tracking a deer year after year

[teul2]

I've got a good buck on camera last week and went back through old pictures to try and ID him. I can't seem to positivly ID him though. So it got me wondering about distinct antler traits and how / if they carry year to year.

This deer is 130in 10pt and has a crab claw on his left side. The only one with a crab claw last year was about 90-100in 8pt. So I'm wondering if a deer can gain that much mass in a year, and if things like a crab claw tend to carry year to year?

[donia]

at the camp I used to be in, there were at least 3 deer killed with the same 2 character traits in the antlers. the first was a shallow bowl type depression at the same place on each and the second was a small dip at the end of one of the tines (about 2" from the end). we're almost positive they are from the same genetic line b/c the racks were overall similar, with minute variations.

[JW520]

How old do you think he is? I have seen deer make a jump like that from year to year for sure

[teul2]

I think he's 3, probably 4. He doesn't have the "roman" nose of the older deer on the place. but he's a good buck. I didn't get a good view of the body as he clipped the edge of the camera (I really needed to adjust it). Had a great view of his antlers just before this in the video.

[cupnglide]

If he's coming into his prime and there's been good browse, a buck could make a jump in class like that. It may just be his prime time and he's the new BDoC!

[teul2]

Where I think this was him last year.

[chevy01234]

I'll trade you a duck hunt for a deer hunt.....

[eSJay]

I'd like to know the answer to this also. Not a good view of him this year (intentionally I'm guessing), but I wouldn't think that's the same deer, but I'm not a good one to ask as I just started using trail cameras about 4 years ago. I don't think the crab claw trait is the main indicator though. That trait is pretty common in our herd.

I've not been successful tracking deer year to year like some folks can, but I do have one on camera this year that could be one I had on camera last year. If so, it did improve, but not as big of a jump as Joel described above.

We should bring ole TLR back. I bet he can tell us beyond the shadow of a doubt whether it's the same deer.

Good stuff Joel. The kind of stuff that once was the norm on the board. Hopefully it will return to those days soon!