There are some “active” breeders that run so much during the rut during their middle age they lose quite a bit of antler because of it, and then once the spurt of youth ends and they have stopped chasing tail “as much”, they grow bigger antlers from the lower expenditure of rut energy.

There are some deer that are more consistent breeders and they will breed one doe a season and call it a day and they can have more consistent antler growth as the years come along.


Just one of many factors that goes into a buck expressing antlers at any given age….and one we have zero control over, and no real way to predict.

Big8, good to see you post. Thanks for the feedback.
I’m not sure which Ranch youre referring to for you. Unless it’s not your primary then I likely know.
Hope all is well.

What is your definition of YEARLING? I don't think a 18 month old buck is a yearling and if on my hunting area, he better be more than a spike.

A yearling is an animal which has had his/her first birthday and not his second. If you have a hard time accepting this, check with Webster's or a good wildlife biologist. Deer which were born in the spring of 2023 are fawns, and will not be yearlings until next year.

year·ling
[ˈyirliNG]
NOUN
an animal (especially a sheep, calf, or foal) that is a year old or that is in its second year.
ADJECTIVE
having lived or existed for a year; a year old:
"a yearling calf"

^^^??? I started this thread and cant remember the word yearling being mentioned(could have missed it.) Im assuming you posted this on the wrong thread by mistake. And, I do agree with longhunters reply about it.

Breathing a little life back into this thread cause I got some new first hand info. I just found the other shed to a deer we killed in 2021 so I’ve now scored both sides.
2019..,We have several pics from the first year(2019) we saw him and y’all can be the judge of his age and score. He appears to have some decent age and several on here and myself thought he scored in the 150s easily.
2020….Pics of him in 2020 and I found one of those sheds that year and found the other the other day. The sheds scored 128 5/8.
2021….Live and dead pics from 2021 so judge his age but certain he has good age. He scored 153.

So in 3 years in which most would say he’s “old enough” all 3 years, he lost close to 30” and then gained back about 25”. The year he dropped so much in score was our best horn year to date.
Just a sample size of one but he really put on a lot later in age. No protein for any of the years.
Draw what conclusions you want but it’s interesting stuff to me.

2019


2020



2021

Did you forget to add in an estimated spread to the 2020 sheds? Figure the answer is no, but I'm struggling to see a 30" decline between '19 and '20. Add in a 16" spread to '20 and you are around 145" which feels closer to the eye test to me.

Double AC, always glad when you chime in on these threads. Your question is fair but I did add in spread. 16" as you said. So, Im certain on the 2020 sheds and he was killed in 2021 so Im certain on that score. I will admit the 2019 is an estimate. The 2019 deer I did a thread about him way back and well respected guys on here mostly had him in the 150s(and higher) but some were mid 140s.
My point posting these scores is the big swing in score REGARDLESS of exact score. So if we just give him about 150 then he goes down close to 22" and then back up about 25" Thats huge swings for a deer thats likely what most would consider "mature", or older, for all those years.

Definitely a big swing in any case. Would love to see the actual score breakdowns for '20 and '21 if those are easily available.

Would be curious to see more pics from 2019 free. From the one you posted, his rack doesn't look all that much different from 2020 (his down year). Could it be that rather than a swing, he just saw his highest growth in 2021? Assuming the 2019 estimate was off?

I may try to dig the score sheets out, but from some scribble notes I show roughly +6" NT, +6" mass, +9" tines from 20 to 21.

I like 0619, hes a smart guy.
I may dig out more pics but I dont want to confuse the issue. You can forget you saw his headgear from 2019 and just use it to help age him for when he was killed in 21. In the context of this thread, the point Im making is his major growth in his last year. Arguably, the 3 years he was likely 5,6,7 or 6,7,8. So, as a 6 or 7 yr old on our best horn/rain year he then went the next year to +25" on an average horn/rain year.
Just one animal but a great rack at either 7 or 8(possibly older) and with no protein and average rain.

INteresting deer. it is possible this guy was only 4.5yo in 2019. His neck line is not all the way down to his brisket and there is a noticeable step in the neck line. His body is big which means he was a solid deer, but the aging aspect may be off some. It is also possible he was a prolific breeder/prolific fighter that year in 2019 and his score suffered from the physical stress of working so hard. Lot of variables.

It is also entirely possible he was 5,6,7 like you said and he just had an off year and then bounced back to the normal for him, regression to the mean if you will. The studies show individuals can bounce around like that and looking at averages across age structure shows the typical increases, not specific individuals

Glad you got numbers on him. did you ever get teeth measured for age from 2021?

Txbuck, yes, its possible he was only 4 the first year. I did an age/score thread on him back in 2019 and most thought older.
And, certainly there are lots of variables that could have driven his score down the second year but looking at all the facts it points to an older deer(his last) putting on a lot.
I hate to mention any lab results cause I have lost a lot of faith in the reliability of that as well as tooth wear. Remember we have 3 years of pics and sightings with this deer. I saw him in person many many times each year. I feel if you look at all the pics(and in person sightings) and then look at the teeth and lab and moosh all that together, you get a good picture of his age. I know the deer like the back of my hand and I feel he was 7 or 8 when killed.

Another side note to be taken away from his history is HOW he added it on the last year. He added 6" of mass from 2020 to 21. He also added a typical point and was trying to get another along with adding two nice kickers. This later in life addition of mass and extra points is what many knowledgeable deer guys will tell you "often" happens. Who doesnt like mass and more points??

Our group already let Trophy bucks get to 6 and likely wont change. We are in a great situation where we usually have enough bucks to chose from that we can let some get to 7 or 8 and watch what happens. This buck is a classic example of what MIGHT happen if you let a buck get past 6. No way is this normal or average but when you Trophy hunt you arent looking at the average deer as much as the outlier.
When this buck was at least 6(my estimate) he only scored 128.5 as an 8 pt. That same year the 4 of us killed 4 bucks averaging 168. Considering that, who wouldnt of killed him as a management buck??? I cant explain the drop in that middle year but Im glad we didnt "cull" him.

Free, I get ya on the tooth thing. I have killed bucks on my place that I would swear were 5+ and tooth wear shows them in the 3yo range. I think range conditions and what-not make a bigger difference on the wear of teeth than anything, and good range conditions make tooth wear less. Also, in Southern OK (where your deer came from) hard stress winters are not the norm, so annular tooth patterns for aging are no where near as precise as in northern areas. So I get ya.

I agree, that buck did look at least 5, in the first pics. I trust you and your guys to have enough knowledge and experience to age a deer through many experiences with them in the field, the pics are a single glimpse that is shot when your time in the field is a whole experience.

I have too seen many a deer pack in the mass and "extras" as they age, and I love that. Some do not, but a lot do. In our neck of the woods, there seems to be a preponderance of bucks that do.

Again, lots of factors that play into a single bucks year to year score. That is why sample size is so important in studying this aspect. Larger sample size says the max rack at age 6-7. But, individually, bucks will vary from year to year and while one may drop another jumps and it goes on....year after year and we beat ourselves up over the constant nag of "will he be better next year?"