Had a discussion with a fellow hunter on antler mass for Hill Country and Edwards Plateau (Val Verde County) bucks.

What do you guys consider average, massive, and pencil like for base mass for the above areas?

What about mass numbers between the other tines?

I'm under the impression the base mass averages for the area would be 5 inches or so???

I wouldn't think the average is 5". IMO pencil is < 2.5-3", average is 3.5"-4", and massive is 5"+.

I agree 5" is a bit high for aveage, 3.5 to 4

Definitely not 5.

On a ranch I managed in Kendall County the bucks averaged 30"-33" of mass with very few getting 5" bases at the smallest point. 4.25"-4.5" were common first mass measurements. This was after 5 yrs these deer were 100% native deer with free choice protein year round. After 5 yrs of killing buck I averaged the bucks shot as trophies and the average frame score(mainbeams, mass and spread) was 92.5". I would think if you used 90-95" frames for a well managed ranch you would be close. I used 90" on 8 point frame deer and 95" on 10 point frame deer. Also had to look at average width also. What Hill Country deer have is great tine length and some areas have a lot of NT points to push scores up. If you get a buck with a 100" frame you have the start of a great deer for the Hill Country.