I shoot a buck because his rack suits me. Not because I think he is a certain age. The Birth certificate is too hard to read from the Tree Stand. A lot of guys shoot what they call 3.5's and 4.5's when in reality they are only 2.5 year old. I ran a check station and saw it all the time. Guys were all the time killing Bucks that were 200# and 3.5 year old when in reality they were 160# 2.5 year olds.

Mature? It's your choice when you loose the arrow. Very few hunters % wise can accurately age a whitetail on the hoof. I think inches of antler is still what trophies are measured by anyway. So who cares if a 160" buck is 3.5 or 4.5 unless you are growing them in a very controlled situation. I've never been privledged to bein such a situation.

Dan