As stated, no definitive answer that covers AZ to MT. That said, here are some thoughts…
In my area, mid-May to mid-July are the major growth months.
No matter how many muleys you’ve looked at, you still over estimate them in the velvet. Especially when they are in full growth, super vascular and hydrated.
In my opinion, scouting in the summer is similar to initially sizing 1 up hunting. Look at the overall frame first. Or in this case, how the frame is developing. Look at antler mass, but look at his body (especially chest and front shoulders) and watch how he interacts with the other deer if he’s in a group. Some of that will judge maturity or dominance, not necessarily B&C.
My oldest got the first pic of a buck last year before Memorial Day. He was just barely starting to fork at his ear tips, had defined brows and had mass, so we knew he had potential. My boy got a glimpse of him during the summer and knew his frame was very nice. We didn’t find him during the season, but got his sheds this February very close to the original pic. He was a straight up typical 175. A very nice buck for our area.
The 2-8in of tine length answer is obviously a huge range, but realistic when you don’t know the area or potential. But you HAVE to account for the shrinkage of loosing the velvet.
Didn’t answer your question of tine length or B&C… but unless you drew a premier tag, most of your judging is going to be on frame, mass and maturity. Hopefully that helps. Glassing for these bucks is a blast.
