Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I Love The New Camera...

I finally got pictures of one of the bucks that hangs out at mom's. This guy is not one I have seen around before...I think he is looking for love...
From the front he is beautiful! High and wide. What a perfect shot that this would be!!. From the side, you can see he is just a younger buck...
Just a 3x3. His rack is a bit interesting though. While he has three obvious tines on the left side, he only has a fork on the right. That small tine sticking up at the base of his antlers is called a brow tine and they do count if they are over a couple inches long. He only has the one tall brow tine though. The other side is is either to small to see or he doesn't have one.
People used to gauge a buck's age by the number of tines he had on each side of his antlers. But over the years, studies have proved that the size, shape and number of tines each buck will get is genetic. Optimum growth still has to a lot to do with nutrition though. Huh-sounds like raising horses doesn't it-hehe...gotta start with good genetics and then make sure they have the proper nutrients to achieve optimum growth.

For awhile we had a buck around that had super tall antlers, but they were extremely narrow, he managed to survive a few hunting seasons and pretty soon we were seeing a lot of young bucks with very tall tines, but extremely narrow. That fall, my step-dad asked one of the hunters to cull him as narrow racks are not very desirable. Down at my brothers' and my ranch, my middle brother hunted a monster buck for a couple of years, but never got him. He had a "dropped" tine on each side. A dropped tine is a tine that points downward rather than up. Within a couple of years, almost all of the bucks the hunters took had a dropped tine on one side or both.

The baby bucks all have to start somewhere though and most yearling and two year old bucks start out with a spike or a fork horn rack. They usually get another tine or two each year they grow their horns back, until they have reached their max potential. When they are young(or very old), the main beams are not as thick as a fully mature and in his prime buck. Body wise though, this guy looks to be pretty close to mature and prime. He may have a bit bigger rack next year, but I think he may be about maxed out. This is a mule deer. We have two types of deer in SD-Muley's and Whitetails. They are very easy to tell apart-size, color, rack shape and their tails are very different from each other. My mom's yard used to be filled with Whitetails, but the Muley's have taken over this year. Occasionally, you will see them together, but the species do not cross breed.

And then there was the dirty little Shooter...
He was trying to play with Strawberry across the fence. Typical of a baby though, he spotted his friend and decided he wanted to see what he was up too...
Red Dog is only too happy to oblige his buddy and while Shooter taunts him with that soft, fuzzy nose, Red Dog happily snaps at the air...
These two are hilarious to watch together. Red Dog will wander aimlessly (so he wants you to think) into Shooter's pasture and wait for his big brown buddy to spot him. Shooter is always happy to give chase, running and stomping like he is gonna turn the fat Red Dog into a bloody stain. They make huge loops and when RD thinks Shooter is getting just a bit to enthusiastic with those feet, he makes a dash for the fence. Shooter would like to play the game with Ute too, but Ute don't want nuthin to do with that, he runs for cover the second Shooter drops his head. Guess I don't have to worry about my colt being cowy-LOL. He loves to track the cats too-ornery little stink!!

17 comments:

Mrs. Mom said...

What a nice looking fellow that buck is! Used to see big whitetails in Tundra Country, but have yet to meet a muledeer. Big difference in bodies! Great camera. HoneyMan there did goooooood! ;)

Rub Shooters butt from me for luck ;)

cdncowgirl said...

Great pics, the new camera is a winner :)

My friend Julie lives about a half hour out of 'the city' (that would be Saskatoon). She has cougar and deer, of course, but she also has a couple bear and a moose.
In fact she took a video on her cell phone the other day on her way to work. Big ole moose trotting down the road. She didn't want to pass him in case he dodged in front of her. He just kept motoring on with her driving behind him.

SunnySD said...

Oh boy! Those shots & shot potentials sure would have the hunters drooling! We keep seeing lots of does - they bed down in the grove and raid the round bale lines, but bucks have been thin on the ground this year.

Shooter's getting big - an no less cute as he grows. I sure do like the way he's put together.

Mikey said...

Beautiful! Shooter's getting big too!
Can't get over all that snow!!!

Leah Fry said...

Yeah, you can KEEP that snow! Brr, made me cold just looking at the pic!

Anonymous said...

Shooter...what a cutie. I have 40 year old photos of a filly from my old Appy mare at the fence with our Labrador. The two of them would spend a lot of time, nose to nose, nuzzling, and quietly enjoying one another.
Thank you for responding to the Julie Goodnight question. I know that you have discussed this in your blog and when i responded to her, i just kept thinking that BECG did this so much better. I am very concerned for the overpopulation of our horses and for those poor things who are abandoned or doomed.
Your blog is one that i look to when i need more info and then when i need to see photos like the ones of the bucks. Thanks....

Pony Girl said...

I love the snow! ;) Wish we had that, rather than rain!

Glad to hear you like your new camera....the pic of the buck is really cool! I have an obsession with antlers, when it comes to home decor! Except most of mine are fake. ;)

And Shooter IS a handsome one! He just looks like royalty!

kdwhorses said...

Snow holy cow! We got rain here, been here for 2 days now! It's a mushy, muddy mess, and cold!

Shooter is getting so big! I agree with Mrs. Mom give him some lovings from me! Red Dog that cracks me up!

But you know Shelby and Pedro play that, it is hilarious! Of course I am easily amused!

ezra_pandora said...

Oh my gosh, how CUTE!! Shooter's adorable. And playing with the dog. I can't wait for some day to have our horses on our own property for that to happen. No dogs allowed at our boarding barn :(

Andrea said...

What a really nice buck!! He looks healthy!!

And Scooter is such a cutie. I am glad to see Red Dog is feeling better and running around again. It's sweet that he stopped to play with Scooter!!

Train Wreck said...

First let me say...is there anything you don't know about!? Girl you have it goin on! I am more and more impressed everytime I stop by. Where were you when I was needing help with my homework! hehe!
That is a beautiful deer! He will be a nice big buck one day. If he pays attention!

Melanie said...

LOL!!! I just did a post about how my husband and son left on their big hunting expedition. I put pictures of Muleys and Whitetails up, and I ALMOST wrote about the differences between them too!!!

Glad I didn't...people can just come read about them over here....

gtyyup said...

Howdy there...first time to your blog and I'll be back for sure!!

Really nice buck pics...good zoom on the camera.

Shooter is very handsome!!! He sure looks like he'll be able to do some nice stuff. Look forward watching him grow up.

sue said...

Ya know, when we travel (which isn't too often) and people hear we are from Maine... they automatically assume it's the land of ice and snow...

well, look who's got the snow!!! and with our building project going on, would you be so kind as to keep it there???

love the pictures!!!!

Mrs. Mom said...

Hey Woman- you too quiet up there! Wanted to check and make sure you were not stuck in a snowbank somewhere, freezing off valuable portions of your anatomy!

(This from the smart arse writing this whist sitting in my SHORTS, with the AC on for the moment to reduce the humidity.... Dude this is SO not right for the middle of Nov!!)

Callie said...

Awesome pics of that buck and your little guy is filling out so nicely!

Rising Rainbow said...

Boy, I sure wish I had a great camera. Your pics make me jealous. LOL Although, I've never even seen a buck in the wild like that. I'm sure I could find something to shoot with a new camera.