ORIGINAL: GMMAT
125....
Also body weights of field dressed 2.5 yr olds are generally 160 and under, where 3.5 yr olds and older are 160 and above.
My experiences with 2.5 yr olds (only taken 1.....and seen several others....not counting my friends kills) is that they are probably in the 140-170# range LIVE (on the hoof) weight (I'm no good at their field dressed weights....as I weigh them whole). I'm basing the "average" on the one I did weigh and comparing to the ones I've seen. Only one 3.5 yr old taken by me....but it was a 170# LIVE weight, deer (OK...he was dead....but you get the picture
). My buddies have taken some 3.5 yr olds from my area....and I think this is the norm.
Time of year (pre-rut v. post rut) also has a lot to do with their weight.....at least it does, here. The fat 2.5 yr old I took was shot in Septemeber. he'd likely have lost considerable weight if I'd taken him in Dec.
To be honest......rack sizes here are hit and miss.....but definitely on the smallish size (In the woods "I" hunt). For example.....The 2.5 yr old I shot in '06 only measured just under 70". The 3.5 yr old I took in '06 measured just over 106". The 4.5 yr old I shot in '07 was just over a 103" deer....but weighed 200#'s on the hoof.
On average (here)....I'd say the 3.5 yr old was an "average" racked deer for these parts. The 4.5 yr old had good mass....but he didn't score anywhere near what a 4.5 yr old would score in some states or even in other loations in this state.
Too many deer, here. Too little habitat.
But for an example.....the 4.5 yr old I took this past season had main beams of 17" and 17-1/4".