Dandy!

The way we would measure the impact of protein feeding was to measure B&C (without deductions) every buck and age them as best we could by their teeth. Do that year after year and you WILL see incremental improvements in all areas. Last year's 125 is not going to be this year's 145 class buck.

The protein in their first 3 or 4 years helps them supplement what nature provides, most of which will go to their skeletal muscular system, it is only AFTER the body gets what it needs to grow that the antlers get fed. Wet years help a bunch, especially moist winters that provide a good crop of forbs.

Great looking youngster you have there rancher

I have pics above of this deer at 2 and 3.

Here he is at 4. He's added mass and once the end of august rolls around we'll know how much tine he's added. Again, the effect of different proteins is always masked by advancing years until maturity. Hopefully we'll get to see him live till 6.

first pic is a zoomed in cell phone pic so it's grainy and low quality.

If you are talking about protein effect for a single animal, then you can't "ever" tell what protein did or did not do for a single animal, UNLESS it has been caged and fed protein as a sole staple food. Way too many variables on free range pasture deer, HF or LF, to determine a protein effect on a single animal.

However, protein supplementation can be assessed on a herd or population of free range deer by comparing weights of animals harvested and averaging year class weights for buck and doe and you should see a slow rise to a certain maximal average from prior to feeding to after feeding. Would take some time for sure. Even then, variables would have to be adjusted for slightly.

One could argue your example in the OP is simply letting genetics express themselves. Since you protein feed, it is hard to know, but would these same deer have the same genetic expression if they were non-supplemented and simply free-range deer? No way to know. But by feeding and allowing these deer to age (that's the key, we all know it, and your set up allows you to "let them age" without neighborhood interference) you are allowing their genetics to maximally express. I believe you said as much in an earlier post above.

Would agree with the above. This issue got started because year over year sheds and live pics (of normally aging young to middle aged deer improving over time) were erroneously attributed to a certain protein feed.