Award-Winning Tips on capturing memories on film by TOJ’s Whitetail Editor.

Story and photography by Bob Zaiglin

Exiting my Suburban, a whiff of cold air hit me square in the face.  It was mid-December, and mature bucks seldom seen outside the rut were on the move.  Deer activity was accelerating daily, and with the chilly north wind, I anticipated seeing some of those reclusive denizens of the brush.

As the horizon lit up like wildfire, I was situated in a small stand of brush on the side of a sendero, providing an excellent view to the west.  As the grayish-blue distorted shapes around me began to align, I reached for my iPhone just to make sure it was off, but discovered that it was missing.  Just when I needed to be focused on deer, I was concerned about my phone!  Abruptly, I found myself following my tracks in the red, sandy soil back to my rig where I located it on the ground by the left front tire, which I checked with my phone light in the predawn darkness because it appeared to be a little low.

Following a sigh of relief, I headed back to the spot I had intended to start off my morning, but before I got there, a number of bucks were on the roadway feeding on remnants of corn distributed the evening before.

In an attempt to get close to the animals, one of which appeared to be extremely interested in a doe, I moved deeper into the brush paralleling the road, but even though my movements could be easily detected, the largest buck, supporting 150 inches of antler, paid little attention to me.  Before long I was 50 yards of the pair.

The four-to-five-year-old buck demonstrated no intention of leaving the doe’s side, oftentimes placing his chin on her rump while they moved around, then suddenly a mature buck supporting substantial headgear appeared.  The younger male immediately cleared the barbed wire fence paralleling the sendero and disappeared.

With minimally 170 inches of headgear, the old buck exhibited no fear of my presence as its attention remained focused on the doe, which was obviously in estrous.

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