Timber Life Buck Scrape

My dog Sadie and I were out walking the last of October looking for signs of bucks setting up their territories.The first scrape was noted on October 18th and a day later the second scrape was getting a start.

We checked the north pasture and then a specific tree on the south side of the ravine splitting our property. These two areas seem to be the first places where the buck activities become most notable - they have favorite scrapes that let me know when the heat is on the rise. After that all the little trees are marked for sending out messages.Then low and behold if they aren't scored again when it is time for the separation of antlers.

October 21st, my trail camera caught some stills of a buck marking the scrape that seems to have become an active spot in the last two years. The pictures seem to verify what you read about...rubbing the head, face and turning around to include bodily fluids in the mix of the cocktail.

My short little video is actually longer than the sum total of all the seconds on the time stamps on the far lower right hand corners of the pictures. I don't use my movie mode on the camera yet, because I haven't invested in a 16GB SD card to have enough space to capture all that information.

The Whitetail Rut season is over here in Iowa and the bucks are on the downhill slide of testosterone levels. Night time images of anterless bucks started  to appear on December 18th...seeing fresh blood and holes where the bone was once attached to the skull is setting off an alarm. Time to get out for some shed hunting before the varmints carry them all away...

2 Bucks in 2 Years

I want to congratulate my neighbor Sam Huntrods for being able to bring down two fantastic looking bucks in the last two years.

Sam uses a Remington 870 shotgun with a Nikon Prostaff Shotgun Hunter Scope to zero in on the right shot.

Sam Huntrods December 2010 - 16yrs. old

The 2010 buck was a part of a large hunting group sweep from the timber here at Timber Life during the first Shotgun Season. If memory serves me the group came through between three and four in the afternoon. It was a successful day for most involved.

The second buck in the background belonged to Sam's dad taken out of a family timber south of us.

Sam Huntrods 2012 - 17 yrs. old

This fine looking buck came out of a late afternoon hunt the second day of the first Shotgun Season,December 4th. Sam, was hunting on a smaller scale with his dad and uncle this time around.

Sam shared that he worked at getting the best angle to limit his activity to one shot, because the buck had a harem of six does, he wanted to limit any extra movement and noise so he wouldn't get busted...This time he was closer into the timber for the hunt.

We have had the opportunity to hunt without snow cover this year - cold days, yes, but snow in our location was conspicuously absent .  I appreciate having brown ground . However, other hunters voiced their preference for snow and being able to track their kills better.

My wish for Sam is that he is able to see continued success from year to year with the early start he was able to achieve.

Congratulations Sam!

Buck Fever

Well folks it has begun! Buck fever is starting here at Timber Life. This guy has been hanging around in the close neighborhood. The same buck I believe I saw with the doe a week ago, in the west pasture. From my vantage point I saw eight points. Got this picture with my Hubby's camera. I had taken my camera with me in the car, and it didn't make it back into the house, because of plans for today. The attempt to go behind the house, to my car in the drive, at the side was almost successful. Freezing in my tracks didn't help this time . He swiftly exited once he got anxious. Checking back in the archives here, I wrote about "Sparring Whitetail Bucks", on October 16,2007 . Wonder if this buck happened to be apart of that bunch? Needless to say , once again that internal - primal awakening is raising the awareness of that rustling sound coming through the brush... ;)

Deer-Cat

This picture came to me by way of a forward. The source of the picture was attributed to a lady in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, taken on Saturday. Deer on the deck. Looking in the sliding glass door. That would certainly bring excitement in this household! I wouldn't want the deer to be finding their way through the window... Brings to mind the story I read over at Simply Outdoors about Jeff's deer hunt that seemed to find the bucks confused. At any rate, I wanted to share this picture of a buck, nose to nose, looking longingly into the eyes of an individual of the opposite species. You just wonder what they're thinking???

POST UPDATE March 5, 2008: The original photographer of this picture has offered the facts. Please read the following - This is in regards to the deer and Cat photo. It had been brought to my attention that some one claiming to had taken this photo is from Wisconsin. i am just here to say this is not true, i am the owner of this photo and it was posted in the " country Extra" magazine - Jan issue of 2008 - page 22. It clearly states Marilyn Thornbery, outta Colorado was the photographer. i took this shot and a series of approx 10 more in sequence of the interactions between my cat and the deer. so if your reading this Post and can pass along the information and give credit due where it belongs, i'd appreciate it. Thank you, M. Thornbery