Yeah we figure he was on the downslope, he might have a little more spread and a little more tine length a couple year before, but he was only ever seen one so I can't confirm.
I figure he might have had about 10-15 more total inches when he was in his prime.
I've been on this place for about 12 years, the 2 others have been on it 20, plus the landowner and family has been there forever. We've seen 100's of deer come of the place, and based on that I have rough guidelines that hold true most of the time for judging solely on rack size. I have observed notable exceptions, including an 8 point 1.5 year old, but 9 out of 10 times these rules hold firm.
1.5= spike or fork, usually spike
2.5= small 6 or basket 8. sometimes still a forky.
3.5 on= most will either stay a basket rack or will fluctuate between a nicely shaped 110" and 130". Almost always 8 point perfect typical, occasionally a 10 point typical.
There are some monsters around, but they are not the norm.
3.5's and ocassionaly 4.5s will usually have pencil thin tines (see pic below for a 3.5 or 4.5 year old), the older bucks gather mass but hardly ever get more spread or tine length.
It does make judging alot easier than it is for you guys with the hosses. Nicely racked buck=shooter!
I figure he might have had about 10-15 more total inches when he was in his prime.
I've been on this place for about 12 years, the 2 others have been on it 20, plus the landowner and family has been there forever. We've seen 100's of deer come of the place, and based on that I have rough guidelines that hold true most of the time for judging solely on rack size. I have observed notable exceptions, including an 8 point 1.5 year old, but 9 out of 10 times these rules hold firm.
1.5= spike or fork, usually spike
2.5= small 6 or basket 8. sometimes still a forky.
3.5 on= most will either stay a basket rack or will fluctuate between a nicely shaped 110" and 130". Almost always 8 point perfect typical, occasionally a 10 point typical.
There are some monsters around, but they are not the norm.
3.5's and ocassionaly 4.5s will usually have pencil thin tines (see pic below for a 3.5 or 4.5 year old), the older bucks gather mass but hardly ever get more spread or tine length.
It does make judging alot easier than it is for you guys with the hosses. Nicely racked buck=shooter!
