Deer Camp 2019

Dennis Clay

by Dennis L. Clay Herald Columnist
| October 21, 2019 10:28 PM

Halfway through my trip around the edge of my hunt area put me on top of a hill overlooking the north side of the sagebrush and grass pasture. Movement was spotted about 300 yards away and to the right.

It was a buck spotted several times during the past three days. He has high antlers leading to two points on each side. A legal buck must have three points on at least one side. A point must be one-inch long.

Sometimes a deer will have a point near where the antlers enter the skull. These are called eye guards. They count as a point if they are one-inch long. The question is, does this deer have eye guards?

Impossible to tell at 300 yards. The mission at this point is to get close enough to the deer to see if it has a third point. My direction changed a bit as the buck was moving swiftly away from me.

Still my pursuit took me in his direction, down the side of the hill and to the left. Even though my travel was swift, the buck was not seen again this day.

A group of nine does were seen on the south side of this hill. They were spooked on the north side and headed south. A hurried trip down the west side and then a left turn found this group in front of me headed south still and out of my hunt area. This is when my travels turned north and across the hill, when the buck was spotted.

It is not uncommon to find a buck with a herd of does, but when pursued, the buck will sometimes linger behind and finally head in another direction completely. My knowledge of deer comes from experience hunting them. My background does not include being a game biologist.

The behavior has been experienced several times during my deer-hunting career.

Travel into the hunt area was initiated this afternoon. On the north edge a group of 14 does were spotted on the edge of a hill with the upper half of their bodies against the sky, making it easier to determine if any were bucks. These were all does.

At a distance of 300 yards, my direction turned south and up a small hill. The buck was spotted upon reaching the top of the hill. He was 200 yards away and at the top of another hill. The buck glanced my way and turned away from me and disappeared over the hill and out of sight.

Tomorrow: Continued recap of the 2019 Deer Camp.