RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

That is very rare in Pa. I talk to a WCO a few weeks ago and he told me that Does live on average to be alot older than bucks. He said they rarely find bucks older than 4 1/2 and see alot of 6 to 7 year old does.

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

not a chance he killed a 140 class 7.5 yr old. my guess it was a 3.5yr old. and ive never seen a pic or anything. people get carried away on age of bucks. a 7.5 yr old buck would be a world class deer

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

Rare? Absolutely. impossible? no. As Trykon said, it would be rare but it's not fair to say no way. Illbback, how did you determine the age?

No matter how old, illbback thats an awesome PA buck! Congrats!! Got a picture for us?

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

BT- yeah you are right i shouldnt say NO WAY. but come on, how many 7 1/2yr old bucks you know of being shot in PA? even if you take the biggest buck shot in PA this year, i would bet its not a 7 1/2yr old.

but anyway still great buck!!!!! a 13pt is great. congrats

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

Wait a minute! This deer management program has been in effect for 6 years now. If a spike had been spared in the outset of this program it is quite possible to survive until that lucky hunter encountered him.

Considering that the forest is having a wonderful recovery, food should not be a problem and would contribute to better antler growth.

Remember, Dr Alt promised us trophy class deer. We may finally be seeing it come to pass. It's exciting to think what the future may hold for us.

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

on stateforestland here in pa.idont believe you will see a 7 and 1/2 year old buck..

on my privateland this year, i have buck i think is 4 years old..how he made it by the POACHERS is mistery to me.he has rack that is about 24 inchs wide, 8 point...i have not heard of anyone getting him,so far..

i raised a michigan deer 34 years ago, he was a big deer.. he died at 9 years old and had a nice rack, 10 point but i seen bigger racks on some of the 4 year old deer..

so, 7 and 1/2 year old deer on stateforestland is not going to happen..

most of the teeth i checked on some of the big bucks i saw this year were 2 and 1/2 to 3 and 1/2 years old..never saw one over 4 years old..

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

I can guarentee that a buck living over 6.5 years old in PA isn't impossible. The non-typical 12 point I shot with my bow several years was aged at atleast 6.5 years old or older. His teeth were pretty much gone, just a tiny sliver sticking above the gum line. The buck 20" wide 8 point I shot a couple years ago was aged at 5.5 years old, his hair on his head was blonde, teeth were very worn down, and the thick stumpy body.

It is amazing where some deer go to hide during hunting season and its no wonder that you don't hear of many 6.5 year old bucks being shot, its not because they aren't out there, its because they don't get that old by being dumb. One of the oldest deer I have ever seen in my area was a 5 point, this deer had an absolutely huge body, tiny rack, and his hair was blonde from age. Guess where I saw this deer during rifle season...... I saw him laying in the corner of a old abandoned open ended barn that use to have tractors parked in it.

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

I believe it's possible to have a 7.5 year old buck. Very rare but possible IMO.

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

A 7.5 year old deer is rare but still very possible. Whats difficult is aging those deer accurately. I'm no expert, I still need the pictures handy to age a deer by its' teethbut I know that even the best experts have a tough time aging a deer beyond 6.5 by tooth wear. Most game agencies class older deer as 6.5+ butdont get more specific than that.

RE: PA Antler restrictios--working?
 

wow...that's pretty ironic because some of the oldest deer we have taken have been on state forrest land (tiadaghton to be exact). The mountains are so vast and loaded with laurel that I can believe there would be deer on there that die of old age and are never seen by a hunter. Behind our camp alone is thousands of acres that are nearly impossible to get to by the average hunter and unless you have a group of people to get those things moving out of the laurel they're gonna be gone before you ever see them. I mean, from the ground you're lucky if you can see 20 feet in any direction. My uncle took a 6 point this year that I would bet was at least 7 years old. His teeth were almost worn flat and his rack was on a definite down swing. This is just what I have noticed from our camp though. Down here in Lancaster is a different story. The land is all pretty accessible and there are a lot more hunters down here thus younger bucks.