I Rolled The Dice.....

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Thanks for the comments guys! Like Kurt said, I've had a pretty good fall! We all know there is always a fair amount of blind luck involved in killing the big ones, and we'll all take it as it comes...

I sure love the mystery of big mule deer bucks...I'd hunted that area for years and never knew that buck was there, other than some large tracks and oversized rubs. I believe some of those old smart bucks are almost totally nocturnal, and some of them avoid being with does in the daylight hours, even this time of year. I also believe some of those oldtimers don't even rut at all.

I'm betting he is at least 7 1/2 years old, looking at the wear on his teeth. I'll have a local biologist confirm it.
 
I think you might be under estimating the age a bit. Those molars are pretty dished out.
 
His body was healthy with a good amount of fat. I've killed larger bodied bucks, but he wasn't small through the body. Following a fairly easy winter, and a tremendous feed year could explain him still producing a set of antlers like that. If he was slipping out of his prime, I would sure liked to have layed my eyes on him at the maximum peak of his life....hope he left some of those genetics behind..
 
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