The Return of Two Legends
Posted by
Scott Mensing
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Posted in
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Sunday, August 15, 2010
It's amazing how one's excitement for the upcoming season can change with a simple card pull. Friday evening started with us filming a field full of deer, including a great 140s, mature 8 point. We had never filmed velvet on this particular field before and I was extremely surprised when this buck stepped out not more than 50 yards from me and fed for nearly an hour. But after having that great encounter, we couldn't wait to see what was on the card that had been sitting undisturbed for nearly six weeks. So at 10:30 PM we grabbed the one flashlight we had and headed out to see what had visited our salt lick.
The first buck we had visit the lick was a buck we have a long history with - Potato Digger. Digger is a buck that we have gotten literally a hundred trail camera photos and videos of and have two years worth of sheds. Bo passed Digger as a 3 1/2 year old and also last year as a 4 1/2 year old. Last year he was definitely a shooter, but with low camera light and not the greatest angle, Bo elected to pass and hope for another opportunity. Fortunately for us, Digger showed up this year again as a truly mature 5 1/2 year old stud.
Digger is the #1 buck on our hit list this year. He is dominant as it seems that he forces other bucks out of the area. We feel he is one we have a very good possibility of harvesting as well. Nearly all of the trail cam pics, sheds, and encounters have all occurred within an 80 yard area. An in case you're wondering, both of his beams should go over 28" this year!
The second buck that we got new pictures of is a buck named the Crab Claw "9". The reason 9 is in quotation marks is because he has now become a main frame 10 point. This year marks the third year we've chased this buck. In the fall of 2008, we had numerous trail cam pics of him and found his matched set of sheds, but he turned into a ghost during the 2009 season. When he disappeared in October and we didn't find either of his sheds, we'd feared the worst and assumed he'd been harvested by a neighboring hunter. But we were ecstatic when we saw the 5 1/2 year old giant show up on this card pull. Crab Claw has simply exploded this year. It's amazing what a difference a buck can make between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2. Not only has he added length, mass and kickers, but he's also added a drop tine! This is the first buck I've ever gotten pics of with a drop and we sure hope we get a chance to write a great ending to his story this fall.
The Crab Claw 9 makes Digger look small in these pics. Trust me guys, he is one stud 8 point and one that we have a ton of history with. It's hard to believe how long his beams are until you've got them in your hands. They were 26" last year and appear to be a bit longer this year. He's one cool buck! Scott wants to kill this buck worse than any other, and I honestly believe that if these two were side by side at 20 yards, he'd take Digger. I hope that Scott is able to write his final chapter this fall!