I've been taking pictures of this buck since 2001. I feel he was 2 years old then. He was very indentifiable due to a long scar on his left side which diminished over the years but was still visible.
During a visit this past weekend my brother's grandson spotted him lying on the edge of my cart road.
His teeth were worn down to the gums and I believe old age got him. I had traveled that cart road several times while tapping maple sap in March and he wasn't there at that time.


I have to re-scan the picture from 2001, but here is one from 2002:

 

--Last edited by bowbum on 2007-05-16 05:28:25 --

Man Penn try not to be so optimistic!
Mine are doing fine as long as I don't run out of Bondo to cap em off now and again.

Bowbum,

            It's a shame, when you loose an ole' friend, like him. Still had a decent rack for his age. I hope, he didn't suffer long before he died......

             Zumer

i gotta think that the scar was from someone who missed the target. maybe it made him wise enough to die of old age. respect goes to that buck.

PRNC I think the scar was from a fight with his running mate. For 3 years he ran with a larger buck, even during rut times. Then my neighbor, who didn't even know either buck existed, killed the bigger buck just by mere unplanned encounter.
They used to have some awesome fights, and then they would walk off together.
I re-scanned the photo from July of 2001. The bigger buck on the right is the one he ran with. He is on the left. Notice how the scar goes from low to high at the rump.
 

--Last edited by Dr Trout on 2007-05-17 14:01:17 --