Let's try something a little different here. Below is a photo of a 4.5-5.5 (can't decide which) slick 8 from last year that looked to be in the low 140s, maybe a little bigger. The rain and conditions have improved slightly over the last 12 months. I think I caught a quick glimpse of this guy last Friday and we will be looking for him opening weekend. So what do you think he was last year, and how big of a jump will he make this year? I'll hopefully circle back with pics of him on the hoof this year or maybe even on the ground. In 3 years I've never seen him at a feeder or even gotten a trail cam pic of him, but he loves to travel through the draw he's crossing in the pic below. Same place I think he crossed last Friday morning. What do y'all think?

What has your rain looked like?

Not a ton of rain, but timely. I'd say better than average. Our quail population is looking better than it has in 4 years.

Is this brown county?

I bet he looks roughly the same.

live oak

That would really surprise me.

What did he look like when you caught a quick glimpse of him?

I would tell you but that would be insider trading. Test your skills man...

Well yeah, but you have seen a glimpse of him already...

Honestly what do you expect your typical 140 inch 4.5-5.5 YO clean 8 pt to do with a marginal year?

Depends on if he is a feed hound.

5% if not, 10 % if so.

Most deer take decent jumps at 6.5 with normal rain year

If you let me shoot him I will let you score him I would say he should be low to mid 150's if he is a clean typical.

This is what we're hoping for (the score not you shooting ). If the deer I saw last Friday is the same deer, he has put on some tine length and mass. I need a better look obviously, but I too think he should jump into the low 150s. I'd love to see the ranch produce a 150 inch 8.

Of course I wouldn't mind him putting on a pair of 10 inch G4s...

I think high 150's given the great condition he appeared to be in last year during drought. Extra mass from timely rains and just a little more tine length should have him pushing 160. Definitely not ready to head the other direction yet.

That's a Hoss!

I would call him 5.5, maybe 6.5 from that photo alone. He looks upper 140s there, would expect lower 150s this year. Good luck, really nice deer.

Have you tried putting a camera where he is known to cross? Beautiful deer and love to see a close up picture of him. Hope you get to tag him this year. Love those big 8's

A little bigger....how's that for a wishy washy answer

Prob should. I got some excellent video of him last in the season last year.

For me I would not do it since you have seen him once this fall. I would rather have the anticipation of seeing for the first time when I had a rifle in my hand during the season. Kinda takes the stress level up a bit knowing you have to really check every deer walking in to see if it is him.

Update. I spent saturday evening and saturday morning hunting the draw. Never saw the 8 from last year, but i did encounter a 6x6. Beautiful deer. Appears to be 4.5 and mid 150s. All i got were some crappy pics with my iphone thru binocs. Anyone think he may be older or younger?

Looks more 3 this time of the year in the last pic but not the best pics to age from. I would say 4 max from those other pics also. Has he got a bobtail? If so you should be able to find him in older pics from years past. Great young buck no matter.

Good catch! I think i may have vid of a young mf 11 in that location from late last season. Ill check it out for sure. We dont see many 6x6s or younger bucks with that many inches, so it was a ton of fun watching this buck. Started out about 350 yards out and slowly made his way to within 100 yards or so.

I watched last year's footage last night. Couldn't tell much about the tail, but I do think this buck was a typical 11 point last year. Same frame shape, but I bet he put on 20+ inches. I'm thinking he' a 4 year old. This buck has amazing potential if we can keep him around. Good news is he's in a fairly isolated area and isn't much of a feeder hound.