Please I need your help asap

Oki need y'all's help and asap, IM AT THE LEASE. This buck just showed up and I got a important question for you guys. I was thinking about letting him walk and he is the second biggest deer we have seen on cam on this lease and my dad thinks I'm crazy. The biggest deer on the lease I took last year, which was a low 130s 8point. FOR YOU GUYS WITH EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA please help lol. How old do you guys think this buck is and at what age do they usually pop. Like when do they usually make that mature buck jump in alter size if they are going to? He was a 10 last year but only a nine this year and I'm trying to decide what to do,smh


This is 2013

2013 last year


2014 this year a couple of days ago

Drop Him!

*** Edit ***

Seeing as he is a older mature buck and could be in decline due to only being a 9pt this year, I would harvest him in a heart beat!

His hair is all fluffed up, so he looks really big bodied. Even with that, his head is very square, neck and front shoulder are huge and his legs look pretty short. I'd guess he's 5.5 in this photo, so that'd make him 6.5 now. I'd think he's at his prime and may start to decline next year. Shoot him.

Disclaimer - I'm not nearly as good as some of the guys on here at aging or scoring, so I'd put more weight in their opinions.

Kill him he is 7.5 years old and this will most likely be his best year

Scared knees dead give away

that deer is mature.


go ahead and shoot him

Sorry, computer only showed the first photo when I posted this. But, yeah, he's old and I'd drop him.

There is rumors of 150-160s in this area and in the 2013 pics it was super cold and that has something to do with his appearance of being huge.

What county are you in?

If he does not float your boat then wait on the 150-160

I'm not 100% sure that he didn't break that G4 off on that one side this year.... I think he is a nice buck and I'm fine with taking him I just don't wanna shoot him if he's at that point where he might gain 20 inches I'm one year. At what age do you guys normally see them pop????? And I was thinking he was 4.5 last year but I'm not the best at aging deer, just going off of comparison of what the guys on here say. If he's 7.5, I got a deer that must be 10 lol, I'll see if I can find pics of him, he has roles on his neck lol

You are way overthinking this deal. He is mature. You have said he is big for your area. If you like him, shoot him.

Click...boom...take pictures.... .... ...post pictures on THF..

You can't kill a rumor..IME rumors ground shrink very badly. If you like him, kill him since he is post mature.

This

If it makes your heart rate go up and get excited when you think about shooting, bang!! If not, let him walk.

he is 5.5 good buck

Fine deer to shoot. But if you're hesitating, that tells me you might be looking for something else.

He is not going to get better. His front end and roman nose says it all. Bang, flop!

Is he nice, yes. Would I be proud of him, yes... Only reason I am hesitate to take him is because I know that if I'm going to get deer in the 140s and 150s I'm going to have to pass deer of this size. Can someone that has spent time managing please give me an age range on when they can make a jump in size if they are going too and also about what age they will start to decline???

There is not set age range when they will jump. Not two deer herds are the same IME. Some deer make a huge jump from 4 to 5 and some from 3 to 4. Some jump one year only and others multiple years in a row. Weather dictates a lot, but if they do not have the genetics to make that jump you are looking for then it won't happen. IME most deer that make one big jump will only grow a few inches per year till they hit 7 or 8. This buck is 7 or older now IMO. Depending on habitat and weather some bucks will start to decline at 7 while others will at 8 or 9. If you had a good rainfall year this year then he is not going to much better. You can't add genetics with age no matter how long you wait.

Thanks stx this is the info I was looking for. Can you please tell me what characteristics make you think 7 years old?

Big neck, big sholders, big bone, saggy stance, lump jaw, I think I saw a cane laying next to him too

All of this plus gray face and lot of white on all his lower legs to his hooves. Calloused knees show also show age. His body and wide head showed a 6 yr old age last year. Not all post mature bucks show age the same. That do not all get a sway back and lot of loose saggy skin.

Thanks again.... Where do y'all think he will hit the score boards??? Mid 120s???

I'm guessing him to be about 18" just so y'all know

I have him in the mid to upper 120s. Good luck!

I think with his mainbeams and spread he should hit 130 or shade over. Good luck.

X2! Why is it even a question if he's the 2nd biggest seen on lease...he is as good as he will ever be. Very nice buck !

Cause I wanna shoot a 140 class lol and if he was 3.4-4.5 I would let him go this year.... I think lol

X2 beams are long.

That's what I was getting at with my prior post. Nothing wrong with that deer, but if your goal is to shoot a 140 class buck, let somebody else shoot that deer and save your tags for something bigger.

U cannot shoot a 140 class deer where they do not exist. Lots of those rumors have ground shrinkage and a lot of it.

I hunt a small place and have for 12 years, during that time have had pics of 2 deer over 150 and hunted 2 years exclusively for them, never got either one. Had a 140ish last year that I saw several times and have thousands of pics of, this year he would be lucky to score 130 as a 5 year old.

Rambling but if you like this buck shoot him, he is mature and doubt he will ever get bigger. A mature buck is a trophy no matter what the antlers are IMO, they have lived a long life and are smart or would not have made it that long.

If you have bucks on camera that are for sure bigger then wait on them if you want, I have many times and some years gone without shooting a deer waiting on the big one, no regrets but knew the bigger ones were there for sure when passing on smaller bucks.

Words of wisdom

Rather shoot an old buck that has seen his days rather than a 140... But hey its your place and that old boy will thank you

The deer out here are real heavy on the hoof, that's the only thing I know is it's hat to judge by size. They have thousands of acres of wheat to feed on.... Let me see if I can find a pick of a young buck so y'all can see what I mean...

Sorry took forever to upload out here but here is one of our young deer.

Other than "heavy on the hoof" how much do they weigh? He looks nice and fluffy from a cold morning.

Shoot both of the bucks you have posted. The first is older than dirt and the second one is not as young as you think and is only a 6 point

A lot of deer here have a lot of white on them, don't know why, but they just do... Idk how heavy they are, I've never weighed one... Can't take that buck because of antler restrictions. This place has the healthiest looking deer I've ever hunted.

Time to go bang

Shoot the big ole 9! i'm with BOBO and STX, that deer is 7.5 yrs old, probably as good as he'll ever be.

When you get done with him, shoot them 2 ribeye's of the sky afterwards!

I was about to say the same! think they are out of season though

Check out the white on this does

Also check out the weight on this guy! This is the heaviest Texas deer that I have ever seen...

you're spending too much effort worrying what we think.

if he's a good deer for the area, and fully mature, kill him and be happy.

It has nothing to do with that, there's nothing wrong with doing a little homework before you take a deer off a new lease. I used to have a buddy that only shot mature and big deer in wise county and he passed on stuff that everybody and their brother would shoot in wise county. One year his son killed a 163, 16point. I wanna shoot the best deer possible for where I hunt, some deer are no brainers but some deer I would like to see get bigger and wanna see what everyone thinks before I take a deer out that has "what I consider big" 150 inch potential.... Thank all you guys for all your help, I've spent a lot of time on this lease and I'm sure some of you understand why I'm so worried about taking a deer that could have BIG potential. I been hunting for about 18 years and ain't seen a 150s on any place I've hunted, so I would like to give that every chance possible to happen. As far as buck fever goes, a doe can give me the fever lol. My biggest deer to date is about a 134 8point

Yep...

" I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow" Woodrow Wilson

There ya go... I'm trying to give this place the best shot possible before I go get a place in Kansas. I really don't want to drive that far but I also am ready to start taking some serious deer

Nobody has asked. What is your limit for that county? How many tags have you got left and what kind? Where I'm going with this is that if you aren't excited by this deer, I'd let it walk and take a young doe or buck that will taste better. I don't think I'd want to eat a 7.5 or older deer.

I would love to put this deer on the wall and am hunting for him right now as we speak. With that said, if he was a 4.5 year old, I would probably let him walk

sorry if i missed it, but what county is this?

You don't take him someone else will!

nobody else has for about 7 years!

My property backs up to 6,000 acres that isn't hunted