Dang right.Truth in this statement and I believe more folks are not sharing and posting pics mainly for this reason.

That's a nice one and agree probably 150 pounds.

That dude looks to be way over 150 lbs.

Agreed, but people have a hard time not bragging and it bites them in the end!

We have been on the same lease (was 5000 acres, now is about 3500) for 15 years in Mason County. We only shoot mature deer and all hunters are required to report all kills.
We see a 150" deer about every 3-4 years. A 130" - 140" is the normal big buck. We got one that scored 152" this year. Everyone came over to see it.

OP didn’t ask about Nebraska but I can tell you I’ve never seen a buck up here over 150. I see lot of pictures but I’ve hunted since the mid 70’s and never seen any.

Most hunters never see a deer over 140".

Hunted Sterling County (around 7,000 acres) for about 9 years with ten hunters. We had one taken that just went 150 and another in low 140's over the 10 years. Lot of deer in the area.
I am now hunting in northern Jack county ( 200 acres). Been there over 10 years. I killed one in 2016 that went 157 2/8 (Official B&C measurer scored it) entered in Texas Big Game Awards. First and only deer I have seen even close. Don't know where he came from. We have taken a couple of low 130's in that time. Mature bucks are usually 8 pts. and score around 115.

We hunt 320 acres in south texas. We do our best with what we have to feed protein and corn, plant what we can when we can when the rain allows and have water stations. We do annual population survey estimates, we work on doe numbers as much as we can without turning the place into a battle zone. We have had the place for 13 years this year and in that time we went from only a doe and a spike sighting the first year to many good deer. We have killed 4 deer in the mid to upper 140's and one 130 inch 8. We have TC pictures of one that was shot a few years ago that went in the low 160's and we have pictures of a few that we have never seen that we would estimate to go into the 150's. Im positive if we would let some of the bucks that we have shot at 4-5 go another year or two we would have several in the 150's, but such is life with a small LF property. The older they get the less often we see them.

I think MOST counties in Texas have the genetic potential to produce 150" deer. Without doing any research I would say that many don't reach that potential very often. The reasons have already been stated but once again its age and nutrition. Many factors go into the age and nutrition equation and they have all been restated on this forum and elsewhere a million times over. Generally the size of bucks killed has gotten bigger and bigger, IMO. This is due to information/education/public awareness of basic quality deer management techniques. Armed with all this information it would seem we would be doing even better. IMO the primary reason most hunters aren't killing bigger bucks is that too many bucks are getting killed at too young an age. Yes, that is a very obvious statement for a lot of yall and hopefully most of yall.
WHY so many are getting killed may not be as obvious.
One reason is that so many small properties have the mindset that if I don't kill it my neighbor will. That is human nature and I don't have an answer for it besides a large cooperative effort between adjacent landowners which is very tough to pull off.
Second reason too many young bucks are killed is the rising price of leasing. Free market, supply and demand, whatever you call it has driven up the price and likely no stopping it. I don't have a solution for this either and personally im not complaining cause I feel landowners should get all they can get. What happens with the higher lease price is that hunters are putting TOO MANY HUNTERS on the property so that they can hunt at a lower price per hunter in order to pay for the overall lease cost.
Advise.... Nobody asked for my opinion and im admitting its not worth anymore than a lot of the BS on here that IS listened to. If you want to consistently kill bucks then find the biggest property you can that hopefully has good neighbors. Then put as few hunters on there as you can afford. Then try to encourage/influence everyone to only shoot mature bucks and not too many of them. And of course pray for rain.

I'd say the biggest problem keeping deer from reaching maturity and/or 150 is too many of the wrong deer getting shot and not enough of the right deer getting shot. We shoot 10+ deer every year off our 300 acre place, the difference is usually 1 or 2 are bucks and the rest are does. The bucks is usually our one bigger buck and whatever cull we find. Some years we just shoot does. There are several of us that hunt the place, me my wife my dad and my brother and his wife. If we all shot a buck, which we easily could, it would be an entirely different result.

I would tend to agree that it would be more common than we think but it would probably going to take most deer getting to 5 1/2 in age to have a chance to see 150, and in most areas of the state most bucks either get shot way before then or get so smart that you're unlikely to see them. It's a little like saying that the average human man is unlikely to grow a full beard when there's some factor that causes men to either die before the age of 16 or become a hermit

Clay and Montague
Also Denton Collin

I think the area I hunt around Round Mountain is capable of producing 150" given the # of mature bucks in the high 130s and 140's we've killed over the last 5 years. I had one on camera early this past season that I think would be close, except he'd already broken a very tall G2 on one side by the time we saw him. Never saw him in person, and I don't think I've ever seen a 150" deer in real life in that area. I'm sure there are wiley old bucks out there that never go to feeders that have made it into maturity...

I'm with SlowDrifter, there's probably not a lot of self-reporting of 150"-class deer, lest the price of leases go through the roof!

The OP asked about "unheard of or extremely rare". I would be surprised if that applies to Clay or Montaque. No first hand knowledge so im prepared to be corrected if wrong. I know even less about Denton Collin but isn't that where there are some small pockets of really big deer??

Not every area in the state is capable of producing bucks over 150” on a consistent basis. Some areas you would think would pump them out won’t do it.

Other areas you would never think would produce 150” deer produce a bunch of them.

He was probably joking. If folks would not shoot young deer we have big deer there but you need 1000 to 3000 acres to yourself in the first two counties to do it every year consistently. We shot 2 does there on 1000 acres this year but every tom dick and harry will lease every 100 acres for $20 to $30 an acre expecting a 150 inch only to shrug their shoulders. Been this way for 15 years now there.

I don't know enough about the counties but I thought it may of been sarcasm. Should be a rule on here to put an asterisk or something when sarcastic. Txduck, rest of your post makes sense too.

The problem is if you wanna shoot 150s you have to pass on 140s and most won't pass on a 140

So if you want a 160 you pass on a 150. If you want a 170 you pass on a 160. In the real world I don't believe it works like that. At least around here.

LOL valid point don but I agree in theory ... but you have to start somewhere to build up to maximum potential. We have been passing on our place near Ozona for a number of years and getting to the 140 range is about all I think we will ever see due to genetics, water, food, etc.

Sometimes a 140 is all the country will produce. Deer don't keep getting bigger and bigger in perpetuity, they max out at some point.


I knew a deer that was low 170's at a 4 year old. let him walk due to age and thinking he had 180" genetic potential. Next year was bad drought year and he only got to 150's. Was killed as a 8 year old and had never gotten out of the 150's since his biggest rack at 4.



I know good ranches with good programs in place that haven't ever broken 150". I know other ranches with kind of archaic management practices that are in some questionable country that have shot deer up into the 180's. Its all about location and genetics more than anything.

There is a lot of truth to this and what it boils down to is if you are willing to sit and maybe not getting a buck during the season or several seasons.
Most of the biggest bucks you will find on any property are going to show up at the very end of the season when most hunters have already filled their tags and their attention has shifted to spring fishing season.