These are the only two pics I have of this deer but I sure think he’s a big one. What are y’all’s thoughts?

Looks to have good mass, maybe some blading too but pics are blurry. He doesn't look exceptionally old to me, 4-4.5 but looks like he may be pushing 140"+ with the mass he has. Better pics needed to know more informedly.

What is your measuring stick for determining “big”? That would be a real solid deer for a lot of average hunters but everything is relative. Not sure hes that old. Need better pics.

I would take em then measure...LOL

agree

by most hunter's measure across the country, the 130" mark is "nice" and the 140" mark is where deer start to get "big". 180" plus are "giants"


Buck has a nice rack, but as mentioned, does not look exceptionally old or big bodied. I would even say he could be a 3 year old, but he's not older than 4 IMO...but I could be wrong. Buddy has a deer that he has been watching for 4 years that is 7 this year and looks like he's a 4 year old.

Lots of areas around the country that flat out won't produce a 140" deer so again, as previously mentioned, its all relative.

Looks like a really nice low-fence buck potentially with more upside.

The more zoomed in a snip you post the bigger he seems to look. Post whole picture for a better look.

He's young, (no belly hanging down). Really nice deer. If you are managing and the neighbors wont shoot him, let him breed. If not choot-em.

3.5-4.0+, mid 130s+, let him ferment some more

Early season as fat as he will be all year. The belly tapers up from the ribs to the flank. The neck comes into the chest high. Both classic body traits of a 3.5 year old in October. The head is balanced. As deep from the top of the eyes down to the jawline as it is long to the tip of the nose. That would indicate 4 1/2-5 1/2 years old. The legs still look long because the body is not filled out which also indicate 3 1/2 in combination with the body. Most indicators point toward a nice 3 1/2 year old buck with his first decent rack. Which is what I would judge him from your pictures. The indicators I used are standards for judging age but there are occasional outliers that break the rules so it is possible he could be a year or two older. I wouldn’t wager anything on that unless it was a deer I had watched for a number of years though. As far as antlers go he has decent mass but nothing crazy. His frame is decent but the beams are not overly long. I think the buck will probably score in the mid to upper 130’s, depending on width. I can not judge width from those pictures. In an area where bucks do not commonly live long enough to mature, he is big
Whether he is big or not depends a lot on where you hunt and how much age the hunters around you let the bucks get before shooting them. That variable runs the gamut in Texas. On a place where the hunters shoot bucks as soon as they are legal, he would be big… like Free mentioned, big depends a lot on where you are. Good luck to you if he is big for where you are and you decide to hunt him.

Edit to add: on those last two pictures he appears to be in the 120’s and looks 3 1/2 years old.

Smokey doesn’t engage on here as much as some but when he does yall should take notes…..
When a knowledgable guy like him takes that much time to spell something out it is worth a lot.
Thanks Smokey.

I really appreciate all the great feedback. I’ll keep you guys posted as the season progresses. What I find weird about this one buck particularly is that I have several nice ones that are in the pen multiple times a day but I have yet to see this one. It’s a small tract of land that’s butted up to core land so I’m assuming there’s going to be several guys roaming into the area looking for that hot doe but without any knowledge of the land I am going in blind. I’ve been hunting out west where this deer along with multiple other ones I have on camera wouldn’t stand a chance. Also, I’m not sure how my neighbors manage either which obviously is pretty important when it comes to passing a deer that would easily make my wall of fame. Again, thanks so much for the information. Best of luck to all you guys this year!

If he makes your wall of fame then get locked and loaded.

Like several have said, "There are only two sizes. Big enough and not big enough and each hunter must decide for himself."

What free said^^^