One of the Good Ol Boys

[davev]

We've seen this buck develop into one of the dominant ones over the years.
This years rack isn't as pretty as last years, but it's every bit as large.

He came out right as the sun was going down, so iso's were at crazy heights ... 16,000.
Converting to black and white was my only real option.

We call him Notch.

There's been talk about how many points this guy has.
I know that some of the ones I counted, wouldn't apply to an official count.
I look at it like this, if he charges me, how many holes will need to be stitched up?

Thanks for looking.

 

[Soocom1]

No no no..
You let him BREED!!!!!


Wonderful shots.

 

[Flying Panda]

Great set Dave. Awesome looking deer. I'm going to assume Notch is a Black-tailed Deer. He is a lot larger than our White-tailed Deer. Images turned out good considering the high ISO. We too, in the past, have watched two bucks return every year with progressively larger bodies and racks but this year they are MIA. (We named them Alfie & Buckey) We believe hunters bagged them last season. I hope you have many more sightings in the future.

 

[Jeff15]

Nice set..........

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

It's great this deer has survived to this day. I hope it continues to thrive and you continue to get to see and photograph him. He has a beautiful rack. Looks much better on him than on some person's wall.

 

[davev]

This buck lives safely in a State Park.
The only hunting I do is with a camera.

Notch last year.

And from when he was in velvet last year.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

I didn't even notice the reason why you call him " Notch " in the previous pics, but once I went back, I see they are there too. Please keep posting pics of him. He is an impressive deer.

 

[MSnowy]

Very nice!

 

[davev]

He's impressive ... kind of.
He rules the roost for now.
If he would have been around 8 - 10 years ago, he wouldn't even rank.
There were some very large, very aggressive bucks in this park. I'll dig up some older shots.

For now, this was Notch in November of 2015.
We had no idea what he'd grow into.
(I love having the time stamp on these files)

 

[K9Kirk]

All very nice pics, good photography there! I wish I would have an encounter that close with a deer. The only encounter I've had down here was with a wild boar when he busted out of the tree line and almost ran in front of me when I was doing 55mph. on my bike. We both came to a quick stop about 12 ft. away from one another and we looked at one another for a moment before he bolted back into the brush. Man, that was shocking, did not expect it! He was scary also with his jet black hair and tusks.

 

[davev]

My Buddy Notch showed his face during daylight hours today.

Probably the last time I'll find him during the rut this year.
Although the backgrounds could be nicer, I'm pretty happy with my subject.

 

[weepete]

that's an impressive deer!

 

[Irishwhistler]

Dave,
That is a beautiful buck and equally beautiful photography. One look at his swollen neck and ye can tell the rut is on.

Great work Mate.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[davev]

Thanks.