Hunting for "mature" deer rather than antler size.

[Coopsdaddy]

old mature doe are sometimes very hard to kill with a bow.

 

[Skerhunter]

Here are a couple over 200 that were shot this year in SE Nebraska. One was 211 and the other was 214. View attachment 631351View attachment 631352
Both bucks were hit with archery the week before gun season and not recovered. They then were shot with rifles opening weekend of gun season.
The taxidermist that is mounting them is a friend of mine.

My biggest buck from Ne is a 160 and when we sent in his tooth it came back at 3.5 years old. I could have swore he was a 4.5 year old.

Still waiting to see the 170” 3.5 year old. SE Nebraska has some great bucks, I have watched a few mature into 180-200”+ deer, but generally they aren’t very big as 3.5 year olds. 140-150” tops with most being in the 120-130” range.

 

[insanelupus]

I plan to start submitting teeth for aging from both my elk and deer.

Trying to learn to corroborate or maybe analyze my cyphered guess vs true aging.