Cull Opinion

[Fishinag22]

I need some opinions on a buck that I know if at least 5.5 years old. I have not seen this buck in the past two season and his distinguishing mark is the blonde hair between his eyes and his rack is always the same. He surfaced this weekend and looks to put on some major weight to the point he may be the biggest bodied buck we have on our small family farm. We are a 13" rule county and my question is do you think the local game warden will give him a pass on a cull or be listed as a 13" buck on a tag? What do you guys think on age? Do you think his body is deceiving and he will in fact be 13"?

Or give him a pass until next year?

I think he needs to be taken because spread and point wise he is as big as he has ever been. I plan to contact my local GW and get his input as well.

[texasdeerhunter]

I would like to see a pic from the front, but if you say his is 5.5, I think he makes the 13” minimum. Maybe as much as 14. The one pic of him looking away appears to show his spread at or just outside of his ears, which would mean he’s 13”+

[RedBear78]

From what I can tell he is legal just barely though

[Fishinag22]

Because of his age I'm curious if he will be a "Cull" or "trophy". I'm not sure how the GW/law will view this buck.

[ultrastealth]

This is why the 13" rule is so ****ed stupid. That's a mature buck that should be legal for harvest. He's probably legal anyway.

[JayB]

In a lot of areas, he would be a trophy. I see 13 + width.

.....and God Bless America.

[breederbuck33]

Cull or trophy isn't defined in the law book. He doesn't have an unbranched antler therefore he is using the unbranched tag (Trophy).

[tbgascorer]

Mature and might make 13". Too close for me to be comfortable. Let a guest shoot him haha. No way the game warden gives the go ahead. You'll be lucky to get a call back.

[catslayer]

Legal and mature... Unless it's a one buck county I got no problem whacking him

[kparker158]

He’ll make 13”

[Javelin]

Because of his age I'm curious if he will be a "Cull" or "trophy". I'm not sure how the GW/law will view this buck.

there is no "cull or trophy" rule in TPW laws. It is unbranched antler and over 13 inches. If he is not 13" then he is not legal to kill. No grey area whatso ever.

[bowmansdad]

He’s definitely mature and from the pics looks to be 13”. I understand the frustration with the AR rule, the only mature buck I have on camera is the same 10” buck he’s always been.

[solocam_aggie]

This is why the 13" rule is so ****ed stupid. That's a mature buck that should be legal for harvest. He's probably legal anyway.

IMO, for every narrow buck that is saved by the AR rule, a half dozen young 2.5 yr old bucks survive b/c of it. The quality of deer in Bastrop Co has exponentially increased since the inception of AR. I hope they continue it for a while!

OP, that buck is over 13". And I'll be honest, I got a chuckle out of the state defining a cull/trophy. Can you imagine the headache that would generate for them lol. We couldnt even get 6 guys on a lease to agree on a what constitutes a cull.

[Patton]

Because of his age I'm curious if he will be a "Cull" or "trophy". I'm not sure how the GW/law will view this buck.

GW likely won’t care if he is a trophy or cull; he’ll care if he is 13” or not. I’ve heard of/seen folks say they received GW approval for a sub 13” buck but don’t know the legitimacy of that.

If you don’t want to put your tag on him, invite a buddy to do so.

[gingib]

100% a cull

Definition of a cull