Sparring Bucks

Doesn't look like the bucks that were hanging out together last month are quite as friendly to each other now. These two small bucks are trying each other out to see who the strongest. I'm not sure about the hind quarter on one of the bucks. At first I thought the hair was just messed up but the more I look at it there appears to have been something wrong. The hair on both sides at the bottom of the ham is messed up. Whatever it is doesn't appear to be bothering him. I'm guessing he might have gotten caught in a fence or something.


On a side note my posting and commenting is going to the pretty erratic for the next month. Muzzleloader and Rifle season is in most of the month of November in Virginia and I only have to work five days all month :) :). Most of my daylight hours are going to be spent hunting and helping my buddy with farm chores so he can get some hunting time in and most nights I'm going to be back at the cabin we built on the mountain side of the farm.

Doe and Raccoons

Doesn't look like the doe and the raccoons appreciate each others company at the dinner table. They all appear to be eyeing each other as they eat if not actually ready the fight it out.

Mock Scrape Update II

The Fox and I played to a draw this week :). At least it didn't come by and roll in the scrape. Had one small buck and a doe come in to check it out. I'm disappointed with the rack on this buck. He looks to have a fairly good size body for this area and I think should have a bigger rack. Looking at the broadside shot I'm guessing he would dress out around 150 lbs. That would make him at least a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 year old deer. Probably just doesn't have the genes for a bigger rack.

Fall Hike

No trailcam pics today. Some of my buddies and I went on our annual hike on Massanutten Mt. Below are some pics from the trip.

Most of the following pics are from the top of Lairds Knob.

Looking to the southwest from Lairds Knob. Unforunately it was pretty hazy today and the distance Allegheny Mts. aren't very clear in the distance.

View to the South into Massanuttan Resort.

The next two views are to the East. Those are the Blue Ridge Mts. in the distance.

View to the Northwest with the Allegheny Mts. in the distance.

View of Packsaddle Golf Course from Lairds Knob.

While we were hiking the backside of the mountian about 20 miles north of us caught fire and started burning. That's smoke not clouds raising above the mountain. We are extremely dry and we'll probably be seeing more fires in the coming weeks.

Mock Scrape Update

Well last week was a bust :(. Didn't get a single deer all week. But I think I know why. It's a little hard to see but if you look right above the date and time you can make out what appears to be a fox. And it's rolling around in the scrape!!! It's easier to see if you download the pics and have a pic viewer that will let you use the wheel on your mouse to roll through the pics. In the first pic you can see it's rear end and tail. In the next two shot it is flatout rolling around in my scrape!!!! The pics are in black and white because this is my infrared camera that generally gives clearer night time pics. So I'm guessing the deer didn't think much of the predator smell in the scrape. We'll have to wait and see if we get anything next week. I may have to start another scrape.

Lazy Bear

I have my trail camera on a large persimmon tree that has started to drop it's persimmons. This bear came by on the 10th and the 15th to eat. Both times it layed down to eat. Definitely one lazy bear...must be related to Yogi Bear :). Here's the pics from the 10th. I'll post the 15th later this week.

Masked Bandit Mania

Seems the cooler temperatures last week got the Raccoons on the move. All of the cornfields are chopped and seeded with rye and they’re back in the woods looking for something else to eat. Acorns are the big attraction at this set. The tree on the right hand side of the pics is an oak that had plenty of acorns this year. The acorns were fairly small due to the dry weather this summer but there are a lot of them. And there are a couple of other big oaks nearby also.

Mock Scrape

I started a mock scrape last week and set one of my cameras on it. Had two small bucks and the young six pointer below come check it out. Unfortunately they seemed more interested in the camera than the scrape :(. One of the bucks did work the scrape a little so that was good :). You'll notice that the six pointer doesn't have any brow tines. This seems to be a genetic trait for my area. At least half the bucks don't have brow tines. Did have a good size doe checking it out and that's a good sign. Hopefully better results next week :).

Bovine

Another one of the "hazards" of having your camera sets on a farm. The cattle usually stay out of the woods or around the edge but when it got dry they were on the hunt for something to eat. Surprisingly they left the camera alone. They're a lot like the bears. They like to get up close and personal with the cameras when they pass by.  For whatever reason this time they didn't bother it.