"Mature Deer"

[Slickhill]

I feel similarly.

If you're "hunting" a spot where you have any kind of certainty that a buck will live another year if you pass him, that loses all the magic for me. You might as well put ear tags on them at that point.

I don’t get into all the names and half years, you don’t say your kid is 8 1/2 why would you say a deer is, and I don’t run cameras. So I understand and agree in that sense.

But I absolutely hunt a place where I can say with a good degree of certainty that if I pass a buck he won’t be killed before next year and I pass a bunch with that in mind. Sometimes they’re distinct enough I see them again often for several years.

 

[Slickhill]

It would be helpful if people list the rough geographic location of these deer. That makes a big difference. The biggest deer I’ve ever hauled off my Virginia mountain weighed 190-pounds field-dressed. The biggest I ever saw at the check station was 210-pounds. About 150-pounds is a more typical “good-sized buck.”

I’m in Oklahoma. My family ran a check station for decades before Echeck. Never checked a buck over 180lb out of hundreds. Typical decent buck will go 130-140 dressed. Nobody cares at all about the weight, not even the wildlife department.
I have killed quite a few nice bucks, the largest I ever weighed went 132 and I’d be shocked if any of them were over 150.

 

[LostArra]

I’m in Oklahoma. My family ran a check station for decades before Echeck. Never checked a buck over 180lb out of hundreds. Typical decent buck will go 130-140 dressed. Nobody cares at all about the weight, not even the wildlife department.
I have killed quite a few nice bucks, the largest I ever weighed went 132 and I’d be shocked if any of them were over 150.

What part of Oklahoma?
I primarily hunt the SE part of the state. No ag crops. Our deer are just what you describe. It takes full time fenced protein feeders to get a "big deer" or so I'm told. I've never seen one.

My buddy's farm is in NW Okla with sections of soybeans, alfalfa and corn. Those deer are like a different species.

 

[Slickhill]

I’m in the SW part of the state. Those bucks up in the NW and north central parts do get big, seen some bruisers up there back in the bird hunting days.

 

[Pescetism]

That top buck looks like nothing I have ever seen except near corn or soybean fields.

Plenty of corn and soybeans in the area but no huge, relatively speaking, fields. More than enough though that he may spend the majority of the year in or around corn. Most of the ground in the surrounding few miles is CRP, cattle pasture, and small (5 - 30 acre) sections of timber. He's definitely not the average buck in that area though.

 

[Pescetism]

It would be helpful if people list the rough geographic location of these deer. That makes a big difference. The biggest deer I’ve ever hauled off my Virginia mountain weighed 190-pounds field-dressed. The biggest I ever saw at the check station was 210-pounds. About 150-pounds is a more typical “good-sized buck.”

Northern MO. I haven't seen a deer weighed since I was a kid but I'd be extremely surprised if many weighed more than 180 lbs dressed. But that's directly related the average life expectancy.

 

[IDbrushswimmer]

I’ll be honest, I’m not good enough to look at a buck on the hoof and go “eh, he looks more 5.5 than 4.5.” With the time I have to hunt, and where I hunt, I’m shooting the first reasonable 4 point or better that isn’t obviously two years old. I DO feel the jump from 2.5 to 3.5 is a lot easier to see body, facially than as they get older.
My wife shot this one a few years back though, and it was immediately obvious he was different. For context, this was around October 12 or so. Neck was already super beefy, and his head was darn near as wide as it was long.

 

[Habitat#1]

I've hunted in Kansas for almost 50 years and I might have seen 2-3 deer that would go close to 300 with the guts in them. That included working at a processing-taxidermist shop for 10 years. Most guessed weights are "dragging weights" if you know what I mean. Even during the rut usually the more mature bucks will have a chest that turns into a neck with no stove pipes for a neck.But you never know as I have a buck that I first saw 3 years ago when he lost an eye and his rack hasn't gotten any bigger than it was then.

 

[Skerhunter]

I use a combination of antler size, body, and behavior to field judge. With photos it’s pretty easy to pick out the different ages looking at just body size. Once they are past 5 I can’t really tell you how old they are without years of photos. If I had to start hunting a new part of the country I’m sure I would struggle, until I got used to the deer in that area.

2-3 year olds will have defined hips and shoulders with shorter tines (not over 9-10”) and main beams (not to tip of nose yet). Width can vary a lot but for a normal rack they won’t be outside their ears. They will run around with other bucks all year. If you call the in (which is easy) they will walk right to you and hang out.





4.5 year olds - body is noticeably long and the hips and shoulders are no longer defined. When compared to 2/3 year old deer the are noticeably much larger. Tine length will exceed 9”, beams will be longer (close to nose length) and width will be outside of their ears. These deer no longer tolerate other bucks and roll solo. If you call one it they usually circle down wind (40+ yards) and do what I call a drive by (don’t stop moving).





5.5+ get even bigger body wise and stand out when compared to 4.5 year olds. If you see one in the field, you know it! Usually their hips look narrow/small and their body takes on a tube appearance. Their antlers can vary greatly - my local bucks peak at 5.5.

 

[Habitat#1]

No way can you go by tine length

 

[Yoder]

We hunt public land in NE PA. It gets a decent amount of pressure. You are lucky to see a buck over 4 yrs old more than once a season. I'm sure if we were better hunters or hunted more, we would see more, but there just aren't that many old bucks. It really depends on the year. The oldest buck we ever killed was 7. He had a huge chest and neck, but he only dressed out around 150lbs. He was a six point with short tines. He was so run down from rutting, he hardly had any fat on him and his chest was almost bald from mounting does. We thought before the season he would have gone close to 200lbs. My oldest was 5. He only weighed around 130. I killed him in December, and he was also run down from the rut. Most of the bucks I shoot are 2-3yr olds.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Antler size means absolutely nothing, targeting mule deer in WA state ranging from high elevation mountain range to farmlands my two oldest bucks aged at 7, and 8 years old, from tooth analysis by a lab. I look at body size and structure, and the way they act on the hoof. You can definitely tell the difference.

When I initially glassed this buck up I thought for sure he was gonna be a shooter, he was an absolute unit. But after seeing how small he was up top, he got the pass. Still wonder if that was the right call.