What makes a big buck

[huntnphool]

I think when a deer gets a 180” frame is when they look/are big.

 Bingo, and FRAME doesn’t necessarily mean high score!

 For example, how many would pass on this Washington buck that has two short points?

[huntnphool]

 That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

[hunter399]

How big is this WT.
I guess how big will he be.
It harder to judge than you may think.
Now keep in mind ,bigger buck this time of year will be branching.
Eye guards will be bigger,on a big buck for this time of year.
This guy is kinda small,but still decent.
Probably 3 year old ,maybe.

That deer is 1 or a very little 2 yr old. A whitetail buck that scores over 150” when he’s done will be branching at G3’s by early June . I’ve gotten to watch a ton of big bucks grow over the last 30 years. Here is example of a big buck.. June 4.. this bucked grossed in 170’s. Your genetically blessed deer get shot usually well before being mature , because people get caught up in inches. I’ve seen 2 yr old whitetails that were very decent 5x5’s and those bucks were on their way to being huge bucks at 5 plus

Not every habitat+genics is gonna be same as your spot.
Just saying.

Still doesn’t change that the pic you posted is a 1yr old buck. I don’t have a “spot” I’ve hunted all over NE WA and N ID. Big whitetails are going to have alot antler in early June regardless of where they live. They arent going to be split at g2 in early June and magically start growing 4” a day and 150 plus

I'm getting a little frustrated with you and buck fever telling me how old deer are.
Not sure how big you think WT come out of the womb.
But here is a 1 yr old ,still with its mom.
YEARLING BUCK.
It's not a fawn,it doesn't have spots.
So if your so smart on deer age ,I guess this one is a month old.
I'm really starting to question your deer aging ability.

[hunter399]

Here is the two pics,huntnnw and buckfever.
One of a 3 year old
One of a yearling buck
Time stamp included,not crop picture.
Might be good for you to see a pic of a yearling .
I also have another buck on the same cam that looks like a two year old.
Do I need to post that too.
Or are you too gonna get off my back.
Or better yet post your own pics,cause I'm not any more.

[borntoslay]

That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

Let's see that 200" !!

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

[huntnnw]

How big is this WT.
I guess how big will he be.
It harder to judge than you may think.
Now keep in mind ,bigger buck this time of year will be branching.
Eye guards will be bigger,on a big buck for this time of year.
This guy is kinda small,but still decent.
Probably 3 year old ,maybe.

That deer is 1 or a very little 2 yr old. A whitetail buck that scores over 150” when he’s done will be branching at G3’s by early June . I’ve gotten to watch a ton of big bucks grow over the last 30 years. Here is example of a big buck.. June 4.. this bucked grossed in 170’s. Your genetically blessed deer get shot usually well before being mature , because people get caught up in inches. I’ve seen 2 yr old whitetails that were very decent 5x5’s and those bucks were on their way to being huge bucks at 5 plus

Not every habitat+genics is gonna be same as your spot.
Just saying.

Still doesn’t change that the pic you posted is a 1yr old buck. I don’t have a “spot” I’ve hunted all over NE WA and N ID. Big whitetails are going to have alot antler in early June regardless of where they live. They arent going to be split at g2 in early June and magically start growing 4” a day and 150 plus

I'm getting a little frustrated with you and buck fever telling me how old deer are.
Not sure how big you think WT come out of the womb.
But here is a 1 yr old ,still with its mom.
YEARLING BUCK.
It's not a fawn,it doesn't have spots.
So if your so smart on deer age ,I guess this one is a month old.
I'm really starting to question your deer aging ability.

You do you.. I’ve done this allot more seriously than you for allot longer. That buck you posted like I said is 1 years old! Meaning it was born last spring. His first year with antlers. There is no way that buck is 3! I also stated it’s a small 2 yr old possibly. I’m not looking at antlers. Looking at body composition
This buck is 3 and I know this cause I’ve watched him

[muleyslayer#1]

That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

The amount of people that say they saw a 200” buck when in reality it was probably a 170-180 always blows my mind. Biggest buck I’ve seen in WA was probably 180-190. I’ve only seen real absolute giants in either MT or ID while hunting but they were on private land we didn’t have access too.

[Mtnwalker]

That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

Let's see that 200" !!

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Karl Blanchard]

That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

Let's see that 200" !!

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

  :yeah:x3 

[Ironhead]

[quote author=huntnphool


 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 

[/quote]

I saw a picture of your buck from last year. He is true WA giant.

[dilleytech]

I think of a nice big buck as being a mature old buck. Inches don’t really play into it. Where I live a big buck inches wise though would be over 140”. Picking up a lot of sheds over the years gives you an idea what a big buck for the area is. If I ever saw a 160” deer that would be a giant.

[hunter399]

How big is this WT.
I guess how big will he be.
It harder to judge than you may think.
Now keep in mind ,bigger buck this time of year will be branching.
Eye guards will be bigger,on a big buck for this time of year.
This guy is kinda small,but still decent.
Probably 3 year old ,maybe.

That deer is 1 or a very little 2 yr old. A whitetail buck that scores over 150” when he’s done will be branching at G3’s by early June . I’ve gotten to watch a ton of big bucks grow over the last 30 years. Here is example of a big buck.. June 4.. this bucked grossed in 170’s. Your genetically blessed deer get shot usually well before being mature , because people get caught up in inches. I’ve seen 2 yr old whitetails that were very decent 5x5’s and those bucks were on their way to being huge bucks at 5 plus

Not every habitat+genics is gonna be same as your spot.
Just saying.

Still doesn’t change that the pic you posted is a 1yr old buck. I don’t have a “spot” I’ve hunted all over NE WA and N ID. Big whitetails are going to have alot antler in early June regardless of where they live. They arent going to be split at g2 in early June and magically start growing 4” a day and 150 plus

I'm getting a little frustrated with you and buck fever telling me how old deer are.
Not sure how big you think WT come out of the womb.
But here is a 1 yr old ,still with its mom.
YEARLING BUCK.
It's not a fawn,it doesn't have spots.
So if your so smart on deer age ,I guess this one is a month old.
I'm really starting to question your deer aging ability.

You do you.. I’ve done this allot more seriously than you for allot longer. That buck you posted like I said is 1 years old! Meaning it was born last spring. His first year with antlers. There is no way that buck is 3! I also stated it’s a small 2 yr old possibly. I’m not looking at antlers. Looking at body composition
This buck is 3 and I know this cause I’ve watched him

Exactly and I believe you.
But if I post a pic ,you won't believe me.
The only reason I used these pics from this cam is because there is a bunch of dinky bucks on it.
It's not a honey hole.

YEARLING buck story time.
That yearling buck will stay with its mom till fall.
It will grow spikes 4-6 in long.
Fall a bigger buck will bump him away from its mom.
He will lag behind its mom and the bigger buck.
A hunter will jump them,mom and big boy will run off to the next county.
Yearling buck will still be lagging behind and stand there like stupid in front of the hunter.
BOOM
Your in NE Washington. Tag notched.

Habitat and genics story time.
I agree that habitat is great in the NE.
But genics for big bucks is not always the case.
That cam is on public that is hunted very hard.
In these areas genics for big boys can be gone.
Because these bucks never have a chance to reach mature status.
All the big boys with good genics are gone,genics have been shot out by hunters.
In areas that border private land or areas that are not hunted at all ,there is a mature buck holed up there. He then is able to pass his genics on to the next fawns.
Without being shot. The area will have better genics for BIG BUCKS.

As you said habitat is great here,that's also why I only use the iodine salt block.
Cause I don't care about there antler. I'm trying to help the deer/elk/moose get the nutritional stuff from there habitat. But at the same time not harm them in any way,through drought,and other weather conditions.

JUST AN FYI
I've lived in the NE my whole life.
I run 10-20 cams a year probably in a 50 mile circle of my hunting spots.
Not every spot is same,you would know this if you where doing the same.
You most likely are better at ageing mature bucks then me.
That doesn't mean your better every time.
Because I've lived here my whole life,I have a pretty good idea where your cams are at.
I won't be posting any honey hole pics this year.
You could just agree with me from time to time.

[kentrek]

That buck has a 3” and 5” point and doesn’t meet some of your “big buck” criteria because it only scores 169”!

 Only 169”, but the 40”+ of mass and frame make it a giant…even with a 3” and 5” point! Had it matched the other sides, it would have been well over the 180 mark…but according to some on here, not a “big buck”

 I have several bucks over 180 in this state, topped the 200” mark last season, and have never looked at “score” while sizing up a buck. Again for me, it’s all about mass!
 
 Find a buck with mass and you have found a “mature” buck…which is all my family looks for. 

Let's see that 200" !!

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

  :yeah:x3 

 

I can't agree more on the frame and mass, two years ago a tag holder was after the 200" number and passed on a perfect typical 190...he shot a much smaller frame deer with trash that put him right at 200. We then killed a high 170s typical later on and that 200 seemed like it could fit inside it

What each individual considers big or cool is pretty personal and il support them all !

[borntoslay]

How big is this WT.
I guess how big will he be.
It harder to judge than you may think.
Now keep in mind ,bigger buck this time of year will be branching.
Eye guards will be bigger,on a big buck for this time of year.
This guy is kinda small,but still decent.
Probably 3 year old ,maybe.

That deer is 1 or a very little 2 yr old. A whitetail buck that scores over 150” when he’s done will be branching at G3’s by early June . I’ve gotten to watch a ton of big bucks grow over the last 30 years. Here is example of a big buck.. June 4.. this bucked grossed in 170’s. Your genetically blessed deer get shot usually well before being mature , because people get caught up in inches. I’ve seen 2 yr old whitetails that were very decent 5x5’s and those bucks were on their way to being huge bucks at 5 plus

Not every habitat+genics is gonna be same as your spot.
Just saying.

Still doesn’t change that the pic you posted is a 1yr old buck. I don’t have a “spot” I’ve hunted all over NE WA and N ID. Big whitetails are going to have alot antler in early June regardless of where they live. They arent going to be split at g2 in early June and magically start growing 4” a day and 150 plus

I'm getting a little frustrated with you and buck fever telling me how old deer are.
Not sure how big you think WT come out of the womb.
But here is a 1 yr old ,still with its mom.
YEARLING BUCK.
It's not a fawn,it doesn't have spots.
So if your so smart on deer age ,I guess this one is a month old.
I'm really starting to question your deer aging ability.

You do you.. I’ve done this allot more seriously than you for allot longer. That buck you posted like I said is 1 years old! Meaning it was born last spring. His first year with antlers. There is no way that buck is 3! I also stated it’s a small 2 yr old possibly. I’m not looking at antlers. Looking at body composition
This buck is 3 and I know this cause I’ve watched him

Exactly and I believe you.
But if I post a pic ,you won't believe me.
The only reason I used these pics from this cam is because there is a bunch of dinky bucks on it.
It's not a honey hole.

YEARLING buck story time.
That yearling buck will stay with its mom till fall.
It will grow spikes 4-6 in long.
Fall a bigger buck will bump him away from its mom.
He will lag behind its mom and the bigger buck.
A hunter will jump them,mom and big boy will run off to the next county.
Yearling buck will still be lagging behind and stand there like stupid in front of the hunter.
BOOM
Your in NE Washington. Tag notched.

Habitat and genics story time.
I agree that habitat is great in the NE.
But genics for big bucks is not always the case.
That cam is on public that is hunted very hard.
In these areas genics for big boys can be gone.
Because these bucks never have a chance to reach mature status.
All the big boys with good genics are gone,genics have been shot out by hunters.
In areas that border private land or areas that are not hunted at all ,there is a mature buck holed up there. He then is able to pass his genics on to the next fawns.
Without being shot. The area will have better genics for BIG BUCKS.

As you said habitat is great here,that's also why I only use the iodine salt block.
Cause I don't care about there antler. I'm trying to help the deer/elk/moose get the nutritional stuff from there habitat. But at the same time not harm them in any way,through drought,and other weather conditions.

JUST AN FYI
I've lived in the NE my whole life.
I run 10-20 cams a year probably in a 50 mile circle of my hunting spots.
Not every spot is same,you would know this if you where doing the same.
You most likely are better at ageing mature bucks then me.
That doesn't mean your better every time.
Because I've lived here my whole life,I have a pretty good idea where your cams are at.
I won't be posting any honey hole pics this year.
You could just agree with me from time to time.

Thanks 399. Don't let people get to you like that. I think most guys here are just trying to hash things out in a logical, respectful way for the most part. Unless it's that one guy that has always has something to say about whatever bigmacc says.Just because someone disagrees, it doesn't mean they're attacking you. All those little bucks are a year or two old. Who cares?! Let's just look at them. Hope you don't stop sharing pics

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[boneaddict]

The nice thing about most 200 inch bucks is that you don’t have to worry about field judging them, and if you do, you better be up on your math skills.