I'm thinking 4.5. What do y'all think? Ranch is in Medina County.

5+

x2

Solid 4.5 year old he will be nicer if he has a chace to

Yeah, he's plenty fat right now.

7+ on that very mature buck. Gray on the forehead is a sign of a mature buck along with that body. That is a pretty nice 8 point for Medina County. Looks to be northern part also.

No doubt older than 4.5! That thing is a beast. I am going with 6+. I don't have much experience with deer older than that.

You know I just noticed the gray on the forehead once I put it on my computer. I had only looked at it on my phone before that.

6+ Good looking buck and good luck

Dont see it at all , he has a nice gray head but that doesn't mean he is old heck my 3.5 year old had the same thing and i though he would have been older but he wasn't thats why i know a lot of people miss judge the age of dee on the hoof . Also like said many many times most areas deer dont not get older than 4.5 to 5.5 due to so many hunters these days but i will just let it go an not say anymore.

You are questioning probably the most knowledgeable guy on the forum when it comes to aging. His opinion on the subject is the only one of this forum I value more than my own. But carry on.

I said it was a sign ("along with that body") not the end to end all for aging. I have seen an occasional 3yr old with gray on the forehead also, but they did not look like a tank or have a stainded hock the first week of Sept either. Not every buck in that county will look like the bucks in that same county or in another county. I lived and hunted in Medina County for 6+ yrs so I have decent idea of how old bucks get there and what they look like at all ages in that county. When I look at deer I look at reason to keep one vs reasons to kill one. When the reason to kill out number the to keep then it is obvious what I would do. But it is a forum and you opinions welcome just as much as mine

Thanks STX. I watched this buck all summer, and thought 4.5, but then seeing these pics I started to think he might be a bit older. It's hard for me to put a 6.5 on him because I know how darn rare it is for a buck to get to 6.5 in this neck of the woods!

One problem I have aging deer on our place in Medina County is that it's in such a transitional geography. Not quite hill country, and not quite south Texas either. So, we'll get bucks with big bellies like a deer you'd find further south, but thin necks like a buck you'd see in the Hill Country. It makes aging deer on the hoof in north central Medina County very difficult in my opinion.

I lived 16 miles north of Hondo in the transition area in the Bandera Pass area from the late 90's till early 2000's. I had bucks in the 5-6 yr old age class that I would see back then. I killed one that was a 5 yr old. I would imagine that the age structure is even better with more management minded hunters. There is a lot of pressure also in that county but bucks still get some age. How many years have you seen this buck?

OLD and FAT!!!

Now you are picking on me too!!!

Last year was the first year I saw him. He showed up around Christmas for the first time, and I've had pictures of him multiple times per week ever since.

Last year was spotty for rainfall in the north part of the county from what I saw. So I would imagine they rutted down pretty bad. He probably found your feeder and liked it. Are you off of 173 or 462 or? If you don't want to say I understand. I fed protein for 4 yrs and really could tell it held the bucks closer to my little place and kept a few alive. Water was the big draw for me since there was not any tank water and very few water troughs close to me. I had a larger ranch about 1/2 mile south of me that would kill a 140 class buck every year or so (in the 90's). To northwest was a really large ranch that killed some nice bucks but they sold off the south part and subdivided it into 100+ acres tracts. To the west were some larger ranches also that would kill an occasional 150 to mid 160's buck in very wet years. All that area around me was pretty good habitat if it was not thick with cedar. It just needed average rainfall every year.

Kinney, Medina, Uvalde all suffer the same disease. You'll get better as you kill more deer

History on the ranch of seeing certain deer for 3, 4 or 5 yrs is really helpful for aging deer. When I lived there I had 3 yrs worth of video footage of some bucks off of the little place I had. I only owned it for 5 yrs. Body sizes there are not bad in the transition area also.

Yep, we're about 5 miles north on 173. Just about 2 miles west of the highway. I've been feeding protein 9 months a year for 3 years now, and I am starting to see a difference in body size. That, combined with the pretty good rains we had this spring and summer (compared to the last few years) have got bucks like this guy pretty well fed right now.

I know the area and the farmers land you are west of. They had some decent deer back when I lived in that area and were going to limit hunting back when I left in 2003 on their farms. Medina County is the land of subdivision so that plays into any management goals. You are surrounded by them. One thing to your advantage is all the farm crops and irrigation close to you. The creek is another plus for cover and travel during the rut. I scored a 6x6 that was in the low 140's that was only a 3 yr old that was killed not to far to your west/southwest in the early 2000's. The genetics the closer to the hills you get are better than south of 90 for the most part (until you get way south in the county). Medina County used to get day hunted/leased really bad back years ago. Buck to doe ratio was way out of whack. That improved when I was there but there were still a few day hunting places. One was about 4 miles north of you.

I'd say 6.5, but at least 5.5.