View Full Version : Velvet Dreams
Antler growth is looking pretty good thus far this year.
http://i.imgur.com/YgHoY6f.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zoVCERM.jpg
Rayne
07-13-2018, 08:22 PM
Wow nice pictures.
Ourea
07-13-2018, 09:10 PM
Dana
I certainly have my thoughts on the age and rough numbers on that bull.
What are your thoughts?
Always nice to see your photography on this site.
This guy is a young bull just coming into his own. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he develops into this year and in the years to come. Pretty much a month more growth left from the time I took these photos. Hope I can get a look at him again but hard horned.
Ourea
07-14-2018, 01:10 AM
My take.....
4 to 5 year old bull with all the hallmarks to be a champion.
Healthy bull.
And you got to help a brother out by not calling animals that have antlers by stating horns.
Just sayin.
tayleoscar
07-14-2018, 08:30 AM
Awesome pic Dana!!!!
My take.....
4 to 5 year old bull with all the hallmarks to be a champion.
Healthy bull.
And you got to help a brother out by not calling animals that have antlers by stating horns.
Just sayin.
Language changes all the time Bra ;) Hard horned has been a term hunters have used for decades to describe fully developed antlers. Time to get with the times. :)
wrenchhead
07-14-2018, 09:38 AM
Call them what you will....thats going to be a long tined beaut come September.
This is why the term 'hard horned' is used. In velvet, antlers are rather soft. This muley buck I photographed last week learned this the hard way. ;)
http://i.imgur.com/wiHV9LB.jpg
srthomas75
07-14-2018, 11:59 AM
I enjoy your photos. How close are you getting or what size of zoom lens are you using.( I don’t know the proper camera terms)
It’s more enjoyable looking at these threads compared to the political ones.
I enjoy your photos. How close are you getting or what size of zoom lens are you using.( I don’t know the proper camera terms)
It’s more enjoyable looking at these threads compared to the political ones.
My zoom is big! I currently shoot a Nikon Coolpix P900 with 83x optical zoom which is equivant to 24-2000mm. Just this past week Nikon released the P1000. It has 120x optical zoom. It is amazing how big these bridge cameras are getting!
My zoom is big! I currently shoot a Nikon Coolpix P900 with 83x optical zoom which is equivant to 24-2000mm. Just this past week Nikon released the P1000. It has 120x optical zoom. It is amazing how big these bridge cameras are getting!
The new nikon P1000 is 125 power zoom
The new nikon P1000 is 125 power zoom
My bad! Hahaha! All I know is I wants one!!! They should come down in price in a couple of years when they release the next generation. How I treat my equipment, I'll be looking for an upgrade by then. ;)
This is why the term 'hard horned' is used. In velvet, antlers are rather soft. This muley buck I photographed last week learned this the hard way. ;)
http://i.imgur.com/wiHV9LB.jpg
I shot a muley buck in Alberta years ago who's rear forks had been cleanly sliced off on both sides, save a couple of inches. My guess was that he sliced them off going under a wire fence while soft in velvet.
Kootenaykid85
07-14-2018, 02:26 PM
My take.....
4 to 5 year old bull with all the hallmarks to be a champion.
Healthy bull.
And you got to help a brother out by not calling animals that have antlers by stating horns.
Just sayin.
your take is a little wrong... close but a couple years off
bull is for sure 7 and a year or two from his prime. front end length is good, weight and width are gunna stunt this bull from ever growing more then 350 inches of bone.
your take is a little wrong... close but a couple years off
bull is for sure 7 and a year or two from his prime. front end length is good, weight and width are gunna stunt this bull from ever growing more then 350 inches of bone.
Pretty sure Ourea is bang on. He probably is 5 as he was a damn nice 6x6 last year and I would not expect him to as good as he was at only 3. ;) Given the area, bulls seldom live past 8, as they like to kill each other there. If you were correct at 7 then he is doomed from ever reaching his potential. Hopefully I can follow him for the next few years and see him develop.
As for score, much more to life than a freakin tape measure. Big is Big! In my opinion, he has reached the Monster status already. Just hasn't broken into the Giant status yet. Given the genetics of the area, he could easily become a Giant in the next year or two. There is a strong 7, 8 and 9 point genetic. Will be interesting to see if he adds more points as he ages.
My bad! Hahaha! All I know is I wants one!!! They should come down in price in a couple of years when they release the next generation. How I treat my equipment, I'll be looking for an upgrade by then. ;)
Ya there all a little pricey when first come out, I was looking at it but went with another panasonic for now. Hopefully one of them will come out with a bigger sensor along with the higher zoom in the next few years.
ncurrie
07-14-2018, 05:15 PM
Awesome thanks for sharing!
Ourea
07-14-2018, 07:55 PM
Not to get into an aging or scoring debate and take away from the great photos.......
At first blush, when I looked at this handsome bull, his pedestal circumference is indicating a bit of age.
The indicators I see that lean towards a healthy younger bull are .....
Eyes
Coloration under his eyes
Snout
No scarring on his ears, snout, cape or sides.
Pretty tough to be 7 or 8 as a prime breeding bull and show no wear and tear.
Lack of mass ( if, like Dana says, this bull 'grew' a fair amount from last year ) bulls in the 7 to 8 year class will add mass and less in tine and beam length. He's still a grower which, in my opinion, shows a younger bull.
No saddle back to him.
He will be taking on the boss bulls soon and hopefully kicking some ass.
Great photos of a very handsome up and comer!
gcreek
07-14-2018, 08:38 PM
Great photos Dana, thanks for sharing and thanks to others for their input. Never been around elk but never too old to learn.
Not to get into an aging or scoring debate and take away from the great photos.......
At first blush, when I looked at this handsome bull, his pedestal circumference is indicating a bit of age.
The indicators I see that lean towards a healthy younger bull are .....
Eyes
Coloration under his eyes
Snout
No scarring on his ears, snout, cape or sides.
Pretty tough to be 7 or 8 as a prime breeding bull and show no wear and tear.
Lack of mass ( if, like Dana says, this bull 'grew' a fair amount from last year ) bulls in the 7 to 8 year class will add mass and less in tine and beam length. He's still a grower which, in my opinion, shows a younger bull.
No saddle back to him.
He will be taking on the boss bulls soon and hopefully kicking some ass.
Great photos of a very handsome up and comer!
Your observations are very true IMO. Given I have played with these bulls for numerous years now, i can say with confidence I would have noticed this bull before last year if he was indeed older. The big boys are very aggressive in this area and fight very hard. To the death at times. Last fall the two biggest and meanest bulls met their demise by rutting too hard. With those two nasty bulls gone, there will be some serious game play this fall by the younger bulls to take their place.
Kootenaykid85
07-15-2018, 10:03 AM
Your observations are very true IMO. Given I have played with these bulls for numerous years now, i can say with confidence I would have noticed this bull before last year if he was indeed older. The big boys are very aggressive in this area and fight very hard. To the death at times. Last fall the two biggest and meanest bulls met their demise by rutting too hard. With those two nasty bulls gone, there will be some serious game play this fall by the younger bulls to take their place.
I take my statement about that bull being 7 back.. after zooming in and taking a second look I noticed his eye lids were under a inch long, putting him around 5 years of age.
jokes aside, reason I said that is because looking at his body size, sway in his back, color. Just looks older to me.
decent bull, over here in the west kootenays the elk are a weeee bit bigger:D
I take my statement about that bull being 7 back.. after zooming in and taking a second look I noticed his eye lids were under a inch long, putting him around 5 years of age.
jokes aside, reason I said that is because looking at his body size, sway in his back, color. Just looks older to me.
decent bull, over here in the west kootenays the elk are a weeee bit bigger:D
Here are some photos I took in Sept 2016 of a couple older age class bulls from the area. Comparing the velvet bull to these two you can see why Ourea and I believe the velvet bull is still quite young. Both these older bulls died in the fall of 2017 by rutting too hard. Are these two more up to your West Koot standards or are these ones dinks too? ;)
http://i.imgur.com/0LqGCHP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YsdYI6P.jpg
Here are some photos I took in Sept 2016 of a couple older age class bulls from the area. Comparing the velvet bull to these two you can see why Ourea and I believe the velvet bull is still quite young. Both these older bulls died in the fall of 2017 by rutting too hard. Are these two more up to your West Koot standards or are these ones dinks too? ;)
http://i.imgur.com/0LqGCHP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YsdYI6P.jpg
Cant really compare park bulls to bulls from a area that can be hunted. Well I guess those park bulls can be hunted by a select few.
Good to see that it looks like you and ourea are back to being bestys.
On a side note do you hand hold that Nikon 900 on full zoom or use a tripod.
Kootenaykid85
07-15-2018, 12:12 PM
Here are some photos I took in Sept 2016 of a couple older age class bulls from the area. Comparing the velvet bull to these two you can see why Ourea and I believe the velvet bull is still quite young. Both these older bulls died in the fall of 2017 by rutting too hard. Are these two more up to your West Koot standards or are these ones dinks too? ;)
http://i.imgur.com/0LqGCHP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YsdYI6P.jpg
take a picture of the first bull in september... full rut, full hair, full body weight a few fights under his belt like these ones and then try and compare.
I wouldnt doubt if this first bull is his father. cira 2011
Cant really compare park bulls to bulls from a area that can be hunted. Well I guess those park bulls can be hunted by a select few.
Good to see that it looks like you and ourea are back to being bestys.
On a side note do you hand hold that Nikon 900 on full zoom or use a tripod.
Haha! I'm not the one comparing these bull to WK bulls. It would be like comparing Wild Horse Island bighorns to GOS BC bighorns.
As for the P900, I hand hold on full zoom. Only really far criiters like mountain goats at 1 km or more need a tripod for good captures. Even at that, I still hand hold because I am too lazy to pack the tripod around. ;)
Kootenaykid85
07-15-2018, 12:30 PM
how about after george and his crew kill that bull this year we ask for a tooth to be sent in!!! settle this debuckle lol
take a picture of the first bull in september... full rut, full hair, full body weight a few fights under his belt like these ones and then try and compare.
I wouldnt doubt if this first bull is his father. cira 2011
This guy is actually the likely father of the first bull. A huge difference in body size between the bulls.
http://i.imgur.com/0iilSzY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kZSmzkU.jpg
Kootenaykid85
07-16-2018, 10:42 AM
This guy is actually the likely father of the first bull. A huge difference in body size between the bulls.
http://i.imgur.com/0iilSzY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kZSmzkU.jpg
camera allways adds 10 pounds they say. inches too.
blackbart
07-16-2018, 02:45 PM
Takes a real dick to post up a picture of a one antlered buck for all to see. Going to give that poor guy some long term confidence issues.
Takes a real dick to post up a picture of a one antlered buck for all to see. Going to give that poor guy some long term confidence issues.
It takes an 'arrogant' dick to post up a photo of one antlered buck. ;)
camera allways adds 10 pounds they say. inches too.
yes, i have been accused many times on HBC of using camera tricks. That is how I make my 150 class muleys look like 200 inchers. ;)
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