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The Fridge: Discussion on mgt/genes/age
Aging
Messages posted to thread:
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
Franzen 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
Cottonwood88 10-Jul-15
EmbryO-klahoma 10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 10-Jul-15
Charlie Rehor 10-Jul-15
Bow Crazy 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
M.Pauls 11-Jul-15
Mark Watkins 11-Jul-15
deerman406 11-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 11-Jul-15
CAS_HNTR 11-Jul-15
caribou77 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
caribou77 11-Jul-15
jdouin 11-Jul-15
HUNT MAN 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
cityhunter 11-Jul-15
RutNut@work 12-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 14-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4 04-Nov-15
bumpinblaze4x4 26-May-16
IdyllwildArcher 26-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4 26-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4 26-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4 26-May-16
MDcrazyman 27-May-16
Charlie Rehor 27-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4 27-May-16
12yards 27-May-16


Date:10-Jul-15

Two years ago i was hunting a mature buck and started a thread titled "QDM Farm: Thoughts on this buck" (link below). This is a similar topic but with a different buck. I first became aware of "the fridge" in 2012; he was a great looking 2 or 3 year old at the time with good width, tall tines, and good frame size. Based on the shed (1 side) i found of him he appeared to be appx a 140" deer, assuming he had a 19-20" inside spread.

in 2013 he kept the same characteristics as the previous year but with less growth than i had expected. We were hit hard here in illinois with EHD in 2013 and lost several mature bucks (including the buck in my 2013 thread). We hunt 600 acres of private land that we own; this buck was on the "do not shoot" list due to his age of 3 (likely) and his potential to be a large framed buck. 2013 came and went and i found both his sheds. Assuming a 20-21" inside spread he would have scored in the mid 150's. A little less growth than i had hoped but i really thought he would hit 160" in 2013.

The name "the fridge" came about based on this trail camera picture taken in the summer of 2014. His body was huge but i was still a little dissapointed in his antler growth. Based on trail camera pictures over the year he seemed to gain a little mass and a little height but his beam length suffered and didn't he didn't seem to grow his frame very much over the last two years. Based on my history and pictures i guessed he was probably a 4.5 year old buck last fall (fall of 2014). I debated on taking him if i got the chance but i didn't. I ended up seeing him a couple times but most of the trailcam pictures were at night. I guessed him to be close to 170" in 2014 and when i found both sheds this past spring he totalled 165" (with an estimate of a 22" inside spread).

To me it's all about the hunt. I love hunting, i love sharing time with friends and family, but i also love hunting specific deer. We are fortunate to have a great place to hunt with minimal pressure and good genetics on our farm. I've been able to take several deer over 160" in the last few years.

Obviously you nor I can predict the future but assuming this buck will be 5 years old this year and his core area seems to be less than 100 acres (all sheds and trail cam pictures are on one corner of the farm). What would you expect his antlers to do this year? Trail cameras are in place and our farm is in beans so summer scouting is already underway (no sightings of the fridge yet). I'm curious to see what other people have experienced in regards to age and antler growth (both ups and downs as i have).

Lets try to keep this away from the "can't eat antlers" topic. Yes i'm a trophy hunter but its about much more than that to me.

2013 thread: http://www.bowsite.com/dbforums/thread.cfm? forum=4&threadid=422545&MESSAGES=103&FF=4

Date:10-Jul-15

bumpinblaze4x4's embedded Photo

2012 (appx 2 years old)

Date:10-Jul-15

bumpinblaze4x4's embedded Photo

2013 (appx 3 years old)

Date:10-Jul-15

bumpinblaze4x4's embedded Photo

2014 (appx 4 years old)

Date:10-Jul-15
bumpinblaze4x4's Supporting Link

2013 thread about "G3" if anyone is interested.

http://www.bowsite.com/dbforums/thread.cfm?forum=4&threadid=422545&MESSAGES=103&FF=4

Date:10-Jul-15

Based on the progression of this buck I would say very little to 0 size increase and maybe going to develop "junk" starting this year or next. Of course one never knows.

I would have shot him already if I had the opportunity. I realize you actually have a legitimate shot of watching them mature; I would certainly consider myself blessed in that instance.

Date:10-Jul-15

Franzen: Thanks. He was 100% typical this year but had some minor "blading" to some tines so the possibility (and hopes) for some trash this year are high.

Date:10-Jul-15

I wouldn't be surprised if he has added significantly this year due to heavy rains in most of the Midwest. 165" typical score is really great for a foreign a half year-old deer. You sir are a blessed man! Enjoy it!

Date:10-Jul-15

That's an impressive buck. At 5.5, this year, he should be impressive. I look forward to seeing this years pics of him. I'd say he puts on 10-15" and grosses in the mid to high 170's.

Date:10-Jul-15

Thanks guys; i'm hoping so. He seems to stay well hidden until august or so. Unfortunately the area of the farm he seems to reside in is difficult to hunt but two stands were placed for this fall with him in mind.

Date:10-Jul-15

It will be fun to see the pics for this year! Good luck! C

Date:11-Jul-15

I love the name "The Fridge". If you were from Wisconsin you would have named him "Raji".

What a great story! Thanks for posting. It will be interesting to see what he looks like this year. I'll guess - he stays mostly typical adds some tine length and some mass. How is that for a safe, mostly a non guess?

I'm sure you have other photos of him, what makes you think he was a 2.5 yr old in 2012? His body, in that photo, looks more mature to me. I know the rack is not a good indicator of age, but his rack is very impressive for a 2.5 yr old.

Keep the updates coming! BC

Date:11-Jul-15

sorry about the EHD it hurt many upper class bucks hope it didnt take the gentics out of the gene pool .Best of luck this season !

Date:11-Jul-15

Congratulations on following a buck like that for 3 consecutive years! That in itself is a feat and I sure hope youre able to get on to him again this year. Looking forward to the story on this guy!

Date:11-Jul-15

Very nice! Good luck this fall!

Mark

Date:11-Jul-15

I would think he is a year older than you believe. The pic. of him at 2.5 years old looks more to me like a 3 year old. Based on last years pics. I would say he will be a mid 170's buck this year but you never know for sure. Lets hope he shows up this year. Shawn

Date:11-Jul-15

deerman406: Thanks, my age guesses are estimates and hes always seemed to have a big body (hence the name). I was torn on whether he was a 2-3 year old in 2012 but at this point i think he could put on a little more mass and possible some trash but i think frame wise he probably wont grow alot. Hope to have some new pics in the next few weeks!

Date:11-Jul-15

Im not sure hes not a year older that you think.....he looks a awful big in that first pic to be 2.5, but it could be true and hes just a big bodied deer. Only way to find out is to get him down and get a lab age result!

Good luck and look forward to some more pics.

Date:11-Jul-15

Hell I woulda shot him in the 2.5 yr old pic...... One thing you need to remember is they dont all grow up to be b/c. They are just like people. Some grow to 5' some to 6'5". You are lucky to have so much land to hunt and manage! I would guess though that he puts on more mass this year than anything. Hell his times and beams were already great!

Date:11-Jul-15

killing him in the first pic is killing tomorrows trophy today !

Date:11-Jul-15

140" buck is a good deer in every part of the country. Including Iowa where I live. Awesome for those of you that have the land to be able to grow your own deer though. I would if I had the land.

By: jdouin
Date:11-Jul-15

I also think that you are 1 year behind. He looks 3.5 in the first picture. I also live and hunt in IL, and for a 2.5 year old to have that much body and antler growth would be hard for me to believe. However, deer age is not always a hard and fast prediction. There are just too many other factors that contribute to know for sure. If you dont mind me asking, what county do you live/hunt in?

Date:11-Jul-15

What a great story and even better buck. Hunt

Date:11-Jul-15

Chris I had this guy on camera in 2011 he looks 3 to 4 yrs old to me .

Date:11-Jul-15

cityhunter's embedded Photo

Chris I had this guy on camera in 2011 he looks 3 to 4 yrs old to me .

Date:11-Jul-15

cityhunter's embedded Photo

In 2012 he showed up again hes on the right so did EHD in the midwest.

Date:11-Jul-15

cityhunter's embedded Photo

2013 again EHD hit the midwest two yrs in a row . My hunter caught climpse of him but blew the shot . I caught eyes on him in person myself Big massive body big frame with great mass i guess he was 6 or 7 yrs old . this was the last time i seen him . RIP.

Date:11-Jul-15

cityhunter's embedded Photo

Old mature midwest bucks look so different from younger deer they look prehistoric on the hoof.

Date:12-Jul-15

I think he's older than you think. I really think he's 3.5 in that 2012 pic. I wouldn't be surprised to see him add a lot of mass this year.

Date:14-Jul-15

Well i wouldn't be disappointed if i was wrong on the age and i'd sure love to see some "jump" this year either way!

Date:04-Nov-15

bumpinblaze4x4's embedded Photo

So the fridge finally showed up on camera.....not sure how to hunt him but i have several stands in his core area. Not the greatest picture and i can't tell if thats an abnormal tine off of his right beam or just foliage in the background.

Date:26-May-16

If anyone is interested, i received my aging results today and he was a 7.5 year old buck this previous fall/winter.

Date:26-May-16

Did you kill him or someone/something else?

Is there a hero pic?

Date:26-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4's Supporting Link

Sorry. He's dead, i found him in january. More info at the link.

Date:26-May-16
bumpinblaze4x4's Supporting Link

Non mobile version link

Date:26-May-16

bumpinblaze4x4's embedded Photo

bumpinblaze4x4's Supporting Link

Non mobile version link

Date:27-May-16

Those aging results are good man, people really miss aging as its hard.

Date:27-May-16
Charlie Rehor's Supporting Link

Cementum aging is true aging.

Date:27-May-16

This buck and the one in my other thread were both done via cementum aging.

Date:27-May-16

So does that make him more than 2.5 in that first photo? I suppose it does.


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