This buck is a legend amongst some of the Bowhunt or Die team, with years of history and several very close encounters. Opening day of the 2014 season our very own Justin Zarr had this buck walk right under his stand, but unfortunately for Justin he had already lowered his bow to the ground and was out of light.
With long swooping main beams and a giant frame this buck was impressive, scoring somewhere around 170 inches of antler. Beyond that this buck sported a large body and big neck, all indicators of a mature animal. Granted the photos below are from the peak and end of the rut so his body may be a little worn down.
Based on all the information above, and the pictures provided below. What is your best estimate for the age of this buck? Compare your thoughts to those of our judges panel below!
This one is on the edge for me. He's a great looking deer, but in those 11/19 pictures he looks kind of long legged. The 11/24 shot is a better look that does show the thick neck and rectangle body you want to see from a mature deer. I'll give him 4.5, but not much more based on these pics.
This buck has a large neck, making it difficult to distinguish where it meets the chest cavity. It also has a significant build-up of loose skin and hair at the sternum. More importantly, its legs appear shorter than its body cavity. Drawn down from rutting activity, its stomach appears taut, and there is no drop in its back. Its nose, however, appears to be slightly rounded. I estimate this buck’s age at 6.5 years.
Awesome mature buck! I would estimate this buck to be 6.5 or older.
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Mark Kenyon
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