What Ratio 8 pt vs. 10 pt

[Crappie Rage]

I am wondering what you guys see in your trail cam photos on mature deer 3.5 or older as far as basic 8 pt frame vs a basic 10 pt frame.

Then throw in your 2.5 yr olds and give me that ratio too. It could be my imagination but there seems to be a whole lot of 8 pt frames at my place.

I am assuming that if you have alot of 8pts you will always have alot of 8 pts due to genetics. Unless of course you can kill 15 or 20 8 pointers a year for 5 years.

[BucksnDucks]

If you let them they will grow!

[tracker x-2]

To my suprise i have had more 10 pts on my cam than eights.

[harvey lee]

Where we hunt, I would say a 2 to 1 for the 8 pointers.

[InTheNorthwoods]

I make the following statements based on my unscientific data and only personal observation from trail cams and sightings:

As far as mature deer, or deer that have started to show their potential, I have found in MN that I have more deer with frames greater than 8 points than strait 8's, where in ND, I have a mix of 4x4's and bucks with 5x5 frames or better. Overall, I find that the deer in MN seem to have better genetics, but that the deer in ND are given more of a chance to grow and have better food sources in the areas I am hunting.

So basically, I have more mature bucks to hunt in ND, but the potential for bigger bucks in MN. This year I had a couple bucks in MN displaying non-typical growth that is pretty cool. Hope they get the chance to show their true potential! (unfortunately I know of several yearlings that were removed from the herd that I had many pictures of...)

[Musky Buck]

In the sections I hunt in you'd be lucky to see an 8 or 10 at any time of the year as anything with a 3 inch spike is going down ASAP and what type of deer is kinda like the dumbest, it's those 1 1/2 year old bucks that get squeezed out by the few decent ones around and walk marginal land because they fear the wrath of the 1 good one in the neighborhood.

[Musky Buck]

In the day it seemed to often go 6 point 1st rack, 8 at 2/12/ year's old, and who knows if they are lucky enough to get to 3 1/2 or older. But, we've seen 1st year 10 pointers, 2nd year 6 pointers and etc. In general, very general seems lots of farm land bucks are nice 8 pointers at 2 1/2. Then they turn into anything from 8- ?at 3 1/2.

[vister]

where we hunt, if you can tell the deer is 3.5 or older, it is always 10 or better, or at least a nice 9. however, with that said, in our area, if a deer hits 3.5 years, it is mature. i shouldn't say mature, but old i mean. me and MOST of the neighbors alike prefer shooting nice bucks. so the smaller ones get to walk to live another day. but, it only takes a few people shopping for venison to shoot any deer that walks out to screw that up for us. i dont think i've ever seen a buck shot in a mile radius of our land that made it to five years of age. thats a huge bummer, because the quality of the deer herd around here has huge potential to produce dynamite deer. point proved the past 2 years with 180 class and mid 160 class deer being shot here, with them only being 3.5 years old. imagine them at 5.5 years old!! That is THE sole factor for more iowa deer being 150" or better. because they are also given the chance to hit 5.5 plus. their genetics are nowhere near better than ours, its just they get a better chance to hit maturity!

[spivak]

Where does that huge 8 pointer that was illegally shot in Canon Falls fall into this discussion? Where does the number of points intersect mass? How does our definition of what makes a big buck fit in with what really is a big, superior buck who will outcompete and be the one to pass on the most genetic material?

[Bear55]

In our area there are a few mature 8's roaming around but most will be 9 or 10 pointers by 3.5

[vister]

i think the purpose of the question falls into the relationship of more 10 pointers are capable of reaching 140+ than 8's, meaning more 10's are likely to be considered "trophy caliber" deer. sure that cannon falls 8 is a freak of nature, but at least by the sounds of it, the sate of MN will get recognition of such a specimen. people tend to think that just by having more points means they are better bucks. myself would rather harvest a wide heavy long-tined 8 than the same width 10 with long tines and no mass. i love heavy racks, they look much more rugged. i prefer the look of a rack over what it would score. like i mentioned above, the 10 will probably score better, because 2 extra tines adds up faster than mass, but if given the chance, the 8's comin with me

[BucksnDucks]

Everyone is talkn age of deer, how many of you claiming to know the age of these deer have actually removed teeth to know for sure?? Sure we can all sit here and arm chair this and that about how we think we know, but without the teeth removed and grow rings counted you dont know. Just a guess.

[Musky Buck]

Vister you said it all. Age is what MN lacks in it's deer herd. In my area the 1 1/2 are easy to tell, the 2 1/2 are fairly easy to tell, and the 3 1/2 and ups are easy to tell meaning central farmland near Bertha bucks. That big 8 is just a freak but he added that mass Vister talks about, my biggest buck isn't the 15 pointer I got but an 8 pointer, 22 spread, thick, incredible brow tines and tine length, dressed 241 shot in 1988. Age, the ability to shed 3 sets of antlers or so is the difference. Last year, 2 CO's checked my 14 pointer and said it was the biggest oldest buck they checked and it was 3 1/2 years old and this was 4 days into the season. I said that is depressing, I expected to hear they had checked dozens of better racked bucks then him. Back to that 241 pounder, that was the nastiest dragging event I've ever been a part of, way back in the wet jungle, I lost a year of my life getting him out and only pulled 2nd place in the contest, my hands are bleeding thinking about that deer. I remember 2 day season, saw 9 bucks, I haven't seen 9 bucks hunting the same stand in the last 10 years.

[Coach1310]

To get the thread back on track....

I see many more 8's in my area than anything bigger. I would say that is common for most of the state.

[DinnerPail]

Agree with Coach 8 is the norm in most areas.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Everyone is talkn age of deer, how many of you claiming to know the age of these deer have actually removed teeth to know for sure?? Sure we can all sit here and arm chair this and that about how we think we know, but without the teeth removed and grow rings counted you dont know. Just a guess.

I don't think I referenced age, but when I do, it is usually an educated guess. I base my age estimates off of several factors, first and foremost being the following of bucks from year to year by trail camera pictures or sightings. To make an initial age estimate can be easy if you can identify a deer when it is on its first set of antlers. A deers age can be guestimated with a fair amount of accuracy when they are in the 1.5 and 2.5 year old age classes. After that, 3.5 year old deer and up get trickier, and are usually either classified as "mature" in my book or by estimated age by tracking photos of the deer from year to year.

After killing a deer, scientific age verification is obviously the best tool, but when I kill what I think is a mature animal I don't really care what its actual age is.

[Ely Lake Expert]

We see about a dozen 8's for every 10 where I hunt.

[paceman]

I would guess that the bigger buck ratio in my area is pretty close to 50/50.