An 8 or 9yr old would be a trophy no matter what he had for a rack!! Sounds like you have apretty good farm to hunt on them with that many mature bucks running around! The farm this buck was taken off of was a 260ac farm with hunters on 3 sides of the property. There was only one guy who seen the buck and that was last year, he was bedded down with a doe out in a CRP field, lucky for me he couldn't get a shot at him. I know what you mean though every time I let a buck walk and later hear a gun shot I think, well so much for that one growing! but that may be the biggest deer that person has ever shot so I don't worry too much. If they make it great, if not hopefully whoever shot it is tickled with it and he takes a trip to the taxidermist!