Hunter 257W":mza51gkh said:
The best time to see the older bucks like this one has always been mid December to a few days after Christmas so these pictures are for all practical purposes taken during the peak rut.
The rut peak depends on your location.
It does seem to be in December in many southern TN counties,
but it is closer to mid-November in the TN counties I hunt most.
As to your buck in question,
my best guess remains 3 1/2,
although I believe there's a fair chance he could be 4 1/2,
and even a small chance he could be a spectacular 2 1/2.
He actually looks 4 1/2 in one of your summer pics above,
possibly top-end 2 1/2 in some of the others.
We are all just guessing, and often wrong