# Age/Rack size



## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

Hey guys,
I was talking to a friend this morning about hunting and bucks in Ohio, and he was telling me that it is fairly common for a 2 1/2 year old buck in Ohio to score 140 or better. Obviously, most deer don't reach their full potential until 4 1/2 +... and I realize their are many bucks in the Buckeye state that are much, much bigger than 140 class. 

What do you all think??


----------



## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

IT just really depends on the bucks bloodline and what He's eating.It may be a common occurence on some farms where the buck eats proteins 24 hours a day.But even then in my opinion it would be a rarity.


----------



## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

I hear you... that statement seemed like a bit of a stretch to me, but I also realize the bucks get alot bigger in Ohio!! ....and it has alot to do with the constant food source bucks have in many areas.


----------



## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

The odds of a 2.5 yo buck reaching 140" are slim to none. Even with the very best food, it just doesn't happen often. Many, if not most, people aren't even close on age estimates.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I would think a good sized 2.5 year buck would maybe reach the 120's. I can't say that I see a lot of 140 class deer each year and I would guess they are more like 4.5 year old deer. That is simply my guess and I have no experience in agin deer so you can take that as a guess only.


----------



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

An old friend of mine raised bucks and does that were orphaned fawns. He fed those bucks all sorts of Hi-pro supplement as well as quality feed plus natural browse. The bucks would hit the 140 class in the 4th or 5th year. He had some real monsters in both body and rack size during the 6th year. The deer with exceptional rack's were usually sold in the 5th or 6th year. Then there were bucks that never developed large rack's in spite of all the special food.


----------



## flypilot33 (Feb 9, 2006)

I worked at a check station for years and during the gun season they age deer. With the big bucks they don't usually use their tool to check the teeth but on some they look inside and figure it out the hard way and 3 1/2 is the youngest bucks we ever saw that would be around 140, and there were a few that would push 140 at that age too. But down here there are great blood lines and plenty of food. Brad Jerman shot his buck just down the street from this particular check station.


----------



## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

who is brad jerman?


----------



## flypilot33 (Feb 9, 2006)

Look that one up. http://www.jermanbuck.com/ 
largest typical buck killed by crossbow.


----------



## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

I shot a buck that scored 136 and I find it hard to believe that my buck could have been 2.5 years old. I agree with what bkr. 2.5 bucks can grow to 120 class, but the bloodline has to be superb and his diet awesome. I'd say 3.5 to 4.5 on average would reach 140 class.


----------



## Onion (Apr 10, 2004)

ernie gooding said:


> Hey guys,
> I was talking to a friend this morning about hunting and bucks in Ohio, and he was telling me that it is fairly common for a 2 1/2 year old buck in Ohio to score 140 or better. Obviously, most deer don't reach their full potential until 4 1/2 +... and I realize their are many bucks in the Buckeye state that are much, much bigger than 140 class.
> 
> What do you all think??


I think your friend is trying to make you jealous.


----------



## chase845 (Nov 2, 2005)

I killed two 120 class 2 1/2 year olds and I felt like an idiot for shooting them when I found out how young they were. A 140 class 2 1/2 would be really pretty amazing but I think it's certainly possible. I think I've seen some on the Drury videos. I have to disagree with some people on here, I think there's a lot of 2 1/2 year old 120 class bucks in certain parts of the state. Exactly the deer I should have let walk.


----------



## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Again, many people aren't close on their age estimates.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Also there is a huge difference between a 120 class deer and a 140 class. I have to believe that there are a lot of 2.5-3.5 year old bucks walking around the woods but spotting a deer in the 140 range is just not that common. And I do live in an area of the state that has its share of large bucks.


----------

