Things don't always go as planned. Here is the buck I shot this weekend 3 years ago as a husky 4 1/2 year old.


Here he is at 7 1/2. They don't always get better. Some parts of the country deer seem to peak at 4 1/2 no matter what the experts say. It just happens.

Congrats either way on a mature whitetail.

Still a nice deer. Where was this deer located? If it is anywhere like where I am at there is nothing for them to eat this year and almost every deer I have seen had a pencil rack.

That is a good deer anywhere, congrats!

They had corn all summer and the food plots are oats and clover. There are tons of acorns this time. My guess is that age wasn't kind to this one. I am still tickled with him though. reflex264

Congrats on taking that dandy buck.

That's a 'dandy'!

I should add this deer was killed in southern middle tn.

It depends on what you mean by management. If your definition is like mine, good age structure in a herd of healthy individual animals, then you have done as good a job as any manager can. However, if your definition of good management is 16lbs of antler on a deer that has to be pen raised for three years to survive, then you might not be getting many congac and cigar flavored high fives. But as far as Im concerned you showed patience and restraint and a concern for the general well being of your heard. You sir are what it means to be a sportsman and not just a hunter. Your hunting decisions further our sport and the quality of the game we pursue. I hope you get to pass those qualities on to another generation and I wish you luck in your hunting endeavors.