The hard horn pictures are from 2 years ago after the season, the velvet pictures are from this summer.
As a baseline, I just measured his shed from 2 years ago, and with a 14" spread, with the other side matching, I estimate him to gross mid to high 140s.
He's got the same sticker point on the main beam, although this year it's further from the brow tine.
The brow tines have a similar configuration; bladed with the right one being shorter than the other.
Decent mass and blading to the end of the main beam, particularly visible on the left antler.
ok maybe not, but I do agree with archery95 that those are different deer with the same genetics. A few things make me believe this:
1. the kicker is not in the same spot 2. another kicker off the G3 on the left beam 3. its a 9 point and not a ten 4. it looks like the brows are uneven vs even in the previous year 5. his snout is very dark now vs then although I would love to see a daylight pic from last year to look at his throat patch and face coloration.
Regardless two bruisers that I would be thrilled to get a shot at this year, definitely 140's.
I'm starting to agree that they're two different bucks with similar genetics. If he was only 4 1/2 when the photos were taken in early 2012, that would make him 6 1/2 this year. The buck in velvet doesn't look 6 1/2 to me, that's for sure.
For some reason, stickers between the brow and G2 and split brows seem to run in my area.
I haven't checked cameras since he shed his velvet, he may not even still be around.
What do you guys think?
I hope he's not only 2 1/2! I don't want to have to wait another 2 years to hunt him! Then again, if he's only 2 1/2, I can just imagine what he'll look like when he's 4 1/2.
I was fortunate enough to kill this deer on the 3rd day of the Manitoba archery season. Looking at his jawbones, I could tell by the molar wear that he was a very old deer. I've sent his incisors in for cementum aging but won't have the results for a while.
I started looking at all my trail camera photos from previous years after I got Curly (as I called him) and I realized that I actually had photos of this deer all the way back to 2008, the first year I began bowhunting. Even in 2008, he was a mature 5x5, so even if he was only 3 years old in 2008 (I believe he was 4, judging by body shape, size and characteristics, but it's possible he was only 3), that would make him 9 in 2014, when I killed him. He is undoubtably the same deer. Some photos are easier to tell than others, but the one characteristic that he carried his whole life was a unique double throat patch. It's extremely small, about the size of a silver dollar and directly below his main throat patch. Directly above the silver dollar sized patch, the main throat patch dips up towards his jaw. That's the only way I can tell he's the same deer, as his antlers have changed so much over the course of his lifetime. Here's a good look at the double throat patch. Sorry for the crooked photo.
Where are the photos of you with him? Pretty cool you finally got it.
