It’s evident that the extra knowledge you may have on a buck, the higher. Nevertheless, too typically we solely begin protecting tabs on a selected buck when it reaches “shooter” standing, which implies we miss invaluable intel.
For that reason, I maintain virtually each buck picture I obtain. The rationale I say “virtually” is that I don’t maintain monitor of most bucks 2-½ years previous or youthful as a result of, for my part, it isn’t till a buck reaches 3-½ that their character and bodily traits start to develop. Nevertheless, as with most guidelines, there’s at all times an exception.
Within the fall of 2022, I picked up a younger buck on my path digicam that confirmed particular promise. He was roughly 2-½ years previous on the time, and one of many couple of bucks that younger that I’ve archived photographs of.
Quick ahead to October 2023, and I acquired photographs of a buck I regarded as a possible shooter. However after trying on the photos and evaluating them with different bucks on the property, I spotted this was the identical younger buck I had numerous photographs of the 12 months prior. Solely now, he added a substantial quantity of inches and seemed like a very completely different animal.
It took me diving again into my archived path digicam photographs, trying carefully on the configuration of his antlers and the areas of the farm he frequented, for me to comprehend it was the identical buck.
Having this intel not solely helped me study extra about this buck but in addition saved me from presumably harvesting one which was removed from prime.
This leads me to a different cause why protecting previous path digicam knowledge is crucial: it may be instrumental in figuring out a buck’s age. Whereas there are numerous methods to estimate a buck’s age, probably the most dependable and foolproof is utilizing previous path digicam knowledge.
As a result of a buck’s physique and antlers can change lots with maturity, it may be tough to establish the identical buck 12 months after 12 months, particularly after they go away for a 12 months or two, then come again trying like a very completely different animal.
Typically, it comes right down to a easy bodily attribute, comparable to a torn ear or a well-recognized antler configuration. And if you happen to don’t have previous path digicam intel that will help you piece the puzzle collectively, you might be out of luck.
