i been going through cam pictures , 1000's of them . seems like theres a big difference in antlers from 3 years old to 4 year old . why such a jump in just those two years or is my thinking just wrong ?

A deers skeletal structure and muscle mass are not fully done utilizing the majority of nutrients until 4-5 years old. That’s typically why deer peak in antler growth at 5-7 years of age. More nutrients are going to antler development instead of body mass. That jump at 3-4 is usually one of the most in terms of inches gained. The growth from 4-5 and 5-6 can also result in tremendous gains once the body is fully mature.

https://imgur.com/a/OCeEsOY
I’ve been remodeling and just rehung these two deer. My wife’s 9 and my 8 from year before last.
I just realized how much bigger the head is on hers, 1.5” taller and 1” wider.
Both I’d say we’re mature though. Thought it was interesting.

Any taxidermist will tell you they know a “mature” deer (5+) when they cut across section into the skull. They’re skeletal thickness is measurably different than younger deer.

I think of a bucks growth from 1.5 to 6.5 as similar to a human male’s growth from about 12 to 22. Rapid obvious gains until about 17, then substantial but slower gains until about 22. The difference between a 14 yr old and a 17 yr old on the football field is that leap from 3.5 to 4.5 in a buck.

We had a 10 pt killed at our club that was 148” gross green scored last year. Cementum aging had him at 4. I had pics of him the year before and the antler growth from 3 to 4 was crazy. He was a 10 pt at 3 but the mass he had at 4 was incredible. He probably scored 115-120 at 3.

That’s impressive. The most I’ve seen a native free range deer do in AL was 115” at 3 to 153” at 4. That’s quite a jump, and I honestly think he’d been close to a B&C had he made it to 5.

They usually pick up a lot of mass at 4-5.

Matt the cementum aging might be off but it was graded at an A so it should’ve been really accurate. The pics I had of him at what we thought was 3 he looked very much like a 3 year old body wise. It surprised all of us when he scored 148. But he was crazy heavy.

A 153” 4 year old is nuts.

That I noticed a long time ago . I often said I bet there a way to age a buck by skull thickness

Saw a series of antlers at a pheasant outfit in South Dakota the owner had picked up from the same buck every year for five years. The jump from age 3 to 4, as you said, was astonishing. More than 20 inches. And then again between 4 and 5, into the 170s. The owner was targeting him that coming season as a 6yo and believed he'd be up in the high 180s or more. I never found out if he tipped him over.

That buck the holy trio, too: food/habitat, genes and trigger restraint that led to age.

Matt ,, thats what my pictures show . I had a 7 point that grew mass at 4 and 5 at 6 he he added mass and another point and it evened him up on both side to make him a 8 point

I know it was buck because of a scare on his left side.. seems like the top out at 6 here

Some thing else I'm seeing . The be screwed up at 3 they be screwed up 4 and older . Just a bigger screwed up . I see know I should have went ahead and killed them when I had the chance.

Most of the time yes, but I’ve seen some grow out of pedicle injury and sport a dang nice symmetrical rack.

I believe this if you gonna kill a buck at 3 might as well kill them as a spike .

Killing one just cause the guy next door might kill it is just screwing your own self

I thought I’d read or heard that once a pedicle was damaged that a buck never had a chance to recover from that injury…

That’s not true. The severity and location of the injury determines that.

Have you ever saw or been a part of replacement rates studies?

I’d think that factors in too.

Read about replacement rates by age class and was intriguing

Thanks Matt on the reply

Dang Fine Bucks there globe... I'd say ya'll had a pretty good yr... Are those Bama bucks?...j/c...

last two years i have on this one , is this pedicle damage

https://bamahunter.com/032.JPG

https://bamahunter.com/035.JPG