Obese deer & age guess?
#1
lol how else would you describe this buck? 
This is a 6ptr that my 13yr old son let walk Saturday morning which was the opening day of TNs juvie gun wknd. Just going by the head/skull, rack, and movement/body language of this buck (he fed in an oat plot for 15mins) I think this buck is young (2.5-3.5yrs) But then there's that LARDA## body of his. The thing looks & eats like a horse.
I truly think we have 2 "types/strains" of bucks on my river bottom farm. 1). Is like this buck. Well over 200#ers with typically a large 6 or 8pt rack. 2). Is the more desired, preferred "rack stars" that grow heavy, taller, less wide, more tines/points as well as stickers & kickers. These bucks rarely exceed 200#. (With ZERO mgmt under the previous owner the farm produced 2 over 180inches, one a typical, one a non-typ) A 12000acre Federal Refuge with limited hunting lies 4500ft from one of my borders.
And no this isn't a Canada or northern states deer. My very rich soil river bottom swamp is in west TN! We've taken 4 bucks over 220#s (weighed at processor) and some mature does on my place I feel confident in saying will go 150+#.
How old would you guess this buck at? He has no sway back, nor squared hips, no long nose, wide face nor a roman nose & like I said he moves & acts like a youngster.

This is a 6ptr that my 13yr old son let walk Saturday morning which was the opening day of TNs juvie gun wknd. Just going by the head/skull, rack, and movement/body language of this buck (he fed in an oat plot for 15mins) I think this buck is young (2.5-3.5yrs) But then there's that LARDA## body of his. The thing looks & eats like a horse.
I truly think we have 2 "types/strains" of bucks on my river bottom farm. 1). Is like this buck. Well over 200#ers with typically a large 6 or 8pt rack. 2). Is the more desired, preferred "rack stars" that grow heavy, taller, less wide, more tines/points as well as stickers & kickers. These bucks rarely exceed 200#. (With ZERO mgmt under the previous owner the farm produced 2 over 180inches, one a typical, one a non-typ) A 12000acre Federal Refuge with limited hunting lies 4500ft from one of my borders.
And no this isn't a Canada or northern states deer. My very rich soil river bottom swamp is in west TN! We've taken 4 bucks over 220#s (weighed at processor) and some mature does on my place I feel confident in saying will go 150+#.

How old would you guess this buck at? He has no sway back, nor squared hips, no long nose, wide face nor a roman nose & like I said he moves & acts like a youngster.
Last edited by HatchieLuvr; 10-28-2013 at 04:29 PM.
#7
My son makes HIS own decisions on what HE considers worthy of shooting! Meat is NOT a consideration for our buck hunting. I prefer not even eating a big ol musky buck, I'd rather donate that meat to our local Hunters for the Hungry & we'll process prime eating does for our own consumption. In TN we can take 3bucks per year but meat is NOT a problem as my farm is in "Unit L" which allows 3 does per day from the beginning of bow season (last Sat in Sept) until the last Juvie gun wknd which is usually the 2nd Sunday in Jan. So with the option of killing nearly 300 does per man, per year, "gettin meat" is never a problem. We are thoroughly managing our property for an increased age in our buck herd, I take great pride in my kids & guests dedication & adherence to such mgmt. If him letting that fat 6 walk angers you you'll REALLY be torqued about the 3.5yr old, 125-130" 10pt (mainframe 8 with two stickers) he let walk yesterday afternoon! Personally I'm PROUD of him for letting 2 bucks walk this weekend that most kids would kill for. He fully understands that to get our herd to that "next level" it is crucial to protect the 2.5-3.5yr old age class bucks.
He got over the "gotta kill any & all" mentality after 2 seasons of "see & shoot" when he began hunting at the age of 10,
HL
#8
Fork Horn
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 274
Likes: 0
From: Harford County Maryland
I dont think I could shoot that deer strictly on the fact id have to drag him out of the woods. It's a shame he eats junk food or he could use some of the nutrition to grow some nice horns lol.


