And it never gets any better?

Looks like a 6 yo. he should improve.

No.

X2

If your area was like ours Don, the rain came all at the wrong time. I would think in a better year he could add a little more. But a heck of a good looking mature buck as he is

I would think no. I know there may be regional differences, but he looks like a really promising 3 year old. Still appears long legged and bug eyed, and his neck comes in high. If I am correct, as a 4 year old, you could expect to see a nice jump in his head gear.

I would say this coming year should be his best if you get the timely rains. He looks like a mature rutted down buck in those pics to me...5 or 6 yr old. Hill Country bucks that I managed ranches on peaked at 7 or 8 in great rainfall years.

I also thought a rutted 5yo or so, next year could be his best

Is he a pet? He must be secured behind bars like shorty guzeman. Gettin where just sein 4 yr. Olds and passin them in east tx can be a stupid idea. If that deer is six Id say he was better last year. Some bucks fall off in antler quallity faster than others. I love a in his prime free range 5 yr old and I'd bet my life that 99.9% of east Texans would never pass on a 5 or a 6 yr old and 98% of them have never even seen one in a real life gun in hand hunting senerio. I've killed alot of bucks over 5yrs old, but I am the.01% and I dont pass on any free range 5 year olds for 2 reasons. Wont ever see him again and he may fall off horribly at 6. I have a 183in 5 yr old on the wall a 170 in 5 yr old, a 167in 5 yr old, a 163in 5yr old,a 170 in 4yr old, and a 169 in 7yr old all from east tx free range wild country. I have a couple decline 7 and 8 year old racks non mounted. Can you figure out the east tTexas puzzle? I can.

I know he is at least 6. He jumped in 3 years ago and was a 10 point. This year and last year he was a 10. He is not a pet. Either smart or lucky that he is still alive. He comes to eat with the Ibex sometimes after the season is over.

REALKILLER is a real killer. Im very impressive with the size and age bucks he rattled off. All freerange and East Texas to boot. I also agree with most all of what he said. Every group of hunters on a lease or in an area can be driven by their unique expectations/situation but in MOST cases its very tough to pass up any "big enough" 6 yr and almost as tough to pass up a 5. I agree with his reasons that you may never see again(his wariness, natural death or neighbor kill) or they may not necessarily get bigger at 6(depending on supplemental feed, range conditions, rainfall etc) and I will add that his rack could be broke the next year. On this particular buck I would of guessed 5+ but a one pic ageing without knowing the situation is tough. You say hes at least 6 so IMO if hes "big enough" to be shot then that would of been a good idea. My guess is hes never seen next year due to reasons above OR he goes down hill at least a little.

I'm curious how you aged these deer? Very hard to get a history on free range east Texas bucks.