Age this deer

[Mortenson]

I agree with Bill. That deer doesn't have a massive build but I've seen a few 4.5-5.5 yr old bucks that have the same build. Some deer have different thyroids and appetites than others.

 

[Mortenson]

Let's see a pic of the 160 8!

 

[Hoytvectrix]

He just doesn't look like an old buck to me. Thoughts? He does have a little thickness to his chest, but he looks sleek and slender to me. Long nose. No ass at all.
View attachment 67111

He could be 4.5. Another 3 weeks and I bet it is a lot more clear with him once he starts piling on the weight. I agree that his chest is definitely starting to develop. It could be the posture, but it looks like he has a slight dip in his back. But his legs look awfully lanky. He definitely would be really interesting to see later in the fall and of course next year if he made it.

 

[omicron1792]

How about this one? Ha. My buddies high fence deer. Ridiculous.

 

[T-Max]

How about this one? Ha. My buddies high fence deer. Ridiculous.
View attachment 67154

6 months tops. It’s still got spots! Easy one…


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[Ben.MN/WI]

We used to send in teeth from every buck we shot in MN and WI for cementum annuli aging. While cementum annuli aging isn't perfect, it gave us a second opinion to use along with our educated guesses. We had many of the 100-120" deer we assumed were 2-3 year old bucks end up being 4-6 years old. Large bodied (field dressed 180-230) bucks always tended to be 4+ years old even if their antlers weren't great. The opposite was not true though, we had a few smaller bodied bucks that were older than we thought.

More often than not, we assumed that deer were younger than they were. I have no doubt there are a couple 125" 2 year old bucks out there, but I'd say there are far more 3 or 4 year old 125" bucks that people incorrectly assume are 2.5. Unless a buck had a torn ear or something else that clearly identifies him as a fawn or 1.5 year old buck, it would be pretty hard to definitively say what age a deer is.

 

[cbw]

Neighbors can be a bitch. I feel like it is slowly getting better for people who are at all interested in killing bigger bucks. People are coming around to the importance of trigger discipline. It doesn't work at all if people can't communicate. They assume they better shoot it because the neighbors certainly will.

Another member on this forum has all of their bucks aged and I was blown away by how much older they were than I had thought. I'm going to start aging each of our bucks just to hopefully learn something from it.

I started sending the front teeth in to be aged at Matsen Labs. They charge a flat fee for the first 5 deer. Last year I invite my neighbors that I will send theirs in for no charge. Had one take me up on that this year. Sparks some good conversation.


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[Brian662]

Age estimates from these two...? Pretty good broadside profile from each.

 

[Mortenson]

4.5 and 3.5

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

6.5 and 4.5

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Both 3 1/2


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[Brian662]

Another broadside shot of one of the deer pictured above. Any updated guesses?

 

[Mortenson]

Ok let's go 5.5. It's rack time

 

[T-Max]

4.5 and 3.5 above. This is the 4.5 from above. Sticking with that.

 

[Brian662]

I believe he's 5.5

Heavy buck that wont score exceptionally well for a 10 point but he's at the top of the list this year. Passed him a few times last year hoping for a jump in growth but maybe he added a few inches, certainly not much.

Archery pass last year.



Gun pass

2024 trail cameras

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

It is amazing how much more mass that buck has at the base when he looks towards the camera versus the other views. That's a cool buck.

 

[T-Max]

Water hole pic does it for me. Face looks like some age there. Great deer! Heavy. Good.

 

[Mortenson]

I like him a lot. Good trophy buck!

 

[Brian662]

He's incredibly vulnerable right now to any wind except east. Tomorrow is opening day and the winds are easterly for a few days. It's a long season and I need to be patient but I've never had a shooter buck on an early season pattern like this, it's incredibly tempting.

 

[Mortenson]

Try this one. Not the best pics but it's all I have to work with so far.