I'm with the guys that say no.
I have seen what I can guess/assume to be 1.5-3.5 year old bucks with much better headgear than they would typicaly have, but not a greater number of mature bucks.
I'm with Jakesbeard, I don't think I've seen anything 4.5 years old or older, but I have seen three bucks that will score around 120, two that should make 125 and one that should be about 135.
They are all probably 2.5-3.5 years old.
I attribute the larger antlers on younger bucks this season to the following:
-Great acorn crop last year, so they were more healthy going into winter.
-Relatively mild winter, so they went into Spring healthier. (In the North anyway, I think the South got hammered, right?)
-VERY EARLY Spring greenup with a good amount of food available early on. This was one of the earliest green ups I've ever seen.
Everything seems to be happening a little earlier than usual too. Last night, I saw the first two bucks in full "hard horn"....So some have already shed the velvet. I had seen one two weeks ago with a bloody side, but I think he was injured, he also had a messed up leg.
But last night these were completely free of velvet, one was still bloody and wet looking, the other had probably shed a day or so ago because he was dried out and lighter colored. Of course there were still about 20+ other bucks that we saw still in velvet....
