Dan
You start to realize these things when you hunt in an area that has a huge range of rack sizes in all age classes....
I have seen 5.5 yr old bucks up here that would score 80" and others that would score 160"+. Now, and I'll admit it, because I'm an antler hunter I won't shoot the 80"....I'll hold out. Does that mean the 160" buck is more of a challenge to kill? Hell no.....he was just belssed with better genetics.
I understand your point and do not totally disagree.
But one thing to consider, and yes it is still relative to a particular area,, is that the bigger racked buck has probably been hunted much harder in years past, as I am sure he was probably ahead of his age class the year before and possibly even the year before that as well.
Could it be possible (sure its possible-anything is possible), could it be plausible that the 160" deer is also ahead of the learning curve for his age in the"wood savvy" department as compared to the 80" m deer.
If you passed the 80", most likley others have as well, if not in that particular year butcertainly in prior years.He has probably been a "dink" all of his life and has not been subjected to all of the "hunting" as his bigger racked contemporary.
At the very least, it would seem that he had a better opportunity to reach this age as compared to others.