Just kinda bored today here at the office and really tired of all of this gun control talk to thought i would dig through my picture archives and pull up some buck photos and share with you guys of what I am doing on my farm that is helping me grow bigger better deer! I have and manage several farms around the state and for me personally i set a one buck limit on myself per farm (but never ever would kill more than 2 per year, havent even done that). I supplemental feed year round and plant food plots for my deer and all of that. But to me the key factor is letting your deer reach a mature age, I like to do the best i can to let them reach 4 or 5 years old. Sometimes a big 3 year old is very tempting, but i try to the best of my ability to let him walk by.
I have passed up a TON of bucks the last several years and have had chances at shooting some good ones but through my own mistakes i didnt capitalize on my chances. I have also let some great bucks walk that alot of people would have shot. Enough talk lets get to the pics. I am going to share with you guys several bucks on my farms that i have passed and been hunting for several years and are now at a mature age, i will put age overtop of each photo. Also wanted to post these pics so you guys could see the jump some of these deer made in just a years time, really shows you what age will do for a deer, pretty cool! Just thought this would be kinda cool and fun, hope you all enjoy.
Young 6 at what i think was 3 years old
Same buck the next year, last year i saw this deer but look at the growth he put on, think hes 4 1/2 here.
Heres a buck i named lloyd at 3 years old
Lloyd again last year at 4, great antler growth, really filled out
No pics of him on camera this year but here he is from still shot of video this year while hunting at 5 1/2 years old, really blew up nice, heavy mass and kickers on both G2's
Here is the buck im hunting on my Calhoun farm last year, think he was probably 3 but maybe 4
And here he is this year, really blew up i know hes at least 4 but may be 5.
Heres a quick pic of a deer i called harry at what i think was probably 2 but maybe 3
Then here he is again last year at 3 maybe 4. Put on a ton of growth
And last but not least one of the biggest bucks i have ever hunted. I never got to put an arrow through him, i think he has since moved on and died from old age but hes worth sharing. Had a number of encounters with him just never got lucky enough to shoot him.
Here he is at 4
And here he is at 5. Had a pic of him last year at 6 but dont have it here at work. then he disappeared
Just fun to look back through old pics of bucks and see what they turned into. This should show everyone that bucks can survive in WV and can make it to mature age, but you have to let them have a chance and let them walk. Remember the first one to pass up is always the hardest, after that its easy to leave your bow on the hanger. Also makes it easy when you have picture after picture of good bucks and you know they are in there. Hope you guys enjoyed this.
