MuleDeer Year By Year Growth

[DeerAddiction4]

I’ve been lurking this sight for a couple years now and decided I’d join in on the fun.

Here’s a collage of MuleDeer growth from year to year that I’ve put together. This buck first hit the scene in 2018 as a cool looking typical with a small cheater (170ish). In 2019 he became a great buck but we passed him because of the potential he had. In 2020 we planned to hunt him in September but he managed to shed his velvet and right after this trail camera pic he disappeared days before the first week of season (We had a hunter who planned to hunt him the second week). We found him again in mid October and kept a close eye on him for our hunter who was committed to hunt that buck and only that buck if he was still intact in December. He later broke a whole side off in late November a week before the December season started. In 2021 he was a great deer but we had our efforts focused on other giants. (A farmer picked his sheds up and we scored him at about 205ish). In 2022 we had the hunter who wanted to hunt him in the December of 2020 back to hunt with us in September of 2022. The buck wasn’t showing up on camera and we couldn’t find him. In late August he showed up and we figured he might have put on a few inches from the last year. He once again was not the first week client's choice so we knew that our second week client would love to harvest a deer he had history with. Fast forward to September and we killed a great high 190s buck the first week. We killed this buck the first day of his hunt. He surprised us and grossed 221 nontypical and 210 typical.

Thanks for reading this story

 

[DeerAddiction4]

Heres the pic

 

[CFMuley]

Do you have any harvest photos from when he was killed?

 

[Joe2Kool]

Kool story and pics!

And welcome aboard. Hopefully you read the fine print when you signed up. Especially the part about new members posting GPS coordinates of their kills!

Seriously, since you mentioned clients, guessing you're an outfitter.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

So I am not an outfitter yet. But yes my Dad owns and operates Sagebrushhunts

 

[DeerAddiction4]

CFMuley I’ll post some up tomorrow sometime

 

[Lou (Louis)]

Heres the pic

View attachment 148191

Am I the only one that would have preferred 2020?

 

[DeerAddiction4]

Am I the only one that would have preferred 2020?

Yea in 2020 he had the look. My favorite year was 2022 because of the extra eyeguards he had. I’ll try to post some more pictures up today or tomorrow so you guys can get some different angles of him.

 

[Joe2Kool]

Am I the only one that would have preferred 2020?

Those 4 standing side by side, 20 or 21 would be my first choice. Although 22 appears to be narrower, I think it is the picture angle or an illusion.

All that said, all 4 are bigger than anything I've ever killed so I wouldn't hesitate on either.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

In 2022 he was his widest he was 32” outside I believe. I will get some more pictures up tonight so you guys can get some better angles. I have some pics of him in the velvet in 19 and it’s one of my favorite pictures ever.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

“2022” I will put some more pics up tonight

 

[Ticks N Tines]

Hopefully I'm not hijacking your post, but I love the subject and watching bucks grow through the years and seeing how they change. Here's a few pics of bucks during several winters.

Note: most of these are my pics, but there's a chance a few may not be. It's been so long and I have taken so many pics, it's hard to remember.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

Hopefully I'm not hijacking your post, but I love the subject and watching bucks grow through the years and seeing how they change. Here's a few pics of bucks during several winters.

Note: most of these are my pics, but there's a chance a few may not be. It's been so long and I have taken so many pics, it's hard to remember.

View attachment 148661

View attachment 148662

View attachment 148663

View attachment 148664

No you’re not hijacking my post at all. Those are some stud bucks it’s very cool to see how some bucks decline and some bucks grow a ton. You can tell from your pics that age is definitely a factor. Feel free to post more pics up. It’s cool to see them

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

They don't always get bigger every year.

 

[Muleman1]

How old was the buck ?

 

[DeerAddiction4]

They don't always get bigger every year.

The top buck? Or Ticks and Tines bucks?

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

The top buck? Or Ticks and Tines bucks?

Bucks in general. Depends on the nutrition and body condition for that particular year. Once bucks are 5 years old they are at their Peak. The next handful of years they can stay about the same get a little bigger or get a little smaller.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

Bucks in general. Depends on the nutrition and body condition for that particular year. Once bucks are 5 years old they are at their Peak. The next handful of years they can stay about the same get a little bigger or get a little smaller.

I apologise I wasn’t trying to argue with your post. I was trying to reply to Muleman’s question and must’ve clicked yours instead. But yes the buck’s growth vary on the feed and winter conditions and how old they are. Most deer at 9 years old won’t put on much growth if any.

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

I apologise I wasn’t trying to argue with your post. I was trying to reply to Muleman’s question and must’ve clicked yours instead. But yes the buck’s growth vary on the feed and winter conditions and how old they are. Most deer at 9 years old won’t put on much growth if any.

No worries, you're good!

 

[passthrough]

2018

2021

2022

Here are pictures from a buck that I first found in 2018. As you can see his frame was there but not even close to what he would eventually become.
I had no pictures of him in 2019 and 2020. When he showed up in 2021 he was an absolute giant. I hunted him with no luck.
In 2022 he was the most consistent as he had ever been and I was able to kill him.
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

View attachment 148976
2018
View attachment 148978
2021
View attachment 148979View attachment 148980
2022
View attachment 148981
Here are pictures from a buck that I first found in 2018. As you can see his frame was there but not even close to what he would eventually become.
I had no pictures of him in 2019 and 2020. When he showed up in 2021 he was an absolute giant. I hunted him with no luck.
In 2022 he was the most consistent as he had ever been and I was able to kill him.
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

Awesome! Even as a 3 year old he was impressive.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

View attachment 148976
2018
View attachment 148978
2021
View attachment 148979View attachment 148980
2022
View attachment 148981
Here are pictures from a buck that I first found in 2018. As you can see his frame was there but not even close to what he would eventually become.
I had no pictures of him in 2019 and 2020. When he showed up in 2021 he was an absolute giant. I hunted him with no luck.
In 2022 he was the most consistent as he had ever been and I was able to kill him.
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

Wow that’s a stud

 

[Ticks N Tines]

View attachment 148976
2018
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

You sure the 2018 Buck is the same? Looks like a totally different frame, but that's just my opinion.

 

[passthrough]

You sure the 2018 Buck is the same? Looks like a totally different frame, but that's just my opinion.

I've thought long and hard about that as well. The area he was in is super low deer density. Like 4 deer total in miles and miles of country. I have all of the other 3 bucks accounted for that were with him in 2018. My thoughts is that because of that it has to be him. I guess a new buck could have shown up during that gap. His left horn shares a lot of similarities, I'll look for some pictures where you can see the nubs of the cheaters. I still have the other 3 bucks that were in the original 4. IDK where they go once they lose the velvet but it has to be far. I have them on my place from about May-early October, outside of that window absolutely nothing for miles and miles.

 

[DeerAddiction4]

I've thought long and hard about that as well. The area he was in is super low deer density. Like 4 deer total in miles and miles of country. I have all of the other 3 bucks accounted for that were with him in 2018. My thoughts is that because of that it has to be him. I guess a new buck could have shown up during that gap. His left horn shares a lot of similarities, I'll look for some pictures where you can see the nubs of the cheaters. I still have the other 3 bucks that were in the original 4. IDK where they go once they lose the velvet but it has to be far. I have them on my place from about May-early October, outside of that window absolutely nothing for miles and miles.

I assume they’re not as big as your buck?

 

[schoolhousegrizz]

View attachment 148976
2018
View attachment 148978
2021
View attachment 148979View attachment 148980
2022
View attachment 148981
Here are pictures from a buck that I first found in 2018. As you can see his frame was there but not even close to what he would eventually become.
I had no pictures of him in 2019 and 2020. When he showed up in 2021 he was an absolute giant. I hunted him with no luck.
In 2022 he was the most consistent as he had ever been and I was able to kill him.
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

Awesome! Even as a 3 year old he was impressive.

 

[passthrough]

I assume they’re not as big as your buck?

One of them should be a solid 185 kind of buck. I'm hoping that he takes a big jump this year, he's been the same size for the last 2 seasons. I'm thinking 185 is all he might ever be. In 2018 it was my big deer and 3 babies; they should all be 6ish this year. Two of them are 3x3's. One of them is that kind of 3x3 with a back fork and just a main beam up front.

 

[Buckfever34]

Awesome thread. Thank you for sharing.

 

[OwnMoreBone]

View attachment 148976
2018
View attachment 148978
2021
View attachment 148979View attachment 148980
2022
View attachment 148981
Here are pictures from a buck that I first found in 2018. As you can see his frame was there but not even close to what he would eventually become.
I had no pictures of him in 2019 and 2020. When he showed up in 2021 he was an absolute giant. I hunted him with no luck.
In 2022 he was the most consistent as he had ever been and I was able to kill him.
I think he was a 3yr old when he showed up in 2018.

Amazing Buck congrats...

 

[DeerAddiction4]

I put this together and thought I’d share it. In 2023 he was 198 you can’t see all the trash.