How old is this buck from Stephenville, Texas?

By Grant Woods,

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Question
This buck was shot Nov 13th 2015 in Stephenville Texas. I have pictures that a friend sent to you last year on your facebook page aging him as 3.5 years as a guess. Last year this buck was a eight point with way longer tines than he is this year.I dont know if to much rain affects antler growth or not. We have had extreme flooding all year set a state record wettest year on record it pretty much wiped out all the turkeys eggs this year only had two pulits out of 20 hens. What age do you really think this buck is. First three photos are him in 2014 the rest are 2015.

Melissa,

Congratulations to the hunter that tagged that buck!  

It’s very tough to be sure a wild free-ranging deer is the same as seen during a previous year without genetic testing or a definitive scar, etc.  You may know this is the same buck. I didn’t notice any scars or characteristics that would give me great confidence it was the same buck.  

Excessive moisture tends to leach nutrients very deep in the soil making them unavailable to plants, especially annual forbs that deer prefer.  Therefore even though there’s more plant growth, there’s often less nutrients per pound of forage consumed.  

Another factor is that excessive moisture can result in higher parasite populations, etc.  Normal or slightly better than normal rainfall years tend to produce the best crop and critter growing conditions.  

Broadside pictures of bucks in a “normal” posture are best for estimating a buck’s age.  The best picture is one from 2014 and I still estimate that buck as 3 years old.

Enjoy creation,

grant

January 6, 2016