Age?

[charlie 01]

It's still a wonderment about his antlers, "why". I think your right Deebz. He has a short face. A hunting buddy of mine shot one like that with a short fat face, only his was a heavy beamed nontypical,and old. If you really look, there are differences in some deer. Some have long faces with a kind of skinny nose while others have short faces and fat noses. This deer's face looks like the many big bucks that come out of Alberta Canada with the short fat face. This is (not every) bucks characteristic look from around these parts. Seems like just a few develope this. It's nothing bad, just different. Every time I look at the pics of a big 10pt I shot several years ago, it's face reminds me of a bottle nose dolphin. Just the way it narrows down from his eyes to his nose.

Here is a pic of a long nosed bruiser and he is no youngster.

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And another long nose.

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[Deebz]

That is cool to see the various characteristics that deer can have not only in their antlers, but in basic physiology. I like to see the various colorations deer can have also... double throat patch, piebald, that kind of thing

[SwampLife]

The only time I saw a buck with both antlers small and screwed up is of an older buck that had a kind of brain disease. Something you would never want to run across, believe me.

He could have injured his skull or pedestals last year fighting. Those antlers are unnaturally small.

Definitely old enough to shoot, but Like JPH said, if you are in a 1 buck state, tough choice to make on him.

[charlie 01]

This is the one that reminds me of a bottle nose dolphin.

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[charlie 01]

Hows this one for color Dbeez?

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[Deebz]

Now that's my kind of buck! I would almost have to mount any deer of any size I shot that was a redhead like me ... I really would like to do a bear hunt up north somewhere with a good chance of shooting a cinnamon phase black bear...

[Deebz]

Ok, so I'm going to have to put my money where my mouth is...

Shot this guy Sat morning of second session gun season. Watched him bed down in the creek a couple hundred yards away, put a sneak on him by cutting through a chisel plowed corn field and then dropping back down into the creek.. he got up 20 yards in front of me and I shot him as he started running... I wasn't sure I'd hit him as he didn't react at all, then I lost sight of him another 50 yards or so ahead of me... I started following his tracks (no blood anywhere to be found), and actually walked up on him 10 FEET in front of me on the side of creek bank... He jumped up again and I shot again, catching lung and traveling up into the spine, which dropped him right there.... He had some really cool coloration, on top of being a nice 8 point...

He's a redhead...

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First deer I've shot with a double throat patch

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I've never seen white here on the ears of a deer

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He'll be my first shoulder mount...