Spring 2002 a young buck fawn was born. Little did I know how well I would get to know him over the next 6 and a half years.
In the fall of 2003 he sported a very small 4x4 rack, but for a 1.5 yr old he was very impressive. He was seen often, and filmed in the fields with the bigger deer, and late that winter I picked up one of his sheds.
After a mild winter, and finding him again in the fall of 2004, I started to wonder...he might be a good one in the future. At 2.5 he was a little 5x5 that would already challenge the P&Y books. Again he was readily available to be filmed and observed. His sheds were found again that winter.
In the fall of 2005 he was found again, and hadn't changed a great deal, but was definatly a nice young up and coming 5x5 in the 130's. But now at 3.5, I was unsure what he would turn into. So we just filmed him and enjoyed watching him the rest of the year.
Little taller, bit more beam length.
Then here in 2006 @ 4.5 years of age, a big improvement in main beams, tines, and a little heavier, he was starting to be all growed up just like his dad. I filmed him this fall as well, but he had changed. He was harder to find, less patternable...he was definatly growing up. When I picked his sheds this year, i was impressed and really noted his unique tines, dead straight with a bit of wave.
In 2007 I was eager in the field with camera in hand to find him again, and up until now he was named simply "young 5x5". It didn't take long, and we found him. This year, he had really packed it on and was now a reasonably mature whitetail at 5 1/2. The abnormal tine on the inside of his right beam finally gave him something special and a new name, "Spike".
He was now a real nice deer. Great tines, good beams, and impressive brows. But he had changed even more. He was now nearly comepletly nocturnal and offered very few oppertunities to film. I videoed him early in the season in velvet, and never again in good light until November, when he was filmed again at about 15 yds while hunting.
I looked long and hard all winter, and only produced one of his sheds that year. He had broken the spike off.
I was very excited in the summer of 2008 to find him, but his changes in behaviour made it more difficult. I had thought that this year at 6.5 years f age, he may be a target deer. Finally in late august he was spotted, and was now a very impressive deer, definatly a shooter now, and a just all round beautiful jumper.
This year he was proving nearly 100% nocturnal. He was very difficult to get onto. Hundreds of photos of him btween june 2008 and present and only the odd one in daylight....If there was a time to catch him, it would be the rut.
We hunted and hunted and hunted him to no avail.
We were fortunate enough to get the right winds to get in his home range for about 8 days straight... There was spike, and another impressive buck in the area that we had been hunting hard. The other deer had been more patternable and reliable and Jason was coming out trying to get an arrow on him, with the outside chance in the back of our heads that we could get on spike.
Friday November 14th found us getting 20 ft up a tree at 3:42 pm, and at 3:54 it happend. Big bodied buck moving through the trees, he crested the opining at 50 yards, and jason looks up at me, yup its him, the cameras up and running. The first thing we both noticed, the trail camera had NOT done him justice. he stepped out further and let a grunt and hisss out at his doe he was travelling with. Head tilted back, lip curling, the saliva and frost blowing from his nose, neck swollen, and laid straight out with his beautiful very red cape and overly white eyes glowing in the sun will be my fondest memory of spike.
Lady luck was on our side as his doe zagged by us and spike followed at 20 yards. He stopped to look where she went, and Jason released a perfectly placed arrow. Spike made his final dash 40 yards into the timber and tipped over. The hooting began, and it sunk in, after watching him and chasing him, 6.5 years later he was down. We got down and walked up to him. I was in awe, not because of his horns, but because of all the time spent together. If you ask Jason, he might have claim I was a little choked up (entirely untrue
). Happy as heck he was down, but a little sadened there'd be no more looking for his sheds, or finding him in the spring.
Old Spikey was 6.5 years old, had eluded alot of hunters, and now, by posting this, his life and times, I hope I am giving him the oppertunity to be apreciated by others and remebered for the ages. Jason hunted hard, and finally it all came together. Congrats on a great deer Jason, I am sure he will be looked at fondly in your den for years to come...and I hope from time to time, I can stop by and visit my old friend. It is incredible how well that day went. Everything was perfect from filming conditions, to time of day, to the shot...Almost like it was just meant to be on that November 14th. But enough of the sappy stuff, here he is...
Spike!
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In the fall of 2003 he sported a very small 4x4 rack, but for a 1.5 yr old he was very impressive. He was seen often, and filmed in the fields with the bigger deer, and late that winter I picked up one of his sheds.
After a mild winter, and finding him again in the fall of 2004, I started to wonder...he might be a good one in the future. At 2.5 he was a little 5x5 that would already challenge the P&Y books. Again he was readily available to be filmed and observed. His sheds were found again that winter.
In the fall of 2005 he was found again, and hadn't changed a great deal, but was definatly a nice young up and coming 5x5 in the 130's. But now at 3.5, I was unsure what he would turn into. So we just filmed him and enjoyed watching him the rest of the year.
Little taller, bit more beam length.
Then here in 2006 @ 4.5 years of age, a big improvement in main beams, tines, and a little heavier, he was starting to be all growed up just like his dad. I filmed him this fall as well, but he had changed. He was harder to find, less patternable...he was definatly growing up. When I picked his sheds this year, i was impressed and really noted his unique tines, dead straight with a bit of wave.
In 2007 I was eager in the field with camera in hand to find him again, and up until now he was named simply "young 5x5". It didn't take long, and we found him. This year, he had really packed it on and was now a reasonably mature whitetail at 5 1/2. The abnormal tine on the inside of his right beam finally gave him something special and a new name, "Spike".
He was now a real nice deer. Great tines, good beams, and impressive brows. But he had changed even more. He was now nearly comepletly nocturnal and offered very few oppertunities to film. I videoed him early in the season in velvet, and never again in good light until November, when he was filmed again at about 15 yds while hunting.
I looked long and hard all winter, and only produced one of his sheds that year. He had broken the spike off.
I was very excited in the summer of 2008 to find him, but his changes in behaviour made it more difficult. I had thought that this year at 6.5 years f age, he may be a target deer. Finally in late august he was spotted, and was now a very impressive deer, definatly a shooter now, and a just all round beautiful jumper.
This year he was proving nearly 100% nocturnal. He was very difficult to get onto. Hundreds of photos of him btween june 2008 and present and only the odd one in daylight....If there was a time to catch him, it would be the rut.
We hunted and hunted and hunted him to no avail.
We were fortunate enough to get the right winds to get in his home range for about 8 days straight... There was spike, and another impressive buck in the area that we had been hunting hard. The other deer had been more patternable and reliable and Jason was coming out trying to get an arrow on him, with the outside chance in the back of our heads that we could get on spike.
Friday November 14th found us getting 20 ft up a tree at 3:42 pm, and at 3:54 it happend. Big bodied buck moving through the trees, he crested the opining at 50 yards, and jason looks up at me, yup its him, the cameras up and running. The first thing we both noticed, the trail camera had NOT done him justice. he stepped out further and let a grunt and hisss out at his doe he was travelling with. Head tilted back, lip curling, the saliva and frost blowing from his nose, neck swollen, and laid straight out with his beautiful very red cape and overly white eyes glowing in the sun will be my fondest memory of spike.
Lady luck was on our side as his doe zagged by us and spike followed at 20 yards. He stopped to look where she went, and Jason released a perfectly placed arrow. Spike made his final dash 40 yards into the timber and tipped over. The hooting began, and it sunk in, after watching him and chasing him, 6.5 years later he was down. We got down and walked up to him. I was in awe, not because of his horns, but because of all the time spent together. If you ask Jason, he might have claim I was a little choked up (entirely untrue
). Happy as heck he was down, but a little sadened there'd be no more looking for his sheds, or finding him in the spring. Old Spikey was 6.5 years old, had eluded alot of hunters, and now, by posting this, his life and times, I hope I am giving him the oppertunity to be apreciated by others and remebered for the ages. Jason hunted hard, and finally it all came together. Congrats on a great deer Jason, I am sure he will be looked at fondly in your den for years to come...and I hope from time to time, I can stop by and visit my old friend. It is incredible how well that day went. Everything was perfect from filming conditions, to time of day, to the shot...Almost like it was just meant to be on that November 14th. But enough of the sappy stuff, here he is...
Spike!
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