Just a couple of the 5 - 6 year olds we had on DNK board this year -

The first picture was 6 years old this year but went backward from 170's to 160's so we decided to let him ride to next year in hopes he bounces back - couple of others were 6 but guys passed on them to see what they do next year

Happy to say we have a new long term lease in place -

Future looks bright.

Hell of a setup. You guys are doing it right. You are right about it not being for everyone, I can't imagine the time, money, and work that goes into all that. I guess I just don't want to kill a deer that bad. The txt chain in the blinds is next level.

We have a low fence and it's only 100 acres. Unfortunately I have killed bucks that were too young in some cases but if I didn't shoot it someone else was going to. We are surrounded by small acreage places and meat hunters. Sometimes you just gotta shoot.

yep, those are tough breaks but it happens. We had a really nice 5 year old killed next door too this year. I was disappointed, but not mad. he was a hard deer to pass.

you can't kill 180's if you shoot all the 160's...

.

Believe me I have been there and done that - every situation is different for sure - we are just blessed to be on a large LF property

Questions. If it is was 170 as a 5 year old and regressed to a 160 as a 6 years old, why would you give it a pass unless there were poor range conditions or some other anomaly that justifies the decline in antler size Did the body mass appear to be the same?

Fair question - we have learned over many years that bucks go up and go down at various ages. No rhyme or reason honestly.

So very few on our lease want to shoot a 160 no matter what the age - so in most all cases we pass in hopes that the deer bounces back the following year. This buck potentially could blow up as a 7 year old and be a 180 - we are willing to take that chance - we know we may never see this deer alive again

I agree with tlk about some bucks at times going up and down from year to year. What I have learned is that the rut and how hard a particular buck ruts has an effect how they do the next year. Some bucks just rut harder than others. Some bucks get injured or fight more than others. There are bucks that no mater what they look like post rut just get bigger each year till they reach post maturity. The weather has a lot to do with it post rut then all the way till end of August....if it is very dry during the rut into the post rut and does not rain in March....no matter how much you supplement them in South Texas they will be off. March(based off of a study/article by Stuart Stedman of the Faith Ranch) is a key rainfall month for South Texas post rut going into antler growing season. That was from a very large ranch with no supplemental feeding at the time.

I have said this before on here and will repeat it again. I was told by a very well known South Texas rancher whose family has managed, aged and culled deer for way longer than anyone else I have every met....they were doing this since the late 60's. What he told me was they learned that the bucks on their ranch did their best at 7 yrs of age. He also told me that almost every buck that was really big at 6 and then if he dropped down at 7....always rebounded and was bigger the next year. Said he never had a really big buck that went down at 7 and never recovered(less serious injury). That year he told me that, he said he had a now 7 yr that was a 180's class 5x5 at 6....then went down to a 160's type 8pt now at 7. He was letting him go hoping he would follow the bucks in the past and be much bigger the next year at 8 yrs of age. Like tlk stated...they were willing to take a chance on a buck like that based off of past history. The key is that genetically, he is not hurting you one bit. IME in South Texas and in the Hill Country bucks on ranches I managed looked the best at age 7...that is when we tried to take trophies if at all possible.

Great examples of nutrition and letting age work in a whitetail population. Still after 40 years I am amazed at how many 'hunters' can't tell me a thing about how old a deer is other than how many points he has on his head. When one of my friends says after a sit he's found a management buck my first question is - describe him to me? If they start with the points I cut them off immediately and politely say -no tell me about the body I don't care about what he has on his head. I already know you wouldn't be telling me about him if you thought it was a trophy......Has he got a belly/sway back? Is he standing flat footed? Does he have kneed pads? Does he walk arthritic? Does he have a saggy brisket? What's his face look like? Long/narrow? Short/fat? Tell me about his eyes? Wrinkles? Jowels? Saggy skin under his jaw? What about half rings in front of his ears? These are just a few clues that can be used to identify mature deer in the hierarchy of the deer world. Again, I don't believe you can have an effective management plan if your lease members can't make educated assumptions on the age of their ranches deer. When they get really good I bet they can age their does like some of the esteemed members of this forum most likely can! Just sayin......

That's what makes all this fun and not just business!

I'm new, so I'll just ask....you really have a clean 210" typical y'all are passing on???

For real......7.5 years old. I would be kicked off that lease after killing that 210 typical. Because I would on a low fence lease.

Anything fun can be ruined if taken too seriously. Most just like to be out in the woods and enjoy nature but some have an obsession with horns. At the end of the day its just a deer, and not that big of a deal.

Not perfectly clean but yes. One kicker and one split brow and he will still green net over 200”

And he would hang at our camp when he was taken from you. I guess you would have some pictures though

HaHa! Truth!

There are places to enjoy shooting whatever you want and places to focus on trophy deer. I have both and to be on the trophy places you sign and acknowledge all of those rules and stipulations including forfeiting deer taken against the rules or you don’t get on.

To be fair 99% of people with a bad mentality wouldn’t make it through a screening process anyway. These places are not open to just anyone with a checkbook

Oh I hear ya. If I signed up for that then that's what I would abide to. I just never could be on someones lease or let anyone lease on to mine.

Yall have fun.

I would think that this is south Texas and 1000's of acres. Else you couldn't let bucks like this grow to 7-8 years. If you hunt the leases I have been on, hunters are so close a buck with a 130 rack would not make it til sun down. The cost of a lease you are on I couldn't afford the feed bill.lol
However, I have a few bucks that have the older type of signs. I couldn't tell a 7 yr. buck from a 6 ....I don't think....as I don't have to. I have a buck now with the look of an old buck as the eyes and skin around the eyes show old age....however he is illegal where I hunt as his antlers have little spread.
I enjoy watching deer of all sizes and I take a buck every 4-5 years..I'm happy with that. I don't take hunting to a point of such pressure to kill what caliber of deer these bucks come from. I can see how serious these hunters are...this kind of hunting takes the fun out of what I enjoy so much. If I had all the money in the world...maybe I could become this type of hunter. But rest assured...I would make sure I would know each large buck by his first name..lol. I would make ""my blind and area" the best place on the lease. Hunting a lease like this would be fun just to watch such bucks. I can just see me when I pulled the trigger how nervous I would be until I got the tape out.
How do you prove the age of a deer? The tooth thing is only about 60% right and that is supposed to be the best tool. Just someones openion couldn't be enough probably...just the total inches is the real fact wheather to shoot a particular buck....I suppose.
Man..what pressure those hunters are under.

"Man..what pressure those hunters are under." meh, pressure? I have tons of fun at our lease. We have a somewhat similar, albeit less successful, set up. Spend tons of time there. The beauty of a large, mature buck ALIVE AND WELL in the pasture is an almost majestic sight which can be enjoyed over and over. No matter how pretty the mount, they are always more attractive when breathing. I'll be down this weekend and it will be blast! I'll go down there three or four weeks after that and it will be another blast.

Life is good if you only allow it to be.

Very well stated Hud...you and I are very much the same I think. I love watching a good buck and hoping he makes it another year
I haven’t shot a trophy buck in 7yrs and I’ve had several opportunities. Guess it’s an FOP thing but much more enjoyable watching my grandson, granddaughter or someone else have the rush that hunting a big buck brings.
I’ve had my days and bragging rights....pass the torch

Yup, learned my lesson the hard way, I passed on younger bucks many times to literally watch it jump the fence and minutes later it get shot.

I killed the biggest buck we've ever killed on our place and I'm sure many would scold me by I honestly couldn't believe he was still walking. I knew if I passed on a good one yet again I'd never see him again. It's all good. Family place and I don't have to pay big bucks to have rules. My family absolutely loves venison and I have way more fun butchering and finding new ways to eat them (I've posted a bunch in the recipes section this year) . As my grandad always says, you can't eat the horns.

Truthfully you can never "prove" the age of a deer unless it is born and raised in a pen or collared - however with the use of trail cameras you can keep track of a buck over the years and get a really good idea of how old he most likely is -

Also guys who sign up for this type of lease know full well up front what the deal is - so they do not feel pressure as you may think - most all I have hunted with enjoy the challenge of growing big deer and understand it takes a lot of patience and self control