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Just wondering?

Liv4Rut

Active Member
What is your guys and gals definition of a mature buck? What age would you call a buck mature? For me any buck over 4.5 I would call mature but anymore, I'm starting think 5.5 or even 6.5 is when they start to reach their potential. Granted every deer is different and some just won't grow a big rack. Take my dad's late muzzleloader buck for example. We have a 70 inch massive 5 point shed off him, at what we think is either 3.5 or 4.5, then the next year nothing was heard nor seen of him, at either 4.5 or 5.5 years of age.

Then the next year we got a trail cam pic of him as a 170+ Clean ten pointer at an approximate age of 5.5 or 6.5, then the next year he shot him at either 6.5 or 7.5, Most likely 6.5 but could be 7.5 and he turned into a Main frame 11 pointer with an extra kicker off it's brow Grossing 188 non-typical. So as you can see he kept growing through the age that I always thought they were pretty much done getting bigger. Who knows what he would of been this year at either a 7.5+ years old.

I always hear people saying, I wait for a mature deer, but if you shot that deer of my dad's at a 3.5 or 4.5 that supported a 160 inch massive rack (that just by holding the shed it looks like a mature deer with all the mass) would you call it mature? Not knowing that he would add 30 inches in the next 3 years of his life? Or is the statement he is mature deer more of a reason to harvest an animal, even though you don't know what he will do? Now I know some of you guys that have your own farms, past sheds, trail cams, etc, will be able to determine which deer have reached their potential, but what about a new buck you nothing about, what age would you call him mature, if you only wait for deer that are mature?

This post isn't meant to start a big argument, I was just wondering what you guys think. Regardless of age, I go by the size of the rack, if it is a 160+ it is getting shot regardless of age, I don't have my own land, and I hunt public land, so that is a pretty good number for me to work with. But I am starting to think guys that shoot alot of bucks that claim they only shoot mature deer, have a number inside their head (score wise) that they will pull the trigger on and regardless of age call it mature, even though under most circumstances, there is no way to really know. So what do you think?

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This is a tough topic for me. Last year I filmed a good buck while bowhunting in November. Looking through the viewfinder he didn't look that big "rack size" but his body was the one of the largest I had ever seen. I opted to let him pass knowing I had a buck in the area that would put him to shame. After reviewing the footage of the buck I was kicking myself. This guy was an old warrior, and though his rack was on the down hill slide he still would have grossed around 150 as a 12 pointer and been the largest bodied deer I ever had taken. After checking trail cam photos I had some stills of him and he was a MOOSE! I ended up settling for a smaller buck and wish I had given him the hammer when I had the chance. This was one time where comparing antlers to body size "sometimes a real problem up north" bit me in the arse. That day I would have sworn he would never gross over 135 but after reviewing the tape of him 5 yds from my tree I was way wrong. As for letting them go so they can grow, I found a shed off of a buck that scored 74", the next year I found the same antler and he had put on about 20" on his right side!!!!What was a 168 class last year was now a 200" bruiser! How many guys would let a 168" walk in hopes he MAY be a world class the next year? Not many.
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Me included!
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My opinion is that a deer is completely mature when it has reached its full potential not neccessarily on the hoof but in the rack. Stating an exact age is a hard question to answer because I would think it depends on the deers diet/food source and it's genetics.
It depends on the genetics, but I would consider a 3.5 or 4.5yr old buck an adult buck, but not a mature buck. At 5.5-6.5 that deer would be mature and most likely at his best potential. 7.5 and up is probably a regressing buck. Again, depending on location and genetics, I think regressing deer would be bigger than an adult / 3.5/4.5 yrd old buck. Problem is, there are less 7.5 or regressing bucks seen because they have either been shot bye hunters before they can reach that age, hit by a car, or have gone completely nocturnal.
 
I have to think that the buck I shot in 2004 was 8 1/2 yrs old. His sheds 3 yrs earlier at 5 1/2 (guessing) we're mid 180's and massy as hell. When I finally knocked him down his typical frame was smaller but he had added some junk, I wouldn't say he was regressing very much. The same can be said about the buck my friend Smitty shot this yr, I'd guess him at 8 1/2 at least based on 5 yrs of big sheds. His rack when Smitty killed him this yr was basically the same as the sheds from the year before.

As for your ? Liv, I have no idea when a buck is mature and to be honest I don't really care. If I see antlers big enough to make me want to take him then I'm going to, whether he may grow more bone next year or not. If I like him, he's coming home........if I can get him.
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I have no idea when a buck is mature and to be honest I don't really care. If I see antlers big enough to make me want to take him then I'm going to, whether he may grow more bone next year or not. If I like him, he's coming home........if I can get him.
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Well said! That makes 2 of us.
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I don't think there are any 8 1/2 year old deer left in IOWA!
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They all live in housing additons around Des Moines and in Iowa City Limits
 
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