BarnesX.308

We had these two bucks visit our property every night for about a month a couple years back. We found one shed from each that winter. We mounted both sheds as one rack. The antler on the right is from the biggest one. It's the picture on the far right when you go into the link. Was this a mature buck or just a nice 2.5 year old?

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Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

wimp

from that picture, with my limited aging abilities I would say it probably is a 2.5. BUt wouldn't rule out it being 3.5

Tazman

Barnes here is my two cents worth, I define a mature deer by its body and not its rack, an immature buck can have a huge rack and a mature buck can have a small one. To me a mature buck in his prime has a broad/flat back and a heavier chest than an immature buck. An immature buck has a round back and a smaller chest than a mature buck. An old buck will not only have the broad/flat back, but his back will actually droop enough to where his belly seems low, he will also get greyer in his face.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

Shaggy2

I agree with Tazmann. Me dad shot a two year old buck this year that had a big nine point rack. The rack was almost as big as he was.

kshunter

It'd guess 2.5 but wouldn't know for sure unless i seen the whole body

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CORD

thats sohre is some perty racks u got there

100%REDNECK

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BarnesX.308

I agree, racks can be deceiving. I was thinking that it could be old because it had some thick bases with a lot of stuff (meaning all the little bumps from the base of the antlers to a little above the brow tines). Also, since he was a PA mountain deer, I thought he needed a little more time to grow that rack. Still couldn't say for certain. He was a big deer but I forget the details. You guys are looking at the sheds on the wall, not the 8-point outside, right. That 8-point was probably kind of young.

Scott Meier
White Oak Lodge

skeeter 7MM

It's a guess, but i would say the deer on the right would be at least 3 years old and in an age of some what maturity. Only real reason i say this his beeams appear quite long. However it can be alittle obscured by the left sides being so stunted.
Quick story, my neighbour shot a buck this year that had incredible mass, lots of junk and figured he was an old deer on his way down. I looked at the buck and immediately said he is young no more than 4 years, reasons: body size he dressed 200-225(that's small for mature bucks here), neck was symetrical, face markings point to a young deer, no nose drop and the rack had short beams only 17 1/2". The deer scored 188 nontypical(green) and was aged at 4 years old. Oh yeah a hell of a deer, but could have you imagined what that deer would have scored when his beams and tine length caught up with his mass....WOW. So I think beam length can be another way to tell the age.

As to the one on the left I would guess young, but the palmation he has is a bit deceiving...palmation can be genetics or injury in velvet, but often times signs of downward swing. I still will go with my gut and say 2!

Jason N

ONLY BECAUSE I live and hunt in the mountainous regions of NW PA can I offer my assumptions with some experience. I think that shed belonged to a 3.5+ year old. I base my assumption on the size of the bases and length of the tines and the overall mass. In PA that isn't a 2.5 year old unless it's in farm country....and has really good genetics. Look at the size of the bases compared to the opposite side and to that spike....big difference. I would be confident in saying that the spike is 1.5 YO, the opposite side is 2.5 YO, and the antler in question is 2.5-3.5 YO