I have this deer on cam and trying to decide if hes a shooter or not. I don't want to shoot any that are young. It is always hard to tell this time of the year, so turning to you guys for help!
Agree..likely a three-year old. I would shoot it, but where I hunt, someone else would kill it if I let it walk.
Ya I'd say 3. Hind quarter gives it away. Can't tell by the neck this time of year Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not sure but think this is him last year. I have a lot of 6pt genetics around the last few years. I like big 6pts, but hope this is just a quick thing, I like big scores also lol.
Need more pics to get a better feel for his age, he's at least 3 but I feel like he's older than that. Not sure if the pic from last year is the same deer.
This is the only other picture I have of him currently. Don't think its anymore help then the others really. Hes not a frequent flyer here, but he his around. And yeah, Im not sure either. Hes just one I remembered when I seen this one.
Hey, if you dont wanna take a shot at him, give me a holler and Ill send an arrow his way!! Nuce buck in my opinion, but opinions vary!! Best of luck to you on your decision. Remember, whats a shooter to some, some others let him walk!!
I agree completely. Its not so much I wonder if I should shoot. Just wanted to make sure hes old enough. I don't want to be shooting bucks under 3.5 years old personally. I don't so much worry about rack size. I like big racks, but hes big in my book, as I don't have many on my wall currently and still have a lot of learning to do. But it only seems fair to my herd to make an effort to only shoot mature bucks.
Tough with those angles but I'd say he's at least 3.5 and probably a 4.5 yo. Shooter? Depends on what else is lurking around... if he presented a nice broadside shot at a good range...I'd have a hard time passing him up.
i would agree with the 3.5 always a little tough to tell when they havent began packing on the winter mass.
Awesome thanks guys! Hes on the list for sure then. Again its not so much about the rack, more about the herd. I don't want to shoot younger bucks when there are 3.5+ year old bucks around currently he is only the second on my hit list, has been a slow summer. But number 1 is a beauty
To me it seems unless the deer has a lot of antler mass and is complete hog the popular opinion is always that it's a 3.5 year old. I'm not convinced that's always the case. I've shot plenty of older deer that didn't have high scores or even a big rack, but were big bodied deer and you could tell clearly they were older deer. The horns and body stature don't always tell the entire story, genetics and food source have just as much of a impact on the deer quality than the age of the deer IMO. The only way to really have accurate calculation on a deers age is if you've kept records on them for multiple years or you give them a dirt nap and have them aged by a expert that can tell the age by the teeth. Again I think this is clearly atleast a 3 1/2 and possibly a 4 1/2. Once they turn 5, which is pretty unusual in PA, only then can you really tell they are older more mature deer, but you can't necessarily tell by the antlers or by a couple trail cam pictures.
