Disappointed

Disappointed... Pretty sure this is the 7-point I saw several times last year. I expected MUCH more out of him this year. A 7 again, barely.

Oh well!

I've seen this many times. In fact, I believe most buck's rack don't change much year to year. I think once they reach 3.5 or 4.5, their racks are pretty much done. The ones that keep adding inches and points are the rare exceptions.

fairchaser said:

I've seen this many times. In fact, I believe most buck's rack don't change much year to year. I think once they reach 3.5 or 4.5, their racks are pretty much done. The ones that keep adding inches and points are the rare exceptions.

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That has not been my experience at all. A lot of the bucks I photograph that are lucky enough to make it make a substantial jump from 3.5-4.5. The problem around here is getting a buck to live past 3.5.

rsimms said:

Disappointed... Pretty sure this is the 7-point I saw several times last year. I expected MUCH more out of him this year. A 7 again, barely.

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Just goes to exemplify the variations of Nature. Some bucks "have it" and some don't. I've definitely seen bucks that never improve much beyond 3 1/2. Then I've seen those that explode after 3 1/2. Nature gets around to trying everything.

Be grateful , I don't see them on my property as much as you do. still a good looking deer

I see this same thing year after year with a lot of bucks. I want/expect 10-20% increase in gross inches and many times they stay the same, generally speaking, and may even lose a little. It happens, more than we want to believe/accept.

BSK said:

Just goes to exemplify the variations of Nature. Some bucks "have it" and some don't.

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For sure. And more times than not, the ones that "have it" are gunned down at 2.5/3.5, and never have the opportunity to fully express their antler potential at 5.5+.

I agree with fairchaser,BSK, and others. Many nice 8 and 10pointers i see and think they will be shooters next year? Well i never see them again. Thats not the case. I see them just dont recognize them as being the 3 or 4 year ols buck that just aint never going to get much bigger.

ZachMarkus said:

That has not been my experience at all. A lot of the bucks I photograph that are lucky enough to make it make a substantial jump from 3.5-4.5. The problem around here is getting a buck to live past 3.5.

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Agreed. In our area, most bucks greatly improve from 3.5 to 4.5. It's just getting them to that 3.5 threshold and older

Andy S. said:

For sure. And more times than not, the ones that "have it" are gunned down at 2.5/3.5, and never have the opportunity to fully express their antler potential at 5.5+.

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Absolutely true. In fact, ever since I began emphasizing this to my clients (protecting the best 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year-old bucks), they started producing far more top-end mature bucks.

Average antler gross score increase:

1 1/2 to 2 1/2 - 100%
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 - 25%
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 - 15%
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 - 5%

BSK said:

Average antler gross score increase:

1 1/2 to 2 1/2 - 100%
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 - 25%
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 - 15%
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 - 5%

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That's eye opening

I killed this buck two years after this picture and he had the same exact rack. I believe he was 6.5 when I killed him and 4.5 when the pic was taken.

tree_ghost said:

That's eye opening

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Just remember, those are averages from hundreds if not thousands of bucks in Middle TN (although my data matches pretty much all other such data across the Southeast and Texas). Every deer is an individual. Some explode from one year to the next; some don't. I've seen bucks that didn't increase more than a few inches from 3 1/2 to 5 1/2, and then some that increase so much over that time frame it's hard to believe they're the same deer.

But one factor that is amazingly consistent: the largest young and middle-aged bucks tend to become the largest antlered bucks at maturity. Not every time, but the vast majority of the times.

...3.5 to 4.5- 15%.

That's HUGE, although most folks don't realize it... until you look at the rack. We are talking they average 130in 3.5yo is going to be 150in at 4.5.

Or the ultra rare 150in 3.5yo is going to be well into the 170s at 4.5!!!

Very interesting stuff here. Thanks for all the input. Assuming I'm correct that it's the same deer, his rack is significantly larger (in inches), just not points. Truth is, if I get the chance at him while hunting this year, I'll likely take him. I'm just hunting a very small tract of land with lots of other folks hunting all around. I seriously doubt he'd get "a pass."

megalomaniac said:

...3.5 to 4.5- 15%.

That's HUGE, although most folks don't realize it... until you look at the rack. We are talking they average 130in 3.5yo is going to be 150in at 4.5.

Or the ultra rare 150in 3.5yo is going to be well into the 170s at 4.5!!!

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Agreed.

These average numbers are impressive. Take a 3.5 yo 110" deer. At 4.5, he's just a few inches from reaching 130". Nothing at all wrong with that.

I have one that i have watched from 4.5-6.5.
He has his most impressive rack this year. He was bigger at 4.5 than he was at 5.5 though. Nature sure is cool.

Planking said:

I have one that i have watched from 4.5-6.5.
He has his most impressive rack this year. He was bigger at 4.5 than he was at 5.5 though. Nature sure is cool.

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I'm always amazed at how often bucks will have the most visually impressive rack (point length) at 4 1/2, but then decline in score in future years. However, their racks tend to get much more massive in future years, even if their total score declines.

megalomaniac said:

...3.5 to 4.5- 15%.

That's HUGE, although most folks don't realize it... until you look at the rack. We are talking they average 130in 3.5yo is going to be 150in at 4.5.

Or the ultra rare 150in 3.5yo is going to be well into the 170s at 4.5!!!

Click to expand...

How about a 135" 3 yo to 185" 4 yo?