I have high hopes for the big 8 pointer. Judging by the second picture I posted of him, I think he's going into his 4th year. And there was a tremendous jump between 2.5 and 3.5 years old. We had a pretty mild winter, too. Got trail cam pics of him last month and he looks to be on the same growth rate or a little better than last year. Can't wait to see what he looks like now.
The other buck was never seen before the winter. We put out some alfalfa bales after the season is over to give the deer some winter nourishment. We sometimes get bucks that we never saw before and we never see again. When the forest is green, these bigger bucks don't show themselves to find food. They just stay in the thick stuff, where food and cover are plenty.