I photographed this large velvet 8 point Whitetail Buck last June at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. I am unable to visit this refuge now because of a flood (River Rising At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge).
Before the flood I was seeing several Whitetail Bucks in different stages of antler growth. I counted eight in one bachelor group. I couldn’t get the photo I wanted because of the light or the distance.
I first saw this large 8 point Whitetail Buck in a cornfield at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. This cornfield was overhead high so I couldn’t get a photo of the Buck. I saw another Buck, and it came out to the edge of the same cornfield and I could get a few photos of it. I knew where the larger Buck would go after it left the cornfield so I drove over to this area and waited. About 15 minutes later I saw this large 8 point Buck coming from the cornfield and I got the below photo.
If you look closely at my photo, you will see a large horsefly on the back of the Buck. The horseflies in this area are huge. You can also see that this Buck has two smaller tines at the base of the right antler.
I am not sure what is going on with the Bucks coat! I see a lot of the deer at this refuge with this color. It looks like they are between the winter and summer coat. The temps in this area have been in the upper nineties for a while.
How I Got The Shot – Large 8 Point Whitetail Buck In Velvet
I parked on the side of the auto tour road (Moody Ramp Road) with my camera and lens resting on a bean bag draped over the open window of my pickup.
• Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
• Date Taken: June 29, 2018
• Aperture: f5.6
• Shutter speed: 1/320 sec.
• ISO: 1250
• Exposure Bias: 0 EV
• Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
• Focal Length: 400 mm
• Lens: Canon EF100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
• Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II