be a big bachelor group from the same ridge I picked up his antler on from last year. I combed it over and found nothing, then I dropped off the ridge and started picking apart a small bottom. About half an hour later I started heading back to the ridge I found his antler on last year. Maybe 30 or 40 yards from the top I see this in front of me.


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While I walked up to the antler to get a picture, I look up to see an antler about 6 or 7 steps away, the match. This is a picture of the match while standing at the first antler I found.

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A better picture of the match while walking up to it.

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The other side.





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The match as they laid. The second antler is near the base of the second beech tree in the background.


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By this time it was about 330 or 4 and I was really tired. I had been at it for quite a bit. I started to head back to the car and I see this antler- the deer's match from the year prior. I now have his complete sets for the last two years. All the old antlers I found today, I had also passed last year.

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Here are my antlers from the day, as well as some pictures of the match and his antlers from last year.

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moondoondude
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby moondoondude » Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:29 pm

Here he is through May up until a couple days before he shed.


May 12




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June 28



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September 10 (trail camera)






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Dec 4 and Dec 5 (trail camera)





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Not long before he shed.



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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:33 pm

Great thread - thanks for sharing...

Wow some great finds, I'm happy for you and your good looking Dog!
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby UPbowhunter » Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:53 pm

Again just sweet post brother!
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whitetail007
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby whitetail007 » Sun Feb 19, 2012 1:55 pm

looks like you got the G2 spliter gene in your area. awesome buck and nice find.
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby ompaathao » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:05 pm

Nice

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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Zap » Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:45 pm

Very good stuff..... 8-)
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby G3s » Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:40 am

Great finds Congrats! He put on a lot of antler from last year!
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Scot » Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:45 am

Great series of pictures! What a great buck! Check out his hocks in the last couple of pictures.
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby addisonlee » Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:02 am

Great buck 8-)
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Wrinkleneck » Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:36 am

very nice!!!
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby headgear » Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:39 am

Cool find.
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:21 am

Thanks for sharing.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: What an awesome day. I got my buddy's antlers.

Unread postby Casper » Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:57 pm

Great buck, you will have to show us some pics of him come August.
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