Stud 2.5 year old?

[ZachMarkus]

Lots of potential with this buck if he's as young as I think he is. What do y'all think?

 

[cbhunter]

I think 2.5 is most likely. And yes, great potential

 

[megalomaniac]

Yup, that's a top 5% 2.5yo... pushing 115in. LOVE seeing young bucks like that, he has a real chance of hitting 145 to 150 at maturity.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Unbelievable 2.5 IMO. Best of luck Zach!

 

[Popcorn]

fantastic 2.5! lots of potential all around!

 

[pockets]

Gonna be a good one for sure.

 

[tree_ghost]

Absolute stud in the making!

 

[Andy S.]

If you made me pic an age, I would go 3.5. He could be a "tweener". Suspect the buck with his tail to camera is 2.5 for reference. Do you have any more pics/angles, mainly want to see his rear ham better.

 

[Lincoln Co Archer]

If you made me pic an age, I would go 3.5. He could be a "tweener". Suspect the buck with his tail to camera is 2.5 for reference. Do you have any more pics/angles, mainly want to see his rear ham better.

Exactly where I was falling Andy. His front half screams 2.5, but from this pic and angle, his back half looks 3.5.

 

[BSK]

I lean towards 2 1/2, but 3 1/2 is a real possibility.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Think Andy is right. Looks closer to what I would expect the body shape of a summer time 3.5 year old to look like where I am in west Tennessee, but I don't know where you are at. Once his neck swells, he will look a bit thicker and may be easier to field judge an age.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

He looks 2.5 to me but hard to tell this time of year.

 

[BSK]

Bucks can REALLY fill out between now and November. Here's a 3 1/2 year-old buck from mid-September to late October from last year. In the picture on the left (mid-September), his legs look really long in comparison to his chest depth, and his neck is very narrow. But in the picture on the right (late October), he's a filled out stud.

 

[Good time Charlie]

Yea they are hard to age right now...but I think you are right with the 2.5 assumptions. they are all nice deer

 

[ZachMarkus]

Here you go @Andy S.

 

[chart1300]

His legs look long but his belly and back appear pretty square. If I had to put and age on him I'm leaning 3 1/2 but either way another yr or two he will be a giant.

 

[Andy S.]

Here you go @Andy S.

I still vote 3.5, but man, that last pic really makes him look young. Just another testamenet to how hard one pic, one angle and one pose can be on aging deer.

 

[BSK]

I still vote 3.5, but man, that last pic really makes him look young. Just another testamenet to how hard one pic, one angle and one pose can be on aging deer.

Exactly. And that's why I'm always hesitant to give ages on bucks when someone gives me one picture to look at. Heck, I've got bucks I'm aging for clients, and even with a couple dozen pictures of a buck from different angles I still waffle as to age! Lots and lots of "tweeners" out there.

 

[ZachMarkus]

He will get a pass from me regardless, I have a self imposed 130" minimum. I love seeing the younger bucks with great potential.

 

[mossyoakmantn]

Hes a beast great pic

 

[TheLBLman]

What do y'all think?

I think this buck is unlikely to survive this year's deer season.

In most the places I hunt, a top-end 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 will roam around and get shot, in part because their antlers appear larger than they'll score, due to the relatively small bodies of 2 1/2 & 3 1/2's (compared to mature bucks).

He is most probably either 2 1/2 or 3 1/2.
I'm torn as to which.

 

[redblood]

Great deer. Superb 2.5!

 

[Andy S.]

I think this buck is unlikely to survive this year's deer season.

In most the places I hunt, a top-end 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 will roam around and get shot, in part because their antlers appear larger than they'll score, due to the relatively small bodies of 2 1/2 & 3 1/2's (compared to mature bucks).

Same outcome for most places I hunt. Top end 2.5s and 3.5s who like to roam (most of them), and show themselves during daylight in Nov/Dec rarely make it. They often "disappear" because they are in someone's freezer by December 1.

 

[TheLBLman]

Same outcome for most places I hunt. Top end 2.5s and 3.5s who like to roam (most of them), and show themselves during daylight in Nov/Dec rarely make it. They often "disappear" because they are in someone's freezer by December 1.

And by comparison, below-averaged antlered 3 1/2's will commonly be passed up by multiple hunters, and live to full maturity (in these same most places I hunt).

 

[BSK]

If you can break that cycle - best young bucks killed, worst young bucks passed - you can do wonders for a property.

 

[TheLBLman]

If you can break that cycle - best young bucks killed, worst young bucks passed - you can do wonders for a property.

THAT has been my single-biggest challenge in trying to produce more above-average antlered older bucks on a relatively large property in TN. Most of the truly top-end antlered bucks get killed as 2 1/2's. Those that survive 2 1/2, then typically get heavily, specifically "targeted" as 3 1/2's, and are killed then.

Should one of these survive beyond 3 1/2, the number of individual hunters specifically targeting that buck is often double-digits, and these hunters may be spread over thousands of acres, many 2 to 3 miles apart, many thinking that particular buck mostly hangs around in just the area they're hunting (a few hundred acres or less of several thousand contiguous acres).

Even with thousands of contiguous acres (more lightly hunted than the surrounding areas), it has thus far been a near impossible feat to see a top-end antlered young buck survive to maturity. Never mind 5 1/2-yr-old & older bucks are not uncommon in these same areas, but they'll typically have a 6 to 8-pt narrow mainframe rack with short tines. As their body sizes become larger, their racks look relatively smaller, and many hunters may be giving them a pass even though they can be fully mature bucks.

If you think a highway, a subdivision, or even the Cumberland River is a travel barrier, think again. Such barriers often restrict deer movement much of the year, but may mean little during about a 30-day period when the most hunters are afield hunting the hardest.

 

[rem270]

Awesome buck. Definitely a youngster.

 

[BSK]

THAT has been my single-biggest challenge in trying to produce more above-average antlered older bucks on a relatively large property in TN. Most of the truly top-end antlered bucks get killed as 2 1/2's. Those that survive 2 1/2, then typically get heavily, specifically "targeted" as 3 1/2's, and are killed then.

Should one of these survive beyond 3 1/2, the number of individual hunters specifically targeting that buck is often double-digits, and these hunters may be spread over thousands of acres, many 2 to 3 miles apart, many thinking that particular buck mostly hangs around in just the area they're hunting (a few hundred acres or less of several thousand contiguous acres).

Even with thousands of contiguous acres (more lightly hunted than the surrounding areas), it has thus far been a near impossible feat to see a top-end antlered young buck survive to maturity. Never mind 5 1/2-yr-old & older bucks are not uncommon in these same areas, but they'll typically have a 6 to 8-pt narrow mainframe rack with short tines. As their body sizes become larger, their racks look relatively smaller, and many hunters may be giving them a pass even though they can be fully mature bucks.

If you think a highway, a subdivision, or even the Cumberland River is a travel barrier, think again. Such barriers often restrict deer movement much of the year, but may mean little during about a 30-day period when the most hunters are afield hunting the hardest

We hunt our property HARD. Much harder than neighboring properties are hunted. But I'm sure glad we don't hunt in a high-pressure environment like you describe. We definitely see a few top-end 2 1/2s get taken, but have no problem getting top-end 3 1/2+ bucks another year older. On 500 acres, each year we usually have at least one mature buck pushing the 150 mark, and a couple of bucks in the 130-140 range.

 

[Andy S.]

We hunt our property HARD. Much harder than neighboring properties are hunted. But I'm sure glad we don't hunt in a high-pressure environment like you describe. We definitely see a few top-end 2 1/2s get taken, but have no problem getting top-end 3 1/2+ bucks another year older. On 500 acres, each year we usually have at least one mature buck pushing the 150 mark, and a couple of bucks in the 130-140 range.

Bold text is likely doing more for your property than any "management" can. Low pressure areas are golden, just so hard to come by in my lifetime, and even harder to hold on to for any length of time.

 

[BSK]

Bold text is likely doing more for your property than any "management" can. Low pressure areas are golden, just so hard to come by in my lifetime, and even harder to hold on to for any length of time.

The amazing thing is, it's the entire part of the county I hunt in. Used to be, open day of MZ or gun, sounded like a war. Now, if I hear 5 gunshots the entire opening weekend of gun season, that's pretty busy. Hunting pressure in the whole area is WAY down over the last 20 years.