2 out of 9 bucks that I have killed I have seen prior to takingthem. Oddly enough they are the two that I would consider mature. Based on the bodies and antler bases I am guessing both were 3.5 year olds.

The first buck pictured below was chasing does by my stand the weekend of the youth gun hunt and never slowed to give me a shot. The following week he was doing the same thing but got to close and paused long enough for the shot. He had a bullet hole in his neck that I assume was from a youth hunter the week before. Tough bird, even with a festering wound he still had the drive to pass on those genes.

The second buck I passed on the previous year. Took him the following archery season. I still should have let him grow some more.

Sorry for the huge pics. I will try to downsize next time. Still green on this posting pics.

I have never seen a deer i've killed before our first meeting. Game cams are a new phenomenon pretty much and I just got my first last year. It would be pretty cool to be on the trail of a specific buck "until" he meets someone elses bullet during gun season or the front of a dodge. That would be a major drag

If you live in heavily wooded areas with little agriculture there just are not many places to glass. I "may" have shot a deer this year that I saw from the same stand last year but not 100% sure.The key for me is to hunt based on sign and not sightings which can really stink

You gotta admire the guy that can jump a deer at 100 yards in the brush and still tell you how many points it had and it's approximate wieghtAll I see is tail he see's a 210 lb 13pt with a small drop..

Most of the bucks i'veharvested, I've eitherhave onGame Cam orhave seen inthe wild. IMO, Hunting a deer that you have a history with, feels more rewarding when you can finally harvesthim.

I guess I forgot about game cams. I am talking about deer that you've seen in person. I have a game cam, but haven't used it to my advantage yet![&:]

I've taken 2 mature bucks. One was 3.5, never saw him before - and the other 4.5, I saw him 2 days before for thefirst time. I don't have trail cams yet (getting one this year for sure) so I have to rely on actually seeing them. Mature bucks are slim pickins around here. I usually see one every few years or so.

Here's the 4.5, not a whopper but my best.

Yes i had been watching him and 5 other bucks over the summerand he was the first to give me a shot so i took it!

Only one that I can remember. He was 4.5 in 2005 and I killed him in 2006 when he was 5.5. 153" 9pt.

Im5 of 9 on my mature bucks.

Most of the deer that i have taken that ive never seen before come from a spot that i cannot extensively scout in the summer time and dont have cameras out on.

I do have trail cam pictures of 3 of the 9 that i have taken.


Here is one buck that i killed in 2006. I have trail camera pictures of him in 2005 and 2006.

2005:


2006:


September 17, 2005:


Here is another nice buck i killed last year

Summer 2006 (I actually got both these bucks, the one on the left is the buck from above):




Here is this years buck:

Summer 2007


September 16, 2007

I have never killed a truly mature buck. Around my neck of the woods, if you see a good buck that may be the last time you see him. You better have your game face on when a decent buck crosses your path...this year I saw an 8 pointer on 11/5. I drew him in to around 45 yards with a series of low bleat calls but then he became very spooky. I wanted to hunt the next day but decided to let him cool off...I moved my stand 2 hours before sun-up on 11/7 and then killed him no more than 30 minutes after sun-up. He was scent checking the same doe crossing area he was 2 days prior.

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