Here, my alter ego, BIG MIKE and i pose with a nice "late season" muzzle-loader white-tail . . . he would'a-could'a-should'a been a 9-point - it appears that, based upon the brow-tine bases, they were only in the 3.5 - 4 inch range. This rack, prior to the breakage would probably have grossed about 135" - not terrible for a late-season buck in this part of Iowa. :) The main beams measure right at 20" and just short of 21", the inside spread is an honest 17"; the longest tines barely break 8 inches. This is the smallest bodied [antlered] white-tail buck I can recall shooting - no larger than a decent 1.5 year old ! Though I haven't removed his lower jaw yet, I'm betting this was a PUNNY 3.5 year old - though short on beam and tine length, the circumferences, between the burr and brow-tines (G-1s) scare the five inch mark, which would be pretty good for a 2.5 year old. Based on the latter, then, for a "good" 2.5 year old buck, I'd expect MORE of everything . . . So, again, I think this is just a poor 3.5 year old. The first words out of (my son) Walker's mouth, "he's not only SMALL, he looks emaciated" . . . It looks like rutting activity, followed by four weeks of below freezing temps took their toll. RG
P.S. It appears that the modified Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation cap has morphed into HIS "lucky cap" - at least, for this pic, the flap was down. ;)