There's an added satisfaction from taking a deer you have history with. Passing on buck that most consider a shooter and then having the oportunity to hunt him in future years when he's at his peak is the summit of whitetail deer hunting IMO.
Most of the bucks I’ve been able to keep tabs on over the years make their largest step change in antler development between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5. In my experience, what you see at 4.5 is basically what you get as far as the basic frame is concerned, although some bucks certainly put on more inches at 5.5 / 6.5 and beyond, but usually in the form of nontypical points.
Some deer, however, can fool you and just never really amount to much. Kind of like the 5'10" / 165 LB running back on the freshman football team that never grows an inch or gains a pound in high school. This is an example of a deer that appeared to have great potential at 3.5 that didn’t materialize.
He does have an abscess on his chest which may have impeded antler development some, but for the most part, his antlers are unchanged from last year.
Most of the bucks I’ve been able to keep tabs on over the years make their largest step change in antler development between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5. In my experience, what you see at 4.5 is basically what you get as far as the basic frame is concerned, although some bucks certainly put on more inches at 5.5 / 6.5 and beyond, but usually in the form of nontypical points.
Some deer, however, can fool you and just never really amount to much. Kind of like the 5'10" / 165 LB running back on the freshman football team that never grows an inch or gains a pound in high school. This is an example of a deer that appeared to have great potential at 3.5 that didn’t materialize.
He does have an abscess on his chest which may have impeded antler development some, but for the most part, his antlers are unchanged from last year.