My wife says she's still waiting and I'm 33.... But at what age does a whitetail buck reach maturity, or has grown body and antlers to their full potential?

Depends on who you ask but a buck usually puts on massive antler growth between the age of 3.5 and 4.5. I understand a buck is not "mature" until at least 5.5 years......

honestly, if I see ANY buck thats 3.5 or older, is getting an arrow, because chances are, he's mostly nocturnal.

4.5-5.5 IMO

I have been bowhunting for 11 years now and have probably seen a total of a dozen deer thet were mature in my opinoin. Is this about the average, or do I just suck?
I hunt on average of three times a week exept for November, when I take most of the month off. That's alot of hours between mature bucks.
I'm still holding out, but maybe I need to re-think things.

I see a lot of deer during the season, but if I see one what I would call a mature deer, that would be average or better.

Ditto !! We seem touse the term loosely and call a buck mature that meets our shooting requirement. For some it is 3.5 ... 4.5 rocks my boat but really 5.5 years old is more fitting.Must bucks won't see maturity so it hardly matters.

Tim

I use to think 3.5 was ...but thats more like an 18 -21 year old man... today I'd say 5.5 ...or a man in his mid 30's..

Its when we get fat.. pop bellies and care more about survival (so we can hunt)than sex! same with an old buck..hes mature after 5

in my opinion it starts at 3.5. Shed im 42 and still like ^^^

I'm a newcomer to this.....but I look at it this way....

When Lisa and I go out, sometimes.....we're "mature" in certain environments, "old" in some, and in the "average" range to even "youngsters" in a few places. I don't think it's any different with deer.....if we're using "relative" terms. I have to think about how many "mature" deer I see (or know of) in the woods I hunt. In 3 years....I've seen exactly 2 mature bucks....and I have trail cam photos of 2 others. Factor in the size of the herd I hunt.....and a "mature" deer (in relative terms) in my woods is probably 2.5-3.5. I absolutely know that he's not "mature" in terms of actual age structure.....but if I hold out for an age-structured "mature" deer....I'm severely limiting my chances at harvesting a buck, at all. I'm torn.

It's the reason I may not shoot one, this year (or in subsequent seasons). I might also take a 2.5 yr old, but I won't know until he's standing in front of me.