Another Year Older and Getting In Shape

Well I was able to download the second round of trail cam pictures from my local hunting spots. It provides that wonder to help pass time and puzzle the mind. Will I be able to shoot one of these deer this year, are they following the feeding patterns of the moon, and what will be on next weeks trail camera. It's the good ending to film that keeps that wonder in your mind to look forward to more. The usual players were on the prowl and a few newbies. There was a certainly one notable newbie that grabbed my attention.

I had to look back to the buck I shot last year to figure out this riddle. There was only one picture from this round of photos that captured an upcoming buck. It presented the same characteristics of the buck I shot last year, wide forked antlers with barely noticeable brow ties. His body size was certainly that of an old mature buck, thick necked, sagging belly, and grey faced. I compared the new buck to that of photos from last year, the I had was blurry, and this new buck was far in the background. His wide forked antlers sitting high and brow ties to blurry to see. The picture below shows the new buck in the background.

It was shear luck though that first picture I opened from 10/22/11 was the buck. A small five pointer with on brow tie on his right antler. This year though, the buck had grown leaps and bounds. I was amazed at the growth spert. It was undoubtly a match and presented a trend of gene pool simularities from my buck. Could the mature buck I shot last year be the father of this buck....I would venture to say yes. I could only see the trend though from the recent picture, showing those wide forked antlers and absence of stout brow ties. You can see last years picture of this 5 pointer below.

It had occurred to me though, that the antler growth from last year was in further development than the same time this year. Was the harsh summer of extreme heat and dry conditions to blame? Again, it will be wonder left in my mind to think about these aspects of the hunt. The month of August here has felt like an eternity, it has finally showed signs of the hot weather giving up. Last year it pushed all the way into early winter, causing the bucks to only show rut activity at night.

So this little 5 pointer from last year had managed to break off on his antlers in early December and he still managed to eat well and grow a health mass this year. Another year older meant so much more to him, walking in the foot steps of his father. Its now my turn to take some time to get in shape and walking tall like this 5 pointer. I traded in my couch for a tredmill and set goals to blow the dust off these bones. Catching my breath due to an exciting shot is enjoyable, doing it after climbing my treestand is a shame. With full gambit of hunts on the schedule, I can't afford to be caught catching my breath for being out of shape. A healthy hunter is on that stays in shape.