I’d be willing to bet that deer came straight outta Hoover. Seen plenty like that around the met over the years. I’ve always said some of the best genes in the state are there

Looks kinda like the Cahaba in background; there is another Instagram pic attached with it in pickup in a Bojangles drive thru. I think that is the one in Hoover and pic captioned " Hoover giant"

It’s not genetics. That’s what happens when a large portion of bucks reach maturity. You get occasional deer that turn out really big. We rarely see it in hunter parts of the state because such a small percentage of the deer make it to maturity.

^^^Truth. Just drop the mic and walk off the stage. It's all about letting them get to 6-7 yrs of age which 99% of Alabama hunters are not disciplined enough to do. If you want to kill big deer, they have to be able to live long enough to get big.

Most deer in alabama will not reach anywhere near 200" I don't care how old they get....just my humble opinion. Probably shock you how many wouldn't hit 150. There are some pockets around the state that are the exception but as a whole...most deer in alabama wouldn't hit booner.

Oh trust me I know. I've trophy managed large acreage since 1992. Point I was making is that without age, you'll never have big racked bucks. The majority of the bucks that have the genetic potential to get to 150, are killed as superior 2 and 3 year olds. They express antler characteristics far superior for their age and that gets them killed early on. Very few bucks in AL have the potential to reach 150 let alone 200". I've killed plenty of 5-6 yr old bucks that would only score 120" and seen 3 yr olds that scored 140-150". Those 3 yr olds that are pushing 135-140" are the ones that need to be protected but they generally end up being the ones that take a bullet. Good food and age gives them the opportunity to express their genetics to see if they can hit that 150" or better mark. Most will not.

Sure. And that was my exact point. There might be 1 in 10 bucks that are capable of turning into really big deer. In a normal, heavily hunted area, very few deer reach 5+. Maybe 1 in 20? So if 1 in 20 bucks reach maturity, and 1 in 10 have real antler potential, that’s 1 out of every 200 bucks that is a stud.

Alternatively, in an area with virtually zero hunting, their odds of reaching maturity are much higher. Maybe 1 in 4? So if the same ratio of bucks with high potential holds true, that’s is 1 out of every 40 bucks running around that is a stud.

All of those numbers are just me guessing, but it’s fairly consistent with how it actually unfolds.

The Atlanta metro is a prime example. Several counties that have no gun hunting, and very little hunting access. Those couple of counties produce more B&C bucks than the entire state of Alabama every year, despite not having prime habitat or better genetics.

Agreed. I had a shot to grow one of those "special deer" a few years ago. Identified him as a 2 yr old and was looking for him on camera when he turned 3. Passed him several times as a 3 year old and it was not easy. He disappeared around the 2nd week of December.....I don't even like looking back and trail camera pics from that year.