Weirdness and South Texas Trophy buck 12/2009....Have you ever?

[highpoint forge]

I was hunting with my father in law and his friend on about a 1000 acre ranch in South TX last Xmas (my first bowhunt ever), and we happened to be at a feeder midday, when this huge buck appears off in the distance, walks straight down the sendero at us, ducks into the brush and comes out at the feeder as we are sitting there talking while leaning on the truck, broad daylight, 15 feet away from him, max. He literally could not have cared in the least! I got out my iPhone and started shooting video.

This is a 170+ class animal, and nobody on the ranch is allowed a shot at him, but why would he be so tame? We were guessing he may be a eunuch buck that has low testosterone and won't fight, doesn't breed much, etc. Sorry if the quality is off with the phone video.

I'm sure I posted this last year but in anticipation of the 2010 season I'm hauling it back out. It still cracks me up to watch it. We all were just sitting there practically drooling.....

I'd love to hear what the deer doctors here on TG have to add....


 

[twostrings]

That is weird.

[Red4arm]

Some ranches, most, buy deer from deer farms to help the genetics. He may have been bottle fed as a fawn

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I agree with John,

Either that or CWD but I would guess he is a purchased deer. since he is tame and there to do a  job, no is allowed to shoot him.  Othrewise , why would a ranch not want the publicity of huge bucks taken?

[Wile E. Coyote]

I would guess a breeder buck purchased to increase genetics. Been around people all his life.

[highpoint forge]

Never been told he was a breeder that was specifically purchased by them, but he may have been fenced accidentally in or slipped in from the neighbor's the high fence. The neighbors are high fenced on their perimeter, and this place is inside their perimeter. Makes sense.

[TxAg]

Ranches don't buy 170 class deer for breeding...they buy them much larger than that. Plus, from what I've seen, many breeder deer revert back to being wild animals rather quickly.

Deer do strange things, especially near the rut.  Maybe the buck was just feeling cocky that day.  I've had bucks watch me as I get out of a truck 40 yards from them and they don't care.  Then, another deer on the other side of the ranch will bolt when it sees a truck driving down the road from 300 yards away.

[rolltidehunter]

the deer is prob not as bothered by people around feeders. if a deer grows up being feed by feeders  they relate sounds and noise with food! like a dinner bell. like a cow mooing at the farmer when its dinner time. i have watched shows and have buddies that go hunt in texas or places where it is leagel to corn the roads and hunt over feeders. the deer look strait at the hunter in a blind or sitting on top of the truck with rifles and bows! the deer are not as wiley as the deer in other parts of the country.

that buck would not do that here in Alabama! deer here walk around on two feet popping acorns in there mouths and looking up in the trees!

[Mudd]

I am really bad at seeing stuff I guess. I watched from beginning to the end and thought I saw some legs behind the feeder at one point but that was it.

God bless,Mudd

[TxAg]

Originally posted by rolltidehunter:
the deer is prob not as bothered by people around feeders. if a deer grows up being feed by feeders  they relate sounds and noise with food! like a dinner bell. like a cow mooing at the farmer when its dinner time. i have watched shows and have buddies that go hunt in texas or places where it is leagel to corn the roads and hunt over feeders. the deer look strait at the hunter in a blind or sitting on top of the truck with rifles and bows! the deer are not as wiley as the deer in other parts of the country.

that buck would not do that here in Alabama! deer here walk around on two feet popping acorns in there mouths and looking up in the trees!

Please don't take offense, but you've accurately described a VERY small sample size in Texas. Most of the state is not like that regardless of feeders. In reality, deer are much more jumpy than normal around feeders.

[Ron+dog]

REMIND ME TO HUNT TEXAS NEXT YEAR

[Orion]

One of the problems with "deer management" is that it tends to create tame/dumb deer.  If a deer has the right genetics, as determined by the deer manager, he is off limits to hunters for the first 4-5 years of his life. There's no bad consequences associated with contact with man so the critter looses his fear of man.  Unfortunate for him, because when he turns 4 or 5, he walks out in front of the box blind overlooking a feeder and or food plot and gets whacked. Whether the deer who walked up to you was trucked in or home grown, it upbringing has trained it not to fear man. You just gave him another experience to reinforce his lack of fear.

[John Scifres]

I like dumb deer.  I'm just not that good of a hunter.  I'm also convinced that deer know the rules.  That's why you only see bucks when you have a doe tag.  Or why I see more deer during squirrel season and more squirrels during deer season.  They know when you can't shoot them  

[Pon]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
I like dumb deer.  I'm just not that good of a hunter.  I'm also convinced that deer know the rules.  That's why you only see bucks when you have a doe tag.  Or why I see more deer during squirrel season and more squirrels during deer season.  They know when you can't shoot them    

x2   :D

[PowDuck]

Originally posted by Mudd:
I am really bad at seeing stuff I guess. I watched from beginning to the end and thought I saw some legs behind the feeder at one point but that was it.

God bless,Mudd

Click the full screen icon on the lower right corner. That helps.

[TxAg]

Originally posted by Orion:
One of the problems with "deer management" is that it tends to create tame/dumb deer.  If a deer has the right genetics, as determined by the deer manager, he is off limits to hunters for the first 4-5 years of his life. There's no bad consequences associated with contact with man so the critter looses his fear of man.  Unfortunate for him, because when he turns 4 or 5, he walks out in front of the box blind overlooking a feeder and or food plot and gets whacked. Whether the deer who walked up to you was trucked in or home grown, it upbringing has trained it not to fear man. You just gave him another experience to reinforce his lack of fear.

Again, I disagree. I can't speak for the entire U.S., but that is a sorely misguided blanket statement regarding Texas.

[Orion]

TxAg:  My comment is directed at the practice, not the location. This particular example happens to be in Texas, but it could be anywhere. In my part of the country, they call it Quality Deer Management.

[highpoint forge]

There's no management program on this ranch and that deer showed up one day, and nobody can shoot him, per the rules. He is fond of the corn trucks, apparently. I've hunted huge places in South TX for many years, and NEVER have I seen a buck do that, ever, period. Hence, weird.

[Txnrog]

Like how some folks automatically assume it's a tame deer, bottle fed, and because all ranches in texas do that, it's easier there, and of course all the deer are dumber than the rest of the US.
 
Christmas is generally the peak of the rut in that part of the state, my guess is he was rutted up and on his normal swing thru checking for does. He didn't care about y'all because he had other things on his mind. He looked like he was posturing a bit as he came in. Rare to see, yes, but doesn't mean he's tame. I've had bucks come into rattling antlers before that would not leave even after I stood up and showed myself, any other scenario, they would've been outta there in a flash, but being all jacked up in the rut they didn't want to believe there wasn't a real fight going on.

[highpoint forge]

True.