BSK

[deerchaser007]

Another member and myself have been exchanging talk of antler quality by age in TN. I don't have enough years of census in yet to judge the bucks in my area,.. and you are the only one i know that has been at it for a long while. In your years of census on your property,. how many individual bucks have you captured on cam that you can identity from 2.5 years of age til maturity(whatever the age!!). Would you mind showing us some examples of this,. and if possible use a below average, average, and above average 2.5 year old as a starting point. AND,.. especially the key characteristic in which you identify the buck from each year.

If its not possible for you to do this,.. i appreciate any input you could share on the subject. THANKS

 

[BSK]

If you look at the "stickied" thread at the top of the QDM Forum "Field-Judging Buck Age examples" all of the pictured bucks except one (the summer-time velvet buck 6 1/2+) were photographed on my property.

I would have to add them up, but I've probably photographed 150+ individual bucks 2 1/2 or older on my place over a 10-year span. Now I've got literally thousands of pictures of bucks from clients properties in TN, KY, GA, MS, and AL, but considering they paid for that data to be collected (or collected it themselves and paid me to analyze the data) they own the data and I don't post those pictures publicly. However, I'm always happy to share the data I own.


When it comes to aging bucks the characteristic I put the most faith in is the size of the neck, especially the neck/jaw-line juncture and the neck/shoulder-chest juncture. Secondly is the depth of the chest/shoulder and the relationship between the depth of the chest and the length of the front legs. The older a buck gets the "shorter" their front legs look in relation to their chest. The size/shape of the hams can also be useful, but I find this to be one of the most variable features.


As for antler development in TN, the vast majority of my antler data comes from the the ridge-and-hollow hardwoods west of Nashville to around KY Lake. Primarily the Hickman, Maury, Perry, Humphreys, Houston, Benton County area--because that's where the vast majority of my client's properties are.

But from all that data, the average gross antler scores by age are:

2 1/2: 80-85
3 1/2: 105-110
4 1/2: 115-120
5 1/2: 120-125

Of course, these are averages. The range of potential scores per age-class is huge, being 100 or more gross inches at 3 1/2 (a 3 1/2 year-old buck can be anywhere from 50 to 160 or more) and being even wider by 5 1/2.

But what I find most interesting about my average antler score per age-class data is that it almost perfectly matches the average antler score per age-class data collected on the King Ranch in TX. TN bucks may not grow the antlers Midwestern state do, but we can match South TX.

Now if we we're talking about the best areas of TN, say Williamson County, I would add 10-15 inches to each average. And from what I've seen from KY pictures, I would add 15-20 inches to each average for south-central and southwest KY bucks. For instance, I would feel very comfortable with a 125 gross average for 3 1/2 year-old bucks in KY.

 

[Mike Belt]

Initially my first thought was ours are better than that. I had to remind myself that the ours I was thinking about were bucks that had been killed. We pass on alot of bucks before zeroing in on one of those "above average" shooters. I'd say your figures are just about right.

 

[BSK]

Initially my first thought was ours are better than that. I had to remind myself that the ours I was thinking about were bucks that had been killed.

And that's the problem most hunters have with my figures. They are only looking at bucks they have killed and hunters invariably gun for the largest antlered members of each age-class. Now sometimes this isn't intentional. They are simply misjudging age due to antler size. They look at a 70 or 80-class buck and incorrectly assume the buck is young. Yet that buck may be 4 1/2 years old. I often wonder about the number of really small-antler mature bucks that get killed but we never see those pictures posted. In fact, I bet a lot of small-antlered mature bucks never get aged because of the small antlers. Hunters generally only want to know the ages of their biggest bucks.

Heck, even though the harvest regulations on my property are simply age-based regardless of antler size, hunters still descriminate by antler size. Our average 2 1/2 grosses 80-85, but our average harvested 2 1/2 is around 95.

What hunter after a decent buck is going to kill this fork-horn 2 1/2 year-old?

...or this 3-point 2 1/2 year-old?

But that same hunter will quickly shoot this 2 1/2 year-old. In fact, we did! He ended up grossing almost 110, which is a big 2 1/2 year-old:

...or how about this 2 1/2 year-old? Heck, I probably would have shot this guy! I believe he's the largest-antlered 2 1/2 we've ever photographed on the property.

 

[chemdoc]

i really enjoyed this post BSK. Thanks.

 

[deerchaser007]

BSK,.. are the bucks in the stickied thread above the same bucks year to year? If yes,.. i did not know this. And how exactly are you identifying these bucks from year to year. I'm working harder and harder on this,.. and just can't see everything i need to i assume.

BTW,.. thanks for all the info in the above post. Very informative on antler growth in your area.

 

[BSK]

BSK,.. are the bucks in the stickied thread above the same bucks year to year?

No, I know their ages because most of them were later killed. Although some are assumed ages, simply because they show the classic body shape for that age, or we were able to identifying their age the previous year.

And how exactly are you identifying these bucks from year to year. I'm working harder and harder on this,.. and just can't see everything i need to i assume.

Most of the bucks we identify from year to year are identified through antler characteristics. Often little twists and turns of the rack, or over-all shapes, are repeated from year to year. But I've also been able to identify bucks from one year to the next by body markings. Each buck's black chin-strap marking is unique and stays the same for the buck's lifetime. Same with white throat-patch shape and size. Or maybe a buck has a notched ear or a scar that can be identified from year to year. I had one buck I could identify from year to year because of a wart in the front corner of his right eye.

 

[Football Hunter]

good info,wow

 

[Boone 58]

Thanks Brian, always enjoy you sharing your knowledge! I have learned alot from you.