Thomahawk,
A 160"+ buck at 3.5 in Tennessee, might not be as far fetched as
you might think. And no, it doesn't have to be on selected land.

If you had a choice of killing a 6.5 year old 110" buck in
Tennessee or killing a let's say, a 165" 3.5 year old buck, which
one would you pick. Be honest now!

A 160"+ buck at 3.5 in Tennessee, might not be as far fetched as
you might think. And no, it doesn't have to be on selected land.

This right here is one of the main reasons why we don't practice QDM on more WMAs statewide.

165 DOES NOT make Boone and Crockett. It starts at 170 NET.

Tomahawk,
Right on!
How very estute. And I should have cleared that up. It IS 170 with a rifle. OR a BOW. A muzzle loader has a separate class as well but I am NO expert with the books. I've only put a couple in there.

I also know there are different classes for typical vs. non-typical. And a bow kill can make Boone and Crockett (170) while a gun kill can't make Pope and Young.

It never ceases to amaze me how many different people throw around numbers like 165 and act like it is anything but a RARE occurrence on public or small private lands in MOST places in Tennessee.

Heck...the Tennessee BOOKS start at 115 (bow) and 140 (gun.

102

I totally agree, as I regularly see them, and many are in fact seen on public hunting areas. The problem is, I'm seeing most of them dead, when they're a 120-plus-class 2 1/2, that was killed a year or two before they became a relatively HUGE antlered buck.

When a buck sports a 140-plus rack as a 3 1/2, just what do you think he had as a 2 1/2 ???

IMO, the biggest reason we're not seeing a lot more 140-class bucks in TN has little to do with soil, and nearly everything to do with us collectively as hunters mainly being so focused on antler scores that we rarely allow a top-end 2 1/2 to survive (at least in most areas being hunted).

When we shift more of our focus to AGE over antlers,
there will be an amazing increase in larger antlered older bucks.
In the meantime, it is mostly the smaller-than-average-antlered younger bucks that are surviving to 3 1/2 or older in Tennessee.

Wes, I respect all of your post, but you would pass a 165 inch deer late in the season in Tenn? Seriously?

Come on Wes,you "regulary" see 160s?

A more common choice I've actually made many times has been in passing up a larger-antlered younger buck in favor of a smaller antlered older buck. As more hunters see the advantages of doing this, we may all have yet more to look forward, along with, a lot more larger antlers.

Absolutely not.

Also, to clear things up. My TWO entries are P/Y NOT B/C. Although ONE of my entries does GROSS close to B/C.

A 165 inch buck in Tn. is a FREAK IMO. But I think it is a MONSTER anywhere.

And with a bow...WHO would pass it up on PUBLIC land. (or a gun for that matter)

But back to the original question.

165, or 125 with a bow...

Does it really matter if you want it and are going to mount it? Shoot what makes you LEGALLY happy!

102

Shoot what makes you happy!

Or, you could reword that to
"Pass up what makes you happy!"

I agree with that logic as well. Funny how they can go together.

If you had a choice of killing a 6.5 year old 110" buck in
Tennessee or killing a let's say, a 165" 3.5 year old buck, wich
one would you pick. Be honest now!

The % of hunters that would pass on a 165" buck in any state "0". Anyone can say what they want but, I ain't buying it for a second. If they don't pull the trigger on a buck that size they are either out of buck tags or ammo.

Is that what were convincing hunters to do now, so Tn will be more like state X? LMBO

Thanks Wes, I understand what you are saying. The reality of the deal is that most couldn't afford to pass a 165 anywhere in Tn, mainly because very few would have a fair chance at ever seeing him again. . . . . . .

The more I think about it though, the 6.5 year old 110" buck would be a very, very, unusual trophy any where their are Whitetail Deer that are hunted on a regular basis.

I shot him because I was focused on that massive neck walking towards me.

There is also an antler trait that usually correlates well with a buck's age: It's "mass" in terms of circumference or diamter of the antlers, which may have little bearing on either B&C score or how many points over an inch that buck grows, i.e. 6-pointer or 10-pointer, etc.

Note that on the above mature bucks, despite their relatively low B&C scores, it is "mass" that dominates what you see at a glance.

Just me, but I get more excited about seeing lots of "mass" on a buck than a "thin" rack that "scores" higher.

Mass goes with age? Yes, it does!

Here is some good hunting advice.

All too often, hunters forget one of the most important aspects of successful deer hunting.
THE WIND!

I've seen hunters who look forward to their trip and have their minds made up long before heading to their stand that this is where they are going to hunt. NO MATTER WHAT. And MOST often is is because they have put so much time/effort/thought into that tree stand that they'll simply forget the wind and hunt.

I don't care how much you paid for your scent control suit, it won't help if the wind is wrong.

ALWAYS scout your spots with ACCESS and EGRESS routes in mind and hunt with the wind IN YOU FACE. Or cross if necessary. BUT NEVER AT YOUR BACK!!!

Also...another often overlooked aspect of the hunt VERY under-rated is human NOISE.

These deer have been relatively undisdurbed for months and now some yahoo comes riding up on a 4-wheeler or slamming a truck door and guess who is listening.

While young deer may not care, OLD deer DO. And they learn QUICK to relate ANY human noise with danger. EVEN if a LONG walk is involved.

102

I told the GW that I had estimated him to be min 4-1/2 yrs old, but when he checked the jaw teeth, wrote him up as 3-1/2.

Aging deer is part "art", part "science".
Lots of honest mistakes get made.
It is particularly easy to underage a deer by one year.
Really high chance your buck was in fact 4 1/2.

Now if I owned my own large piece of property I might feel differently,...

Check post "GOT FEVER YET...THIS WILL HELP" The buck in the photo was 166 (gross). Now come back to this post...Are you going to let that deer get by?? I target mature deer and that deer was 5.5, but if he would of been a 1.5 genetic freak, he would of still hit the ground. Did not age this deer before I shot it. Like most new cars it was AUTOMATIC.

Yes by now we all know you killed 166....congrats