Progression of a PA Mtn Buck

[ng270]

I have been a member of a lease in Clinton Co., PA since 2011. It is about 600 acres of rough mountain ground, with about half of it having been clearcut close to 20 years ago. The closest ag is over 5 miles away, the soil is sandy & not very fertile, bears are plentiful, winter comes early and stays late, and deer numbers are relatively low. By most measures, it's not an easy place for a deer to make a living, but access is a bit difficult, so those deer that do live there have a chance to get some age. I posted this buck on the PA hunting report thread, but thought he is old enough to earn his own thread.

2013:


2014:

2015: (He injured his ear, evidently in 2014.)

 

[ng270]

2016: (I had a poor quality WGI cam at this location that year; last of those I ever expect to own)

He ran with another 10 that year that was just a shade larger. Hard to tell them apart, but he's the one on the right.

And I had no cam in this area in 2017 since I do most of my hunting at the opposite end of the property, and just didn't get a cam hung here this past summer. So the harvest pics will have to do for 2017.

 

[ng270]

Pics of his teeth:




I'll send a tooth to the lab and see what they come up with, but this buck was obviously fully mature. As you can see, the number of antler points varied from year to year, but the overall rack size was pretty constant.

 

[Chainsaw]

Great photos and beautiful Deer. It will be interesting to see how old he is.

 

[SwampCat]

That deer is probably 6.5 yrs old - definitely mature. Would you consider his antlers poor, average, or good quality compared to the rest of the mature bucks in your area? When he was fairly young in 2013, I would have considered his antlers to be exceptional at that age - for my place. I would have had hope that he was going to be one of those true freaks that exceeds all the growth chart averages. Typically, if our deer have really above average antlers at a young age, that pattern continues on as they age. Definitely a shooter.

 

[ng270]

That deer is probably 6.5 yrs old - definitely mature. Would you consider his antlers poor, average, or good quality compared to the rest of the mature bucks in your area? When he was fairly young in 2013, I would have considered his antlers to be exceptional at that age - for my place. I would have had hope that he was going to be one of those true freaks that exceeds all the growth chart averages. Typically, if our deer have really above average antlers at a young age, that pattern continues on as they age. Definitely a shooter.

Based on the bucks we see and take there, his antlers are about average to just below average. 110" to 115" is common for mature bucks there, it is rare to get pictures of a buck that would score more than 120" gross, and the largest I have pictures of there over the past six years is 130ish.

I had similar thoughts about his potential back in 2013, but as you can see his antlers were about the best they would ever be that year.

 

[Chainsaw]

The antlers are just about what we see here for the better deer here, not the best but definitely the better deer. The spread measurement and tine lengths look about the same. The mass here would usually be over 4 inches on a few of the circumference measurements which yours looks to be at least that. It's hard to tell without actually putting the tape to the circumference measurements. The short brow tines are also common here as are heavy body weights.

 

[ng270]

Your eye is pretty good, Chainsaw. Most of his mass measurements are just under 4". The other buck in the 2013 pictures has exceptional brow tines for the area; he is one of very few I've seen on this property with brows like that.

 

[Chainsaw]

Thanks NG. I use the circumference measurement of 3 1/2 inches for the eye which is what the bucks here are. And your pictures show the eye and antler mass very well so it is easy to compare the eye size to the antler. For the tine length we use a seven inch ear to guesstimate the tine lengths; I do not know if that is correct for PA or not, just that it is here.