Guys are managing for age class

[Howboutthemdawgs]

What is mature to you? I’ve been setting a 5.5 goal. Currently the only 5.5 or older I have are deer that have most likely just been high graded. Nothing special rack wise. I have a couple 4.5’s that would be considered “trophies” in most circles but they’ve gotten a pass from me. Just curious where your threshold is on age for “trophy” not management bucks.

*these ages I’m professing to know as fact are educated guesses.

 

[Mortenson]

5.5 is my goal as well. Tried talking myself into 4.5 a couple of times but couldn't do it. I still like appealing racks though. If a scuzzy 5.5 walks by opening day, and if I know of something better, I'm passing. Only use 1 buck tag a year. This year will get an asterisk. With our deer population off something like 75+%, I'll most likely choose to shoot a meat buck in January.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

5.5 is my goal as well. Tried talking myself into 4.5 a couple of times but couldn't do it. I still like appealing racks though. If a scuzzy 5.5 walks by opening day, and if I know of something better, I'm passing. Only use 1 buck tag a year. This year will get an asterisk. With our deer population off something like 75+%, I'll most likely choose to shoot a meat buck in January.

What has your deer population down so much - EHD?

 

[Mortenson]

What has your deer population down so much - EHD?

Yes, EHD was the big wild card this year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

What is mature to you? I’ve been setting a 5.5 goal. Currently the only 5.5 or older I have are deer that have most likely just been high graded. Nothing special rack wise. I have a couple 4.5’s that would be considered “trophies” in most circles but they’ve gotten a pass from me. Just curious where your threshold is on age for “trophy” not management bucks.

*these ages I’m professing to know as fact are educated guesses.

Very hard to do here in Pa. - unless you're a BIG money outfit with several thousand acres all to yourself. A 3.5 buck is an accomplishment, 4.5 or 5.5 is a rarity here. I'd love to encounter a bona fide, actual 5.5 year-old buck in the woods, just to see a mature one live "on the hoof." I may have encountered a couple over the years that were very big-bodied & big-racked - but had no history with them. No idea how old they were.

For the most part here, 3 points on a side is going down. Age doesn't factor in for most hunters here.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Very hard to do here in Pa. - unless you're a BIG money outfit with several thousand acres all to yourself. A 3.5 buck is an accomplishment, 4.5 or 5.5 is a rarity here. I'd love to encounter a bona fide, actual 5.5 year-old buck in the woods, just to see a mature one live "on the hoof." I may have encountered a couple over the years that were very big-bodied & big-racked - but had no history with them. No idea how old they were.

I totally get it. It’s sad for most of us that we cannot see a mature buck routinely. It’s a unicorn in most places and it’s 10000000% hunters fault. To see a top end representative of a species is a true gift.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

5.5 for us too. We are getting to the point that there are enough 4.5’s around that it just isn’t that old anymore. 20 years ago was a completely different story.

Even having 1 good neighbor on the same page (which we have) has made a big difference.

Then there’s the other neighbors. I don’t fault anyone for harvesting a buck legally I just wish we could get more of the neighbors on board.

Picture above is a 3.5 that I passed up multiple times this year. Hard to get a 160 when they get shot @ 130 by the neighbors two years to soon.

Again good for him. I know he put plenty of time in to harvest a buck that nice. Hopefully next year they will be holding out for a 4.5 anyway.


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[Howboutthemdawgs]

5.5 for us too. We are getting to the point that there are enough 4.5’s around that it just isn’t that old anymore. 20 years ago was a completely different story.

Even having 1 good neighbor on the same page (which we have) has made a big difference.

Then there’s the other neighbors. I don’t fault anyone for harvesting a buck legally I just wish we could get more of the neighbors on board.

Picture above is a 3.5 that I passed up multiple times this year. Hard to get a 160 when they get shot @ 130 by the neighbors two years to soon.

Again good for him. I know he put plenty of time in to harvest a buck that nice. Hopefully next year they will be holding out for a 4.5 anyway.


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So frustrating.
So I heard Craig Harper one time talking about a speech he gave to a huge hunting club in west Tenn. They brought him in to brief the members on the upcoming season and expectations, etc. The club had stated a goal that they wanted to kill a booner, and giving their size and habitat it was definitely doable. Well Craig was looking over their harvest records. He tells the crowd I see yall killed two booners last year. The guys just looked at each other like what the hell is he talking about. After a long pause one of the guys said uhh no we didn’t. Craig replied, yeah you did, you see those two 140” 3 year olds, those were booners, just killed 2 years too soon.

 

[bueller]

I target bucks 2.5 and older but will dip under that bar. To put this in perspective I probably have 80 hours on stand this year and the only buck I've had within range was a spiker. I saw one 2.5 twice out of bow range. Couple more days left with the rifle.

 

[BenAllgood]

4.5 is almost fully mature. At 5.5 they can start putting resources toward their full antler growth. Most hunted neighborhoods don't let them get those ages routinely, so they're rare in those locations. Count yourself lucky if you are in one of those places. You'll definitely know if you're in one of those spots if you run enough cameras.

 

[Teeder]

The best I can do aging a deer is " That's a Shooter" or "That's Not a Shooter".

I manage for "That's a Shooter!".

 

[H20fwler]

A lot of 3.5 year olds here have potential to be pretty nice 130-140+, 4.5 is normally a really nice buck.

90% of the hunters around here will not pass up a 130 or better.

 

[Kdog]

On one of my properties we have been 4.5 the last two years (I have only owned it for two seasons). That will change to 5.5 next year. On my other property it's whatever. I have only "seen" three there that I would say were 3.5 or older in the last 30 years. I have gotten pictures of several 4.5 or older, but it is typically once a year, and always at night,

 

[Bszweda]

I think we need to ask ourself how many acres does it take to manage age structure for deer. Also the realistic potential of a property. No point in hunting a ghost.

 

[SwampCat]

We target 4.5 yr old - that doesnt mean we kill them at 4.5. Our deer will score about as much at 4.5 as five. Deer below my next door neighbor killed this yr as a 5.5 9 pt. He was a 10 pt last yr. My son killed a 6.5 9 pt two years ago. Deer was a really nice 10 pt at 4.5. My biggest deer, a 10 pt lost an 8” time from yr before when he was an 11 pt. My wife’s best deer was a 10 pt as a 4.5 yr old buck and a 10 pt when she killed it a year later.

We try to kill them as a 4.5 yr old deer - that does not mean we are going to. Have an 11 pt 6.5 yr old deer on my place this year that has been here for at least past four years. We have laid eyes on him one time in last three years - and that includes out of season - and I live on my land

We start trying to kill them at 4.5 and usually dont get them that year. While they may gain a little bit of mass each year - it doesnt make up for losing a five or six inch tine

 

[Tree Spud]

I consider in our area a mature deer starting at 4.5 years old. Getting them to 5.5 yo is really hard and i have only experienced (1) 7.5 yo on the property.

I have one neighbor who is starting to better embrace the letting the smaller bucks , 3.5 yo and younger, go. He asked me my secret to taking the larger bucks I have. I told him that you have to be willing to eat tag soup especially at the end of the season. He questioned me on that. I told him that so many 3 yo's and younger are taken in the first 2 days of gun season and most guys just don't not have the staying power to hunt the rest of the season. Those remaining 3 yo's if let go, become the the 4.5 yo's the following season and that's when you start to see the difference in antler growth.

 

[Teeder]

I need to do more studying.
How old do you suppose this buck is?
Pretty sure he's been here a couple years. This year may be the 3rd that I've seen him.

 

[Mortenson]

I need to do more studying.
How old do you suppose this buck is?
Pretty sure he's been here a couple years. This year may be the 3rd that I've seen him.

He definitely has some characteristics of a 5.5

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I need to do more studying.
How old do you suppose this buck is?
Pretty sure he's been here a couple years. This year may be the 3rd that I've seen him.

Wow definitely a tank. Mature for sure. He’d be on the list

 

[Tree Spud]

I need to do more studying.
How old do you suppose this buck is?
Pretty sure he's been here a couple years. This year may be the 3rd that I've seen him.

Large body and muscular buck. When that belly begins to sag below the chest looking at a mature buck.