I have a few good pictures of him. I'm probably going to add him to my 10 year old son's hit list for this year. He killed his first deer last season and he is fired up to get an even bigger one this year. I saw this buck last year a few times, but never during the day. So far this year he's been strictly nocturnal.

6

5+ Good looking buck, if I was your son i'd be excited

What part of the state is this?

Bell county

Very much mature

Agree mature 5+

bell county is near temple or Waco right?

I don't see the maturity you guys all see. I would go 4.5 at most on this guy. Legs still are pretty straight down from the shoulders, no real sway in the back, no extra folds of skin from being big before, and his antlers don't go all the way to the nose....heck could even be a well fed 3.5 this year.

See the roman nose, but studies has shown that about 15-20% of young deer can have the roman nose so that isn't a determiner by itself. Gotta look at the whole picture and it looks middle aged more than mature.

Just not seeing the age on him.


Having said that, I would be happy to have him on my lease and would feel comfortable shooting him. Good looking buck!

4 or 5.

5-6

He's mature.

7+

School me guys...what are you seeing that makes this a mature deer? I am learning the same way many of you have done in the past, so please educate me...I listed why I thought he wasn't mature, so please help me out

Sag in his back, large shoulders, brisket/neck line, the look like he has a bowling ball in the middle of his stomach.

This. He does not look like an athlete anymore. He's starting to look like a grandpa.

That buck is 5+ for sure.

When you see him around the younger 3 and 4 year olds watch how they move out of his way. That buck is built like a heavy weight champ! When you are on the fence about how old a buck is just watch how he interacts with other deer that you feel more certain of their ages and it will tell you a lot.

I sure hope you aren't referring to that yearling buck next to him in the first two pics...

I have seen 3.5 yo bucks strut their stuff and older bucks just avoid them due to the strutting.

Hard to tell that in a couple pics though, so I guess you have seen this buck in person or at least watched video of these interactions?

the third pic is hard to tell anything about, I assume it is the buck in question with his butt facing us walking toward that 2.5 yo deer next to him on the left...I don't see much body difference between the two and the angles are hard to see anyway, but if the buck in question is the one bent over eating it is a useless picture.

JCB meant to watch this buck's interactions when he is around middle-aged bucks, not the yearling in that picture. I've seen older bucks ignore 3.5 year olds that were strutting, but I have NEVER in my 49 years of chasing whitetails, seen a fully mature buck back down from a middle aged buck who wanted a fight.

Agree. The middle pic tells it all. Look how his brisket sags between his front legs and how thick his shoulders are. This is a thick deer....no way a 3.5 would have that body structure. It's only September and it looks like he has a rutted up neck already. I'd say this is 5.5-6.5 y/o deer.

A lot of middle aged deer have the big stomach thing going, esp with all the timely rain we had this year, a lot of younger deer looking thicker is going to make for thin age structures in the years to come.

Anyway, its fun to discuss this. Doesn't matter because if this deer gets seen he will get shot. Not that it matters, I disagree everything that you have said. His shoulders are still not filled out well, his neck when swollen will be bigger than his shoulders. He still will come straight down from the shoulder whereas old bucks have that slant that tells of age in the shoulder line. His rump is not filled out well, he is getting there, but 4.5 max. Based on his antler length alone, he shows 3.5. Antler length should be at the nose in a 4.5 and past in 5.5 and above. He isn't even close. And he has a stubby nose to begin with. I will find a pick of a 6.5-7 yo and we can compare how this race horse looks athletic compared to a ancient warrior....

And I asked him if he saw that happen...I agree, a mature buck shouldn't/wouldn't back down from a fight, but unless he has seen that in this deer in question, then it is a moot point.

Bringing up what makes a deer appear older is different from observing the questioned deer doing it. Since I am neither acquainted with this deer nor will I ever see the deer live on the hoof, I asked if he had, that's all

I'm leaning towards Texas Buckeye's analysis. But I'm not very good at aging on the hoof!

Either way, happy hunting.

I'll help you guys out... same deer in the exact same spot last year. I've gotten a better game camera since then but I thought he was at least 4 1/2 last year. It appears he's gained a little spread but lost a little mass.



I guess there's only one way to know for sure and that is if my son gets to ground check him

That kind of brisket is neither saggy nor a sign of age. It doesn't even "sag" below the chest. I have many a 2.5 yo deer that has a saggy brisket just like that. This deer is still putting on bady mass, he isn't done growing yet. And his neck is not even close to being rutted up...if that what you think is a rutted up neck then you haven't seen many swollen necks