How to age deer?

[Trevor]

This upcoming deer season will be my third year bowhunting. I have not killed a deer yet and was curious on how to age a deer. Are you looking at rack size, body size or other features on the deer.

[bowhunter97]

I look at how tall they look, real tall generally means young like under 2.5-3. Shorter means a little older. I also look for a sway in the back. No sway, young, slight sway, about 3-3.5 deep sway 4+. Thats how i do it. Do i guess every deer right no. Do i like to think i come close? Yes. I never really understood what people meant by a roman nose.

[redkneck]

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2206.pdf

[hoosierhunter]

How to age deer?

1.5 is the easiest as they just look like babies. No muscle, very long legs, skinny long neck, small rack, they are also dumber than a box of rocks in the woods. Very small staining on tarsals.

2.5 is slightly bigger but still very skinny and long legged. Again the tarsals aren't very big.

3.5 looks like a race horse. Their shoulders start to develop but they taper into the rear end. They might have exceptional racks but it will usually lack mass. No sway in the back but the tarsals are starting to appear bigger when stained. These deer are often mistaken for 4.5 year olds by most hunters. The neck will have a little upswing from the chest but not as noticeable as the younger deer.

4.5 now he's BMOC. Full shoulders. The neck is big and drops into the chest. The belly taper isn't really noticeable until late season but the skin is tight on the neck, no loose skin. Their rear ends are large. Maybe a slight sway in the back. Their head appears to look like a fat triangle. They will take their time coming through the woods pausing often. The body and legs appear the same length with the deep chest.

5.5. He's even bigger in the body and now the swayed back is noticeable. They might have a little loose skin on the neck and belly tends to pot. The tarsals and as big and black as ever staining down the leg. They have seen it all and are probably the toughest age class to kill. Their legs appear shorter than their body because the chest is so deep.

6.5. He's just fat at this point. Saggy skin on the neck and body. He also starts to appear lumpy in the body.

7.5+ they might revert back at this point in terms of body size. At this point you should have history with encounters and trail cams to distinguish how long he has been around.

Edited August 27, 2013 by hoosierhunter

[hoosierhunter]

How to age deer?

Also join Qdma and you will get the aging on the hoof DVD to learn from.

[Rhino]

Not much too add here...good job!

About the only thing I'll add is think of a 6.5 year old or older buck as an old man. Pot belly and squinting eyes when he's relaxed. Sort of like me!

[wtnhunt]

Body shape. This link is pretty accurate for around here Field Judging Bucks, TnDeer.com. Tennessee's #1 Deer Hunting Web Site :: The Best Campfire On The Internet ::.

[hoosierhunter]

I never really understood what people meant by a roman nose.

Think of a thin slice of pizza as compared to the fat slice. The fat slice is the roman piece.

They appear to get a shorter nose because their head is getting wider as compared to the narrower young deer.

[hoosierhunter]

How to age deer?

I will say this takes a great deal of practice because most hunters, if unsure, error towards the older age to justify shooting the deer in their own mind. We want the deer to be older because it provides more hit list deer. This is why trail cameras are so important so you have the deer identified ahead of time. When you see him you already know his age for the most part and the decision becomes easier.

I also wouldn't expect most hunters to shoot based on age. It's just asking too much of someone unless they have killed many deer in their life and they are committed to management.

Just because some people do it and the "pros" do doesn't make anyone more or less obligated to go along with. It's more important to shoot a deer that makes you happy regardless of his age.

[FireStation46]

Don't set yourself up for disappointment. Try getting a doe if the opportunity presents itself. Too many does is not good for herd balance etc. it takes time to learn all the tricks on finding the big buck. Try enjoying the experience regardless of the outcome. It's called hunting not shopping. But be ready you just never know when a big buck may make a mistake in your avid. Good luck and keep s posted!

[Rhino]

I never really understood what people meant by a roman nose.

Think of a thin slice of pizza as compared to the fat slice. The fat slice is the roman piece.

They appear to get a shorter nose because their head is getting wider as compared to the narrower young deer.

Here's a classic one up close & personal from last year.

[dbHunterNY]

only thing i'd add is that there's exceptions to the rules, just like how people are built different. that's the reason why you should look at all the characteristics as a whole and try real hard not to focus on one or two. not all but many of them will apply to doe too.

[redkneck]

You can also hang them in the cooler at about 38 degrees for a week and works really well. :clown:

[dbHunterNY]

I will agree that there is a very slight difference between an old deer and a young deer and you will notice.... if you're a world class chef. I've shot young deer and old deer. Wife, family, and friends think I cook pretty good and i'm telling you I can't tell the difference. boned and cleaned of most fat and other stuff, well drained, at 38 degrees and 1.5 - 2 weeks here.

[redkneck]

Yeah, not a whole lot of difference, but there is a big difference in a deer that has been run hard before being killed, I suppose the build up of lactic acid/adrenalin makes the difference in the muscle.

In general though with most animals, the cuter they are the better they taste

[Rhino]

Another thing is fully mature bucks (5.5 or older) get what's called barrel chested. By that I mean the base of a fully mature buck's neck looks like an extension of his chest. I've noticed that same characteristic with fully mature bucks in MS, TX, and the 4 states where I've deer hunted in the midwest. Only problem is...due to the nature of the beast, sightings of fully mature bucks are rare even where they exist in huntable numbers.

[fly]

I think applying these tips to trail cam pics and following a young deer each year is the only way to know for certain (at least until you recover the jaw bone). Use the comments made in this thread and take a guess at the age of this deer Trevor. Public ground deer from IL.

[Trevor]

Thanks guys for all the great info. I will take that knowledge to the woods and try to put it to use.

Fly

That is a great looking deer I will guess that deer is a 3 1/2 year old.

[hoosierhunter]

How to age deer?

Fly I'd guess 4.5-5.5 based on he looks about 220-240 on the hoof weight. No mass but look at that neck!

[wtnhunt]

Thought Trevor was supposed to be guessing here? lol. Look close at the neck, sure Frank will tell us but think that deer might be just a little older than 3.5. Come the rut a deer will be much thicker in the neck, can fool you sometimes, but that neck looking like an extension of the body is typically of a mature deer.

Might take a look at this thread http://www.realtree.com/forums/deer-hunting/106227-can-you-age-them-no-antlers.html, as mentioned trail cam pics can be very instrumental at helping age deer on the hoof, IF and WHEN you get pics of the buck you end up with in your crosshairs. We had several pics of that one deer on 4 different cameras around our property. I killed that deer in December and he was a bit run down.

Last buck I killed in our ml'er season last year we never got a single trail cam pic of and I had him in my scope after looking through the binos and had to make a decision. Almost passed him up, but figured him to be at least a 3.5 after getting a better look through my scope. Sometimes you just gotta go with your instinct, if you think the buck is going to be one to make you happy, don't hesitate to take it.

[The Bug House]

I sent Fly a PM with my guess, (However, I don't see it under "sent items"?) I didn't want to hijack from Trevor. I guessed 4.5 y/o based on previous posts and wtnhunt's link. Great page BTW wtn!

How about more "quiz" threads like this one from the more experienced guys for us unseasoned hunters?

[fly]

This deer fooled me too Trever. I was thinking 3.5 or 4.5 years. The deers jaw bone revealed that he was a 5.5 year old. His weight was 205lbs field dressed and his antlers scored about 115 inches (120 if you added the inches to make up for the broken G-2).

[Trevor]

Thanks for the answer Fly. I don't know if you guys can age a deer from a mount. We are courious about its age. Here are some pictures of a deer my brother in law shoot 2 years ago. It is the biggest deer I've seen around southwestern Ontario. Maybe guess the score too I know what he scored as my brother in law had him measured.

[wtnhunt]

Tough to age a mount, but looks like was probably a mature deer based primarily on the muzzle coloration on the cape. Tough deer to score for me with the non typical points and hard to tell the lengths on some of them from your pic, but gonna guess mid 130's gross.

[Rhino]

No way to really age one mounted since they use a form. No doubt he's mature. I put him between 145 & 150 gross. If I have to go with 1 number it would be 149. That LONG brow tine adds a lot! Cool looking buck!