Thoughts on if you think this is the same deer this year that was here 2 years ago. The base characteristics seem to similar to be. There also seems to be what we called funky buck in some of the group photos this year that my older buck always ran around with all year.
Same buck?
- Thread starter Shine
- Start date
georgeeebuck
Ten Pointer
Same ,looks to have the same notch in its left ear .
I would say no for two reasons.. first is tine length, they don't tend to lose that much length as they age. 2. that turning down of the tip in this years picture does not seem to be indicated in the older one. I could be wrong here but not sure I would care either.. they both look growed
The funky point off the base on the left side is the indicator that makes me wonder the most, but they could simply be related and not be the same deer. Have hunted the same properties my entire life and it is not hard to see the relations in the racks over the years.
The funky point off the base on the left side is the indicator that makes me wonder the most, but they could simply be related and not be the same deer. Have hunted the same properties my entire life and it is not hard to see the relations in the racks over the years.
Good catch. ... and nice deer!
Bollweevil
Eight Pointer
That's the first thing I noticed too. It's the same deer I believe.
I never even noticed the notch.
Hard to tell for me if similar gene pool. I put my friend on a buck the other year that I believe was probably same family. As far as length I think It could also maybe be difference in still growing vs already out of velvet. This is the prime month of growth for them from what I’ve seen. I could see your points though and that’s what I was trying to get other opinions for. I had the older picture buck below me one morning and was dumb for not pulling the trigger but kept thinking the better shot would come. He survived that season (had pictures in January) but last year he was a no show.
No, and not even close, IMO.
ETA: The notch in the ear is the only thing that would make me think so.
ETA: The notch in the ear is the only thing that would make me think so.
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Dan Apple
Old Mossy Horns
Agree... and the notch is different...
DRS
Old Mossy Horns
Thought it could be the same deer. Then y'all pointed out the notch in the ear. Fairly sure its the same deer.
Homebrewale
Old Mossy Horns
It seems in every "same deer" thread, posters want it to be the same deer. I don't want it to be the same deer. That means there is the possibility I have two nice deer to hunt instead of one.
bowhuntingrook
Old Mossy Horns
Just the fact he was worth someone shooting 2 years ago when he was also mature and we are assuming he's still alive, this would be rare in itself for a buck to make it to what I believe would be 6/7 years old based on the 2020 pic. Then to have bigger rack. I've never been able to confirm a deer that left for a year was ever the same one cause the racks change so much on deer where I'm at and the ones that don't I can't tell apart. I just can't put faith on an ear notch and funky bases since many mature deer like both of those have ear notches and funk at bases.
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Here's what I see when I look at those two pics.
First, the pics are two years apart, yet the deer appear to be about the same age. The buck in the 2020 pics is mature already, certainly 4.5+, which means most of his growth and rack formation is already done. A few inches in length and mass maybe, but very few bucks in NC are going to change much after that point.
The 2022 pics appear to have more points, much longer beams, and a different rack shape overall. The most notable thing to me is that the relative lengths of the G2 and G3 is reversed. In the first set of pics, the buck is an base 8-pt. with G2's considerably longer than the G3's. In the second set, the G3's are longer than the 2's. That is distinctive, and doesn't usually change as a deer ages. I think it's also worth noting that it's a 10-pt. frame. If a deer doesn't have a basic 10-pt. frame by age 4, I don't think he develops that given another year or two. A deer will tell you what his base frame is gonna be by 3.5 usually. The brows are different also. Again, something that doesn't change much at maturity. The sticker at the base of the left antlers is in a similar location, but it's a totally different shaped point.
Frankly, you would come closer to convincing me that it's the other deer in the last 2020 pic.
good catch, I did not even look at the other one in the 2020 pic very close, you may be onto something there.
A lot of good insights, here. Would your assessment and conclusions change if the deer in the 2020 pics was 3.5 rather than the 4.5 you assume?
No, but IMO, he's solidly 4.5.