Guys are managing for age class
- Thread starter Howboutthemdawgs
- Start date
Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
I’m in PA too and a couple years ago my cousins both shot really good bucks (high 150-low 160” animals) and they sent the jaws in…one came back as 6.5 and the other was 9.5! I’m just glad to see a good rack…a lot depends on what the neighbors are doing…and how accurate they are…still a lot of brown and downers here..
Gravel Road
5 year old buck +
5.5 is my goal. It is so hard to get a buck to that age. It seems like the majority go missing between 4.5-5.5. I do not believe they are shot either, but die of injury or disease or whatever. Here's a nice older deer that might have made the hit list, but he just showed up limping and can't even put his left front leg on the ground. With all the barbed wire fence around, he probably won't make it. Two others that would have been 5,5 this year have not shown up.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Guesses? October pic so before the rut.
My across the road neighbor has 1400 acres high fenced. VERY lightly hunted, heavily predator controlled, no auto collisions. He might burn 250 acres and find four or five dead mature bucks. They kill each other. He said way more deer die from fighting than from getting hunter killed on his place
Above deer recently showed up with one less antler and a large neck wound. I have at least three one horned bucks. I believe a lot more deer die of fight injuries than most folks realize - especially in properties where hunters are very selective - like mine - and the buck population is fairly high
Gravel Road
5 year old buck +
Agree 100%. My neighbor found a nice 160's buck that looked like it was poached because it had one hole right behind the shoulder in the lungs. Nope-turned out to be from a tine.
Bill
Administrator
that's a tough photo. 3.5 at my place but down there probably 4.5 or older.
Bill
Administrator
I'd call him 5.5 or older at my place.
Bill
Administrator
We were trying for 5.5. With EHD it may be a while before we see one of those again. Antlers aren't everything is where we got to. If it's 5.5 it's a mature buck. When my neighbor first got to our area he asked me how I know a buck is 5.5 or older. My answer was if it looks like a big hamster with antlers it is. He finally got that.
Neighbors are everything when your trying to target deer that old. If the neighborhood isn't somewhat on board you're wasting your time trying to shoot what isn't there.
Neighbors are everything when your trying to target deer that old. If the neighborhood isn't somewhat on board you're wasting your time trying to shoot what isn't there.
Gravel Road
5 year old buck +
Hard to tell from just one pic, but maybe 3.5? Seems thin horned for your area and face a little short. Any more pics? I always struggle with pics as it depends on the angle, distance and body position.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
That is very true.
I think it would take a lot of ground, maybe 1000 acres pluss? And that would have to have everything on it, cover/water/safety/plenty of food.
The realistic potential is way different in different areas, a 4.5 year old in one area might be a 160 or better in another it may be a 120.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Not only size but shape. I could have a thousand acres but if it’s long and skinny I’m not insulated from my neighbors so it probably doesn’t help a ton. A big fat square is what you realistically need.
Maybe it is me and my semantics......but if a deer's musculoskeletal structure isnt done growing, then it isnt mature. While one can say their child is mature for their age, deer either 5 and mature, or not. This said, I dont care who shoots what and have killed a 4yo this yr and last year (in a state where 95%+ of deer die at <3yo) to support that. Where it grinds my gears is when media folks are saying "mature" in place of "old" "....for my area". Two different things.
We had EHD whack a portion of OH I hunt. It went from mature as a goal to "3.5 and up" due to the old "gotta fill my tag mentality" so I am a sensitive fella when it comes to that "maturity" term. Be happy if you have mature deer you can hunt on a consistent basis and do not take it for granted. Between lazy and social media hunters....they drive the age down on you one day. I am going to make myself a cup of stress relief tea now. lol
We had EHD whack a portion of OH I hunt. It went from mature as a goal to "3.5 and up" due to the old "gotta fill my tag mentality" so I am a sensitive fella when it comes to that "maturity" term. Be happy if you have mature deer you can hunt on a consistent basis and do not take it for granted. Between lazy and social media hunters....they drive the age down on you one day. I am going to make myself a cup of stress relief tea now. lol
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Another picture of him. I think pics are very difficult to judge from. But I also think it's very difficult for me to tell the difference between a 3.5, a 4.5, and a 5.5.
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Yep - a few make it past 3.5 years, but most don't. Some of the biggest bucks here in Pa. seem to be in suburbs and near cities where hunting is a no-go. Not to say there aren't a few in the mountains, but in AG areas the odds seem higher. Happy your cousins both got older bucks last year.
Side-note ....... a few years ago, a huge buck was bedding regularly just outside the back yard & shrubbery of a home on the edge of town near where you live. Another big buck made its home in a cemetery there. They seem to find places they feel safe in, and have little disturbance.
356
5 year old buck +
I am targeting 4.5 plus on our property. However, with adult children and grandchildren who are just getting into hunting, younger deer will be taken periodically. Our deer coop has introduced age class rather than “points” which was a new concept to most members. At this time we only have two known deer that are 4.5 on the property., and the local farmer (who sees lots of deer when cutting corn and beans) says he sees some “real big’uns” in the area.
Our property is only 45 minutes from downtown Kansas City, so the smaller properties and pressure on public limit the ability to get older age class deer on a regular basis. However, progress is measured in how many are “shot” with a camera rather than a gun when in the blind. To that end, I anticipate we will see more older deer down the road as neighbors harvest does and give the younger bucks a pass.
Our property is only 45 minutes from downtown Kansas City, so the smaller properties and pressure on public limit the ability to get older age class deer on a regular basis. However, progress is measured in how many are “shot” with a camera rather than a gun when in the blind. To that end, I anticipate we will see more older deer down the road as neighbors harvest does and give the younger bucks a pass.
MN Slick
5 year old buck +
We hope the ones with high end potential make it to 5. We suck at aging so it requires us to identify them as soon as possible and track them. The bucks without high end potential are game earlier so there are always targets.
My brother killed one last week we are confident is at least 6. He looked very matoor in 2022. I had one in that I was unfamiliar with so I decided to let him go. I got a long look as close as 15 yds with bow in hand and he just didn't look old. I was also able to compare his body to a 2 year old type buck he was with. and took into account it was the 2nd Sunday of gun season. But I suck at aging so maybe he was 5 plus, haha!!! I did have one of my targets go by two nights in a row but he had one side completely broken off.
My brother killed one last week we are confident is at least 6. He looked very matoor in 2022. I had one in that I was unfamiliar with so I decided to let him go. I got a long look as close as 15 yds with bow in hand and he just didn't look old. I was also able to compare his body to a 2 year old type buck he was with. and took into account it was the 2nd Sunday of gun season. But I suck at aging so maybe he was 5 plus, haha!!! I did have one of my targets go by two nights in a row but he had one side completely broken off.
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