Max. potential inches for mature buck

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Swampthing
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Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Swampthing » Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:23 pm

I know this can go either way , some deer max out at 200 " and others barely break the 120" mark. But in your opinion what is the peak antler growth in (gross inches) for a lifelong swampbuck. I' m talking about if you harvested, let's say 20 fully mature, prime, bucks ,sporting their largest antlers they have ever or will ever carry.
What would their average gross score be.
I personally think most of these bucks would max out at 170".

What do you think?

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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby BigHunt » Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:26 pm

Swampthing wrote:I know this can go either way , some deer max out at 200 " and others barely break the 120" mark. But in your opinion what is the peak antler growth in (gross inches) for a lifelong swampbuck. I' m talking about if you harvested, let's say 20 fully mature, prime, bucks ,sporting their largest antlers they have ever or will ever carry.
What would their average gross score be.
I personally think most of these bucks would max out at 170".

What do you think?

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id say 5.5-6.5
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby dan » Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:19 pm

That question is just full of loop holes... I would personally like to see an accurate average of score for the different age classes in different areas but I think "accurate" is the key...
I believe there are huge differances in average rack size of mature deer in different areas... Even though sonme areas shoot more big bucks, the top end bucks might be smaller...
By me, if I had to guess I think the average 5.5 y/o gross score would be between 160 and 180
But thats a guess.. I know shining I see some absolute monsters, but looking at what I have on the wall in that age bracket might be more of an average number than baseing it off of the biggest seen...
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby GRFox » Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:31 am

BigHunt wrote:
Swampthing wrote:I know this can go either way , some deer max out at 200 " and others barely break the 120" mark. But in your opinion what is the peak antler growth in (gross inches) for a lifelong swampbuck. I' m talking about if you harvested, let's say 20 fully mature, prime, bucks ,sporting their largest antlers they have ever or will ever carry.
What would their average gross score be.
I personally think most of these bucks would max out at 170".

What do you think?

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id say 5.5-6.5


5.5-6.5 inches? LoL

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GRFox
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby GRFox » Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:32 am

In my area I would guess around 140in to 150.

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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Spysar » Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:04 am

I'd say the maximum inches for a mature buck is 213" typical net.

And 304" is the max non typical.

Other wise your question is impossible to answer, without a total wild guess.
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:51 am

that is kind of an impossible question as there are so many factors, and the factors can and do make a big difference. key factors being Age: they gotta be able to live long enough. Nutition: other than letting deer go, nutrition as far as food plots is the only thing we can really do to help deer get bigger racks and healthier bodies. Stress: stress from what ever reason it may be, sickness, or hard winters, rigorous rutting and not recooping well, can all have an effect on the deer antler sizes. so, every year can be a little different. oh and I for got. the wonderful WIDNR, they claim with the earn a buck that many bucks got to live another year to get bigger so they were one reason why people got to shoot bigger deer. LOL :lol:
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Bucky » Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:40 am

Bowhunting Brian wrote:that is kind of an impossible question as there are so many factors, and the factors can and do make a big difference. key factors being Age: they gotta be able to live long enough. Nutition: other than letting deer go, nutrition as far as food plots is the only thing we can really do to help deer get bigger racks and healthier bodies. Stress: stress from what ever reason it may be, sickness, or hard winters, rigorous rutting and not recooping well, can all have an effect on the deer antler sizes. so, every year can be a little different. oh and I for got. the wonderful WIDNR, they claim with the earn a buck that many bucks got to live another year to get bigger so they were one reason why people got to shoot bigger deer. LOL :lol:


I agree with EAB being a huge reason the CWD zone is coughing out giant bucks... I don't agree 100% with EAB, but it did protect a lot of bucks from the 1 or 2 day a year rifle hunters in WI. It also drastically reduced deer populations in some areas... :doh:
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby BigHunt » Tue Dec 27, 2011 3:22 am

GRFox wrote:
BigHunt wrote:
Swampthing wrote:I know this can go either way , some deer max out at 200 " and others barely break the 120" mark. But in your opinion what is the peak antler growth in (gross inches) for a lifelong swampbuck. I' m talking about if you harvested, let's say 20 fully mature, prime, bucks ,sporting their largest antlers they have ever or will ever carry.
What would their average gross score be.
I personally think most of these bucks would max out at 170".

What do you think?

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id say 5.5-6.5


5.5-6.5 inches? LoL

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no age..... sorry i miss understood him
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:49 am

Most bucks never make the 170 mark at any age. In the Midwest where nutrition is the best for growing big antlers, some bucks can exceed the 170 mark and do. If you are hunting swamp bucks that are eating low protein grass & sticks & leaves it could take quite a few years to find a 170. Put that same buck on full feed of high protein corn/alfalfa/clover and it wont take so long.
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby Sauk Beast » Wed Dec 28, 2011 2:15 pm

Bucky wrote:
Bowhunting Brian wrote:that is kind of an impossible question as there are so many factors, and the factors can and do make a big difference. key factors being Age: they gotta be able to live long enough. Nutition: other than letting deer go, nutrition as far as food plots is the only thing we can really do to help deer get bigger racks and healthier bodies. Stress: stress from what ever reason it may be, sickness, or hard winters, rigorous rutting and not recooping well, can all have an effect on the deer antler sizes. so, every year can be a little different. oh and I for got. the wonderful WIDNR, they claim with the earn a buck that many bucks got to live another year to get bigger so they were one reason why people got to shoot bigger deer. LOL :lol:


I agree with EAB being a huge reason the CWD zone is coughing out giant bucks... I don't agree 100% with EAB, but it did protect a lot of bucks from the 1 or 2 day a year rifle hunters in WI. It also drastically reduced deer populations in some areas... :doh:


I would have to say I am in the same belief. I don't agree with EAB totally it could be implemented every other year or every 2 years. But it needs to get a lot of the credit for how many big bucks the CWD zone is cranking out. I got to my local registration opening day and it makes you think you are in buffalo county. I know a lot of people don't agree wth EAB but it does build monster deer. It will be interesting to see what happens to the large buck population now with it gone. With our gun buck kill up over 30% in my unit. I think I got a pretty good idea.
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby binney59 » Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:54 am

It is going to vary by location, but if you take Wisconsin as an example, I would think that number would be in the 170-190 range. It seems rare for a deer to get to be 5.5 in WI, but when it does happen it is usually something special. When you mentioned that you are referring to "swamp bucks" it is my personal opinion that a lot of bucks who inhabit huge swamps get less pressure (read: less stress) and are more likely to grow larger antlers. I also personally feel that genetics is low on the list of important features, well behind age, stress, and nutrition. The other thing that I would consider is something I read once (not sure how accurate though) is that the older a buck, the more likely he is to develop non-typical antler traits. If this is the case, seeing that non-typical bucks usually have much higher gross scores, that average number might be even higher! I estimated my biggest buck to be 4.5 and he netted 180 4/8, non-typical- would be interesting to see what he would have looked like a year later (didnt cross my mind to pass though!)
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby binney59 » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:35 am

I drove by the spot these pictures were taken and it reminded me of this thread. These are some pics taken in Green Bay, WI in an area that is off limits to hunting (possibly some doe hunting but no bucks). There are several big boys that come to feed on apples at a yard waste dumping station, but this gives you an idea as to what happens with lower stress and allowing a buck to reach maturity. Thought you all would enjoy!

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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby PLB » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:01 am

Stanley wrote:Most bucks never make the 170 mark at any age. In the Midwest where nutrition is the best for growing big antlers, some bucks can exceed the 170 mark and do. If you are hunting swamp bucks that are eating low protein grass & sticks & leaves it could take quite a few years to find a 170. Put that same buck on full feed of high protein corn/alfalfa/clover and it wont take so long.

I agree, and this thread pertains to swamp bucks, so I'm assuming no agriculture. I have lots of experience with this type of area, so I'll say 120-140 inches is about max. We have killed several of these and I know of a 151inch shot back in 1993 near us. I think 160 inches in a area such as ours would be a FREAK!! I saw a trail cam pic of a buck that would push 160 this past season.
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Re: Max. potential inches for mature buck

Unread postby dan » Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:35 pm

Bucky wrote:
Bowhunting Brian wrote:that is kind of an impossible question as there are so many factors, and the factors can and do make a big difference. key factors being Age: they gotta be able to live long enough. Nutition: other than letting deer go, nutrition as far as food plots is the only thing we can really do to help deer get bigger racks and healthier bodies. Stress: stress from what ever reason it may be, sickness, or hard winters, rigorous rutting and not recooping well, can all have an effect on the deer antler sizes. so, every year can be a little different. oh and I for got. the wonderful WIDNR, they claim with the earn a buck that many bucks got to live another year to get bigger so they were one reason why people got to shoot bigger deer. LOL :lol:


I agree with EAB being a huge reason the CWD zone is coughing out giant bucks... I don't agree 100% with EAB, but [glow=red]it did protect a lot of bucks from the 1 or 2 day a year rifle hunters in WI[/glow]. It also drastically reduced deer populations in some areas... :doh:


Besides EAB preventing the 1 or 2 day a year hunters from killing anything, in Wisconsin it also allowed a lot of 4 day a week hunters to kill dozens of bucks. We had one guy by me that bragged of shooting over 40 deer in one season...
Personally, I don't like what its doing to Wisconsin. I also think the 1 or 2 day a year hunters should get to hunt to.


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