As an avid outdoors-man and hunter, I get the opportunity to get photos of wildlife. Since I Deer hunt a lot and try to be active in Healthy Herd Management I also get the opportunity to spend hours upon hours sitting and standing in uncomfortable Deer stands.
A few years ago, I figured it would be a good idea to keep my camera with me while I am out hunting.
Since I am working on Herd Management, I let a lot of Deer walk by and go on to make more little Deer.
The rules are fairly simple:
I don’t harvest any Deer in it’s prime.
I don’t take more than I need for food.
I usually only really take Doe because they really outnumber Buck by a fairly large margin.
If I do take a Buck, it’s usually to remove it from the herd because of genetic problems like a weak or really bad looking rack, its past its prime, massive body with a small rack or albino. This is because these things are undesirable in a strong herd and male white-tails can breed several times a day during the rut (breeding season).
If a place has an obvious over-population of Deer, these rules can go somewhat “out the window” because the herd may need to be thinned.
The following photos are shots of deer that I have taken in the last few years while out hunting.
Two fawn with their Mother checking me out.
The above photo is proof that in the very early Fall, deer aren’t as “spooky” and will come very close. These deer are under 20 feet from me and came even closer. As the season moves on, they spook a lot faster and getting this close is really hard. On top of that, they still have their spots and even the doe-mother didn’t seem to mind that I was so close to them. It was taken in Eastern Jefferson County, outside the city of Louisville, Kentucky which actually has a massive Deer population to the point that they are considered “pest and nuisance animals” by the farmers. A place with this kind of density is prime in the early season “early Fall” for getting really good photos up close.
The next two photos were taken on the same farm as well:
A doe entering the woods cautiously
The same doe and her fawn (2) in the woods.
The rotting corpse of a deer.
This deer was killed by the land-owner who saw the deer on his property acting very strange. Although it may seem a bit barbaric, there was a huge outbreak of Blue-tongue disease in Kentucky and there is also a chance that any deer acting odd could have CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) which is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. It’s pretty much Mad Cow Disease for deer. It can destroy a healthy herd and probably for the best to destroy the animal because we want our deer in Kentucky prion free.
The next Three photos are from my land in Hancock County Kentucky which is my main base of operations for deer hunting.
A 5 point buck
This is a very young 5 point buck that came by my stand following a group of doe. He was actually grunting and in a fairly feverish trot looking for them. I had to actually make noise for him to turn and look at me.
Spotted by the 5 point buck
Spotted!
A young and healthy 8 point
This one is a fairly young and very nice 8 point buck. This animal is amazing. It has a beautiful rack, its muscle tone is outstanding and next year it will be a monster. Right now, I expect this deer to be in the 180 pound range and next year, it should top 200 pounds with an even more massive rack. I just hope I can get some photos of it then.