If this buck lives through the summer then one of my three tags has his name on it for next season. The afternoon I took the pic below in 2018 is one of two times I’ve ever seen him during the daylight. When I was taking the pics that evening, I really didn’t even pay him much attention because there were other “racked” bucks coming into the field. It was only after looking at the pics later on that I realized he was an older deer. I never saw him again that year though.

Fast forward to this past season when the rut kicked in I had bucks showing up again. I saw one from the back porch tending a doe in the street light one night and looking through my binoculars I saw a huge bodied deer that appeared to only have 14 inch spikes….They really looked more like main beams than spikes this year though. They were slightly wider than last year but still very similar. I feel pretty sure it’s the same old buck. The only other time I saw him during daylight hours was one day around 11:30 am. I had hunted until 10:30 that morning without any luck and decided it was time to ease back to the house for some lunch and a break. After about an hour I eased back down to my stand for a midday sit and this joker was standing about 100 yards away through the woods facing me. I raised my gun to get him in the scope but didn’t see him. I looked back out of the scope and it was like he had just disappeared. There was no flag, no deer running off, nothing….

How old do y’all think this buck might be? He's the one on the far left. I’m debating on whether he’s in the 4-6 year old range or more like the 7-9 year old range. I want to say it’s the latter but I just don’t know. I could smell him the night I saw him in the backyard. He smells skroooong……

I would join the conversation but I’m still sore that you didn’t update the tracking thread 😀

My bad man…..I got busy and then burnout with the tracking there toward the end. Don’t tell anybody this but I actually just took the last week of the season off from tracking and spent the time hunting my place. I think I’ll probably do the same thing next year. I may even shut it down a little earlier. I’ve got to make some changes to how I do things in order to keep it fun. I don’t care anything about trying to track as many as possible. Running up and down the roads every day wears on you and gets really old after a while. I’m really considering cutting my tracking area down to something like 30-40 miles tops in the future.

I missed the thread too Harold I can't lie about that! How are the dogs doing though I have to ask. Also, what caused the burnout? I can imagine taking all the tracks is enough simply put. Glad your back dude!

I don't blame you. If it's not fun, then don't do it. Or cut way back.

Those are some big does!!!!!

He's no youngster, looks 4 or 5 to me but I'm still learning

Thanks!...The dogs are doing great. I think the burnout was a combination of a lot of factors and not just one thing……Too much “people” injected into someone’s life who isn’t really a people person to begin with…..too much traveling up and down the roads…..the phone ringing non-stop….the wild goose chases……the negatives of social media in general…..etc…..I just got tired of it all and wanted to sit in the woods in the peace and quiet

I agree....he's definitely not a youngster but I don't know how you would tell the difference in a 5 year old versus a 8-9 year old. I actually think he may be really old but that's just an assumption right now.

I don't know how old he is but those are some healthy deer! I'm guessing 5+ based on the sagging belly and facial features.

Hard to tell. If he’s 3 plus he needs shot lol

Look at his brisket area and how short his front legs look in comparison to the younger bucks....that's what jumps out at me. Also like leroy said...he's got a big sagging belly and his face just doesn't look like a young deer.

He is most definitely a solid mature deer. He still have the rut neck and a sway to his back.

Is the second buck a SOOS or is the left antler broke off? Needs killin.

Not sure...This may not be the same deer. One of them had an odd left side. I don’t recall seeing him return this year but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t in here somewhere and I just missed him. I didn’t run a camera much this year……

my brother killed one a few years ago that was over 8 years old. His age scale goes to eight and his teeth were past it

He's either a poor antler genetics in his prime deer or a really old run down 8-9ish deer. Either way his body looks completely filled out.

The spikes tarsels appear to be much lighter than the other bucks, reckon whats up with that?

I'd judge him at his peak or slightly beyond. He has all the body signs of mature, but not over the hill too much. He's a brute without the headgear to prove it.

I think I'm gonna name him Methuselah......Maybe he'll make it through the summer and be back next year.

I would name him "Killer" for what he will do to a desirable buck in a fight.

Mature spikes or mature spike one side bucks are usually bullies, and can seriously injure other deer. I don't believe that they will always stay that way, but if I see one 4 years or older, he dies and doesn't get a chance at another rack.

My $.02 JMO YMMV...ALL the bucks in that pic look "healthy". The more you enlarge the pic, the more "fatter" they all look due to pixilation. I'm going to go by the wording in your post as part of a set a clues...this deer didn't stand out when you saw him with your naked eye among the other deer. I think if he were an older deer he'd have stood out immediately. It's not a great pic to age a deer by. Clearly you got deer that are getting plenty to eat. None of those bucks in the pic LOOKS LIKE 1.5 year old deer, but either you got shiitty antler genes, or the camera is fooling you. I'm betting on the cam fooling you. Set up trail cams in the area now, while they still have horns, and get some good pics to see who survived the season and get some pics which are better for aging.

THAT is a 1.5 year old deer. Most likely an early drop 1.5

Edit to add: maybe 2.5...maybe. Body lacks muscle tone and looks like a doe.

They gone now…..Too late to get buck pics. They pretty much only show up here for the rut due to the high concentration of does. I’ve only got one camera right now though and its tough to actually see what you’ve really got without multiple trail cams. I think I’m gonna get set up with the cuddielink system before next year.

The pic above was taken from about 225-250 yards away. That’s one reason he may have not jumped out to my naked eye. I also saw “spike” and likely didn’t pay him much attention anymore.

I'd ground check him for sure. Is that a no till plot there CNC? I like your soft edges there. I think everyone should do that and they would be amazed how many more deer would feel safer in a plot. I have never seen dog fennel that high.

Thanks!......Yes, it’s a no-till plot. I guess its been no-till for about 7 years now….something like that. I’ve got soft edges pretty much all the way around it now. The dog fennel is 8-9 ft tall probably. I use it for screening as well.

Perfect use of Bama conditions.

Any proof that an older spike is more lethal? A 4 year old spike certainly needs to go. I'd figure a big, thick 8 pt would be just as dangerous. More points to gore with.

It's the fact that there is nothing for another deer's antlers to catch on, and any penetration is likely to be deep

I hear women say that a lot.