I’ll admit it.
I have no idea what constitutes a mature whitetail buck.
This is because I generally deer hunt private property with guides whose job it is to know what constitutes such.
Call me lucky.
Or spoiled.
Regardless…
It was during my latest whitetail hunt, however, that I decided to finally learn what constitutes a mature whitetail buck. Here’s what I learned from Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch owner and master of all things whitetail, Donald Hill.
One size does not fit all.
Although what maturity looks like varies region to region, look for big strong necks, chest, head and even legs.
What constitutes maturity in one region of the country doesn’t necessarily in another. “Take Texas for example,” Hill suggests. “You can look at the sway back, you can look at the pot belly on a Texas deer and know it’s reached maturity. A Midwestern deer may never develop a sway back. I mean even when it’s five, six, seven years old, they don’t get much of a sway back. So most of the time when I’m looking at a Midwestern deer, I’m looking at chest, neck, head, even feet. Feet, a lot of times will give me a little bit better idea of [their maturity]. If they get real big ankles or real big feet, they’re a little bit older deer. So, it’s a little bit, depends on what area of the country you’re in.”
Gray doesn’t mean old or even older.
“A lot of people think that if deer are gray, they’re old,” Hill explains. “Yeah, you might get some gray muzzles…There’s so many theories on the whitetail deer out there that I don’t buy into. I’ve seen red-headed old deer, I’ve seen red-headed young deer. I’ve seen gray-headed old deer, I’ve seen gray-headed young deer. It’s a genetic trait, it’s no different than a human being. Sometime a deer’s eyes or around their eyes might turn a little bit more gray the older they get. But just because you see a gray muzzle on a deer doesn’t mean it’s an old deer.”
Just how old is old?
Maturity comes with age but just how old can a whitetail get?
“We’ve taken several deer over 13 years old here,” Hill explains. “A 10, 15-year-old deer is not as uncommon as you would think. When deer get the right nutrition, and don’t succumb to predators, they can actually live a pretty long time.”
Antler size is not necessarily an indicator of maturity. This buck has a a large rack, but the thin neck, face and legs of youth.
What maturity looks like at Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch.
“We start taking some deer at 3 1/2, 4 1/2, 5 1/2 years old,” Hills explains. “They’re going to be 250, 300 pounds. Their average score is going to be probably 255 inches or so. We take them a little bit earlier in maturity just because they have the right nutrition, they have the right genetics that they reach their genetic potential at 3, 4, 5, 6 years old.”
To review
Although what maturity looks like varies region to region, look for big strong necks, chest, head and even legs. Ignore color and instead focus on the animal’s overall appearance. Big and healthy means maturity.
Author Gayne C. Young has contributed to Sporting Classics for more than 20 years. He is the author of And Monkeys Threw Crap At Me: Adventures in Hunting, Fishing, and Writing, Texas Safari: The Game Hunters Guide To Texas, Sumatra, The Tunnel, Bug Hunt, Teddy Roosevelt: Sasquatch Hunter, Vikings: The Bigfoot Saga, and more. In January 2011, Gayne C. Young became the first American outdoor writer to interview Russian Prime Minister, and former Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Visit Gayne at his Amazon page.
Duncan Dobie’s first Dawn of American Deer Hunting sold more than 8,000 copies! But our Volume II is even bigger with more than 250 pages, 400 photographs, plus a special full-color section featuring some of the best whitetail paintings ever done.
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