I wouldn't let point count determine how old I thought a deer was. I know genetics vary from area to area but we have seen more than a handful of 2 year olds with 10+ points.
I wouldn't want to make the call to pass or not on those phots. Not all deer looks the same, and to me deer that live in areas with good agricultural groceries and protein feed look different than ones who don't. Wouldn't be surprised to know he is middle aged mature or older. He sure sits down on his hooves a lot and has a sloped rump.
I never said it did, I said we have 3.5s and 4.5s that both look like that (gut, neck, back, legs). So those being a given, I moved on to the other point, what are the antler genetics and when do they appear? I know our genetics-do you know yours? We have three main genetic lines for bucks at our place. The two most predominant lines typically have 8 points at 3.5 years of age, with more points appearing at 4.5 and older. We do have one line that will have as many as 13 at 2.5, but the conformity is typical from offspring to offspring, with kickers in the same spots. If the third line is difficult to age by body confirmation, the antlers give another data point because they gain notable mass and some length with each age progression, if not points.
Back to the deer at hand, I see what you are saying about his hooves and rump. Weirdly, he almost looks a little poor, but it's too early to be rutted down. After reading one of the good articles posted on here a while back about aging, nothing would surprise me. He could be 3.5, he could be 6.5.
