Shoot or Pass - Trophy Hunting - Age?

[WNY Bowhunter]

Here's my top up and comer. I believe this buck is a two year old. Hope he doesn't tempt fate with my wife in November...

Edited September 22, 2017 by WNY Bowhunter

[NFA-ADK]

Perfect example WNY Bowhunter!  Thanks!

[moog5050]

17 minutes ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

Here's my top up and comer. I believe this buck is a two year old. Hope he doesn't tempt fate with my wife in November...

Send him a bit North Jason.  With that drop tine, I will lower my standards and you can mount the youngster. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by moog5050

[BowmanMike]

18 minutes ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

Here's my top up and comer. I believe this buck is a two year old. Hope he doesn't tempt fate with my wife in November...

wow,what a discrepancy between his rack and body size. Nice rack,skinny frame. Looks not that great on bucks,but I know where i dont mind that combo...

Sorry,i could not resist once I typed the previous sentence.

Edited September 22, 2017 by BowmanMike

[chas0218]

3 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

wow,what a discrepancy between his rack and body size. Nice rack,skinny frame. Looks not that great on bucks,but I know where i dont mind that combo...

Wait till the rut and he buffs up a bit

 

19 minutes ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

Here's my top up and comer. I believe this buck is a two year old. Hope he doesn't tempt fate with my wife in November...

2.5 year old aaallllll day. Great example.

[TACC]

He might only be 2.5 years old, but he is a slammer where I hunt , guaranteed someone is putting him on the wall

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[WNY Bowhunter]

Sometimes it's the ones that you least expect that come out of nowhere with the huge jump in growth. Needless to say, I wasn't too excited when this sorry looking 2 year old showed back up after season last December. Boy, did he surpass my expectations with one of the biggest 2-3 jumps that I've ever documented!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dbHunterNY]

On 9/21/2017 at 1:10 PM, slickrockpack said:

my personal definition for a whitetail in ny that is a trophy is 140 class gross as a minimum

that will gross 140 no problem so yes I would take it if looking for a trophy class animal

its a fully mature deer, nose length, go whack him

don't forget the racks start going south pretty quickly as they age

not arguing so much as throwing out an educated opinion.  what you believe is what you believe and entitled to. this is what i think.  4.5+ yr old deer are fully developed skeletally so skulls will be longest then also ears start to look smaller because of that.  nose length actually looks much shorter at maturity do to thickness of the neck carrying up into head for that roman nose look. so nose length is tough to pin down for aging a deer on the hoof. a buck's antlers don't really downhill in antler size until after 8.5 yrs old. seen them drop quantity of points but amount of "bone" is the same and starts to peak toward 6.5, pending nothing else like injury.  6.5+ year old bucks are pretty rare to worry about shooting bucks before they go downhill.  older deer with scrub genetics are more common for older deer in that they got that way partially due to being passed or not hunted specifically, because a younger buck that happens to have better antlers will get more attention.

140" in a realistic ceiling for max potential in most whitetail bucks i argee with.  many don't live long enough to reach that though.

[dbHunterNY]

On 9/22/2017 at 6:20 PM, WNY Bowhunter said:

Sometimes it's the ones that you least expect that come out of nowhere with the huge jump in growth. Needless to say, I wasn't too excited when this sorry looking 2 year old showed back up after season last December. Boy, did he surpass my expectations with one of the biggest 2-3 jumps that I've ever documented!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

similar 2.5 yr old buck out this way (flip the sides) blew up into a 150+" buck at 4.5 yrs old.  you've got more potential where you are though.  i have to think he'll be stupid big if he makes it another year. probably only happen if nobody can get seal the deal and take him.  don't know of hardly any hunters that'd pass a buck like that. i couldn't.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Here's my top up and comer. I believe this buck is a two year old. Hope he doesn't tempt fate with my wife in November...

Gotta let the good ones go if ya want to kill a Great One. Nice Buck!


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[NFA-ADK]

Biggest jump is usually from 1.5 to 2.5.  My main point would be a 2.5 is a good deer by most standards but if you really want larger antlers the deer need to get past 2.5 to really start showing the true potential they have.  

Is a 2 year old a good deer, yes I passed a good one 2 years ago and last year a guy in the tree took him.  Should I be mad?  No he probably passed him also at 2.5 and that is the reason he was able to get a good buck.  It simply needed some age.  

If you hunt this way I salute you because it is hard to pass a good buck for the chance at a great buck!  

[slickrockpack]

1 hour ago, dbHunterNY said:

not arguing so much as throwing out an educated opinion.  what you believe is what you believe and entitled to. this is what i think.  4.5+ yr old deer are fully developed skeletally so skulls will be longest then also ears start to look smaller because of that.  nose length actually looks much shorter at maturity do to thickness of the neck carrying up into head for that roman nose look. so nose length is tough to pin down for aging a deer on the hoof. a buck's antlers don't really downhill in antler size until after 8.5 yrs old. seen them drop quantity of points but amount of "bone" is the same and starts to peak toward 6.5, pending nothing else like injury.  6.5+ year old bucks are pretty rare to worry about shooting bucks before they go downhill.  older deer with scrub genetics are more common for older deer in that they got that way partially due to being passed or not hunted specifically, because a younger buck that happens to have better antlers will get more attention.

140" in a realistic ceiling for max potential in most whitetail bucks i argee with.  many don't live long enough to reach that though.

BS

[Iluvracks1359]

searched how to age a deer and came across this site, pictures are animated so its not the best, but a good baseline for learning.

 

https://www.realtree.com/deer-hunting/how-to-age-bucks

[dbHunterNY]

23 hours ago, slickrockpack said:

BS

i don't mean any disrespect. i said what i think.  if you think that's BS then so be it.

[DanielT]

my personal definition for a whitetail in ny that is a trophy is 140 class gross as a minimum
that will gross 140 no problem so yes I would take it if looking for a trophy class animal
its a fully mature deer, nose length, go whack him
don't forget the racks start going south pretty quickly as they age

Is that 4 point....wow

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