Age and Advice question

[OUTDOORSMANEVERETT]

Back Ground:
New property for us this year, small farm. Other than hunting my parents house growing up, I've never hunted a small place before so this year has been a learning experience for me. The property has not been utilized in the past for hunting purposes. It has been maintained (tax record) as a tree farm, however it has not been thinned since sometime before 1995 (oldest records I've been able to get). Very old and large oaks and pines all over the place.

• Palestine, TX 43 acres 40 of which is natural minus food plot a senderos

• low fenced Barbed wire around whole place

• zero to no human pressure on our place as well as adjacent properties.

• minimal preadation lots of restricted cover for fawns

• Artesian Well clean and restricted

• 3 main oak patches. Mixed hardwoods and loblolly pines.

• 2 to 1 Mature Buck to Mature Doe ratio

• 8 to 1 Total Buck to Total Doe ratio

• Only 2 non producing does last year

• Only 1 dropped a single, all others had twins

• We have placed in one food plot this year however the floods have negatively effected crop production next year we will have two plots totaling 8 acres of the total farm. Gravity fed protein as well as mineral locations provided liberally dispersed throughout the property

Question:

1. Out of all of my young breading age bucks, the genetics of this buck are the ones I want to promote the most; Given we are providing additional nutrients and availability not previously provided on this property what do you guys believe this little guy can grow into.

What is his current age and for you guys who have experience in this neck of the woods when do the buck tend to peak out. [/LIST]

[RMW]

I don't hunt east Texas so not sure about y'all's rut. But I will say that deer is probably 4.5-5.5 around 125-130 and probably won't get much bigger than that. Any how nice deer!

[sharkhunter]

I'm saying he's in the 3 to 4 year range and being on a small place i would shoot him if I had the chance. He could use a couple of years though if the 8 pt frame doesn't bother you.

[OUTDOORSMANEVERETT]

Thanks guys.
I was putting him at 4 and 120-ish. The main 8 frame doesn't bother me. I personally prefer long tines and symmetry over freaks. Majority of my hunting has been done on thousand acre leases that were heavily managed as well as remote, so I'm starting this year from a place of ignorance and just trying to learn what I can on the region and the differences in the whitetail here.

[tl1197]

It sounds like a great place you got there. Give that buck a few more years to grow with your feeding program. I would suggest feeding protein as soon as possible so that he is healthy through the winter and spring so that his growth during the summer can be focused on his horns, not his body.