I lurk on the THF quite a bit but don't post much. I wanted to get the collective opinion of the forum and see what y'all thought about this buck. The 1st picture below is from this year(correct date is 10/27/14) and the 2nd pic is from last year. He is an 8 pt. and appears to be pretty big bodied. Do y'all think he will turn into anything else? 350 acres, LF, Jack Co.

How many bucks that are 5 or older have been killed on it in the past?

All depends what your standards are, if you like him take him. Good looking buck, no I don't believe he will be any more then an 8 from his age, may grow some trash as he puts on age.

We just got the property 5 years ago and have been overrun with does. I two years ago we shot 13 does and the weekend after the extended season I counted 31 does crossing the fence in front of me so we have only shot 4 bucks on the place total. Two of the bucks didn't have browtines and were aged at 3.5 and 4.5.; a 9 point that was aged at 3.5-4.5 and an 8 pt. last year that was aged at 4.5 by the taxi. To answer your question STX; 0 to my knowledge.

I have seen some 4yr old 8's get more typical points on ranches I have managed but not near as many that stayed an 8. Most 8's that were long tined just got to be bigger 8's and a lot of them added trash that got bigger. The ones that added trash always showed one or two kickers of some length. What you have to decide is if he has any qualities you want in other deer- beam length, tine length, spread, mass, etc. My criteria has always been has he reached the age and class of buck I am looking for. If he is old enough for your goals and you have better looking young buck, then I would take him. There is nothing wrong with this buck if you like him. I do not put as much weight on point count as I do antler score when looking at a buck.

Looks like he needs to go. I could be wrong but trying to manage 350 acres LF would be hard unless bordering properties are on the same page. I don't think that other than some kickers, he will be much more than he is and your neighbors may shoot him for you.

Thanks a lot STX, I appreciate the help. I know the pics are bad but what age do you think he is? I've got him at 4.5 as I believe I have a pic of him from 2012 but I can't find it now. The right browtine is pretty distinctive.

74 I know trying to manage 350 acres is about like herding cats especially since we believe one neighbor does not share the same management views we do but we are trying to do the best we can. Below is a pic of one of our browtineless deer we are trying to get out of the gene pool.

Good looking buck mid aged id say. If you like him take him but he will be bigger next year

He looks middle aged but more 3 than 4 in that pic, but that is not as good as aging from jawbone. Is this buck from this year or last year?

For my small place surround by a war zone, that is a nice buck, for many folks like STX, Trex and others, with good property, that buck would be culled or let go.

On my place now, I'd pop him and call it good, but when we had more land, I would have past him hoping for the next year, or allow a friend to take him. As the others said, it all depends on your POV for your property and area.

We had near 400 acres, so not much different than yours, but far less deer. We did have some good genetics and the other plus was over 6k acres around me, either didn't hunt, or tried to manage for bigger deer, that worked great over 10-12 years. Had it not been for lack of hunters and great neighbors that did hunt, I couldn't have accomplished much IMO, on that small of acreage. (This was a working farm, so busy as well)
Just my 2 cents though.

STX, that buck is from last year.

Nav, I will probably make a game time decision on the 8 if I see him.

My opinion. On small acreage LF with what sounds like an out of balance doe buck ratio if I wanted meat I would shoot does and give this one a walk. If he makes the season it will be interesting to see how he looks next year. If he goes to a neighboring property and someone harvests him you still did okay.

Each place and location in the state is different. For me I would love to get 6 yr old or older buck consistently, but it probably won't happen. I am going to pinpoint 5 yr old bucks that I want to shoot one of for myself. If I get enough bucks that reach 6 or older that are good bucks then I might change my age minimum. My place is a little bit smaller than yours but I do have two good neighbors to the north,east and south. I have seen places that struggle to get 4 yr old or older bucks and will loose their better bucks at younger ages. The key to making older age bucks work is buck fawn numbers. You have to get enough buck fawns born so that you have enough older age bucks you want. It does not always take more does to do that.

Yes sir, we are trying to get the ratio in check. I believe that we have shot 30+ does and 5 bucks over the last 5 years and several spikes as well.

Sorry for the necro bump but I was hoping to get y'all's thoughts on the same 8 point. We have several pics of him again this year. This makes 3 years of pics. We passed on him last year but thinking about taking him this year. Do you think he will be anything better than what he is and has been?

Nice buck

Miss Mack yet?

Nope; still glad Mack is gone!

What do the other bucks on your place look like and how do they compare to him?

Purdy deer, looks like he is in good shape.

ddmm, he is one of the bigger deer we have on camera. The area around us is hunted pretty hard so we see a lot of 3.5 yr old 8's.

If he were on my place he would take a dirt nap.