| |
| October 30, 2007 -
The Gallery is BACK!
|
 Our Gallery is back up! This means you can go to the Photos section and view hunts and deer from this year and previous years. I recently added a new album called 2007-2008 Season with many of the hunts that have taken place so far this year!
Go check it out!
Happy Hunting
:: posted by Marko
:: 4:20 PM
:: link
to this entry
::
|
| October 28, 2007 -
Second Buck Down!
|
click images to enlarge
It only took 24 days of hunting for Mark Barrett to collect this ~230 inch buck this past Tuesday evening. After being seen 3 times before the MLD season, the deer went into hiding. Only recently had glimpses of him been reported just before dark. 40 total sits (he counted) was the right number for Dad to get his biggest buck ever. The score really doesn't reflect how big this deer is. The bases are 6+. He has over 27 inch beams, is over 30 inches wide outside and at one point past his G-3 his beam is 2 inches ACROSS. I think he put out more total antler than my deer, which we will check with water displacement.
Currently this deer is ranked #3 in Texas Big Game Awards, #3 in Los Cazadores, and #2 in Muy Grande Overall. He is the second largest overall score in Muy Grande history. With a net over 220, he ranks pretty high in Texas Big Game Awards history as well.
Congratulations Dad!
:: posted by Marko
:: 6:23 PM
:: link
to this entry
::
|
| October 07, 2007 -
More Live Pictures
|
click images to enlarge
Here are a few more live images of the deer taken October 1st. I had the good fortune to see him a few times on the ground before the season. Since July, long hours of scouting crossings to food sources, game cam setups, and brainstorming made everything come together about a week before the opener. These pictures were taken from an open brush blind on a road where we had seen the deer in years past. Previous years, this deer would be seen regularly in October and November and then disappear during the rut. Last year however, I only saw him twice. Once was on our annual deer census survey, and the other was on the ground (I'm in blinds for probably 4 months a year 4 days a week scouting). He had broken off a lot of points so there are no good pictures for 06-07.
click images to enlarge
Here are pictures from 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007(aerial). These pictures, combined with the others at the top give his progression from a 3 (when we first noticed him) to 7 year old .
My apologies for the photo gallery not working correctly... I am changing to a new host this week to get the issues we are having with the PHOTOS section resolved.
Happy Hunting
:: posted by Marko
:: 8:16 AM
:: link
to this entry
::
|
click images to enlarge
It's been a crazy last few days. I've gotten all kinds of emails and phone calls. Thanks to everyone who has sent their congratulations. I'm sorry if I am slow to respond, but I will.
I killed the deer Monday evening (October 1st). I had been watching him for about a week hoping he would rub out. I saw him 3 times before I shot him during our legal MLD season, but my nerves couldn't take it anymore. I was just too afraid that he would break something during the entire process of "rubbing out".
I scored him that night at 280 1/8 and Los Cazadores scored him the next day at 273 3/8... which really isn't that much of a difference with 33-35 scoreable points. There is a huge margin of error. If you are off by 1/8 of an inch for every measurement, that is just about the difference. Personally, I think he will end up somewhere in the mid 270's when he is stripped of velvet and dry.
This deer was just the perfect storm. He had a huge rainfall year in 2004-5 when he was a 4 year old and made a monster jump over 200. We then had a mediocre year the next year but he put on some frame. Last year was just ugly. We had 11 inches of rainfall. You can look for yourself on the survey photos in the photo section from 2006-2007. He was still a big deer, but as a 6 year old... he scored less than as a 4 year old. I think he was below 195.
Then 2007 happened... 56 inches of rain and counting.
On a deer like this, you just have to get lucky. To our credit, we let him walk around until he was old enough and supplied him with supplimental protein. But in the end, there is still a huge element of luck.
:: posted by Marko
:: 7:33 AM
:: link
to this entry
::
|
|
|
|
|
