fly Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Finally got my first shooter on my new trail camera. These were videos that I got still images from. Looks like Bucks are getting interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter97 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Age and score this buck? Id say about 3.5-4.5 and 140ish maybe? Im not the best just sayin what i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Looks mature to me Frank. Guess 145'ish gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhine16 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Age and score this buck? I'm guessing him 136-138. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Age and score this buck? 4.5 and about 135ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted October 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Interesting ranges - William is generally right on the money. Originally I was thinking 3.5 year old scoring 135 inches but I am generally a poor guesser which is why I posted this. Now that I have read these comments and viewed the videos a little more I'm bumping him up to at least 4.5 years old and closer to 140 inches. I hope the rut pulls him out of darkness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Lucky guesser usually Frank. lol. Got to try to take into account location. If that were here where a mature buck would likely not go much over 200 lbs on the hoof I would also be thinking mid to upper 130's, but Illinois your deer are a little bigger than ours, can be deceiving. Guessing his beams are probably close to if not more than 23 inches and spread at least 17.5 inches. Gotta look at both pics, got pretty good tine length too. Hope you get him so we know what he grosses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 3.5 to 4.5 he might be 145 at best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 He is definitely at least 4.5 years old but i'd stay in the mid to upper 130's for score. He is a little weak on his G4's, the G2's look to be around 7-8", G3's 5-6", probably around 17-18" wide. I got a 10 point very similar grossing 132". He is a great buck regardless of score, it would be dirt nap city for him good luck getting him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 He is definitely at least 4.5 years old but i'd stay in the mid to upper 130's for score. He is a little weak on his G4's, the G2's look to be around 7-8", G3's 5-6", probably around 17-18" wide. I got a 10 point very similar grossing 132". He is a great buck regardless of score, it would be dirt nap city for him good luck getting him. I agree. His spread is 17 and the mass is 3.5 average . It just depends on what you have running around. If nothing else catches your fancy pass him, if you have multiple tags shoot him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Age and score this buck? There is a two buck limit per year in IL. This is the only mature buck I have on camera for the month of October. Hopefully more will be arriving. EHD hit hard in summer 2012 and numbers are down in most central west counties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter97 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Down here the bucks yall say are too small are almost always shooters than again you are a lucky ducky to get a buck 130-140 lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 yea i'd guess 4.5 yrs old, not 5.5 or more. score wise i'm thinking probably 136ish, gross though. wanted to give him more but the high racks are deceiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Sure wouldn't be the first time my guess has been off. I looked at first with a phone and after seeing some of the other guesses had to come back and look again on the computer. Dunno I may well be off with my guess, would not be the first time and surely won't be the last but I am maintaining my guess that it is a mature deer, at least 4.5. Also think with comparing to the eye size that the mass measurements will be better than 4 inches for a few of the measurements, no doubt those bases are more than 3.5 inches. 2's look to me to be close to 9 inches. Split brow on the right will add a few inches too if you score as non typical, no? Good luck with him Frank, with whatever he may score that buck would be a wallhanger here for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WStreblo Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Age and score this buck? I'm gonna say he's 3.5-4.5 years old and mid 130's for his score. Little weak on mass but I agree with Hoosier... Let him walk of you know you got better deer but if your holding more than one buck tag... Whack him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailfreak55 Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 4.5 lower 130s. Hes a great deer and I definitely wouldnt hesitate on him being mature. But I'm a two buck state. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 (edited) I have a question, other than mature, how do you know how old he is? I'm pretty sure out of all the wildlife classes offered never attended one that taught how to age a deer on the hoof, did take one on tooth wear, and there's still questions about that method. Edited November 1, 2013 by abrown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 I have a question, other than mature, how do you know how old he is? I'm pretty sure out of all the wildlife classes offered never attended one that taught how to age a deer on the hoof, did take one on tooth wear, and there's still questions about that method. You really don't. Then too "mature" seems to be somewhat subject to who is using the term, what is mature 4.5, 5.5? When we talked with the deer biologist at UT Knoxville a couple weeks ago for my daughter's college tour there I wanted to ask her some questions on this very topic but our time was cut short. I look forward to the time after she takes those classes and is able to teach me more. Jawbone and tooth wear are no doubt the best methods, kind of hard to do on a walking deer that only appears in front of a camera so that leaves people to guessing based on certain methods they may know. Have read articles and looked at deer and later compared teeth with deer we have taken. Generally look at body shape and take into account the time of the year when attempting to guess a deer's age here. This has been fairly consistent with what we see Field Judging Bucks, TnDeer.com. Tennessee's #1 Deer Hunting Web Site :: The Best Campfire On The Internet ::. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 I have a question, other than mature, how do you know how old he is? I'm pretty sure out of all the wildlife classes offered never attended one that taught how to age a deer on the hoof, did take one on tooth wear, and there's still questions about that method. not sure about others but when judging a deer on the hoof i'm looking at 7 different things in those pictures that were posted and non of them have anything to do with the rack; frontal skull width and profile, side skull profile and size, neck size and taper into brisket/shoulders, front shoulder mass, hind quarter profile and mass, depth of body compared to leg length, depth of body and taper (if any) just in front of back legs, back profile, and gut profile. all this in relation to time of year (stage of rutting activity) and how much weight loss my have taken place. I guess that's more than 7 but yea. the idea is just like people: everybody is built slightly different or burlier than others, but if you look at someone as a whole you get an idea of how old they are. mass, beam length, and spread can help with your decision, but it's easy to have blinded judgment when seeing an abnormally large rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 ...after 7.5 the deer will go backwards with most body characteristics and by the time it reaches an age older than anyone has seen on the free range hoof it's back to looking and weighing like a yearling buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 (edited) That's a good philosphy, but I hunt in souther KS, within 2 miles, there was soybeans, milo, and corn. Most of the bucks I have seen have pot bellies, and a roman nose, and I'm pretty sure their not 5 1/2 for the simple fact I've passed em up last year! 4 1/2 maybe, more likely 3 1/2. I don't believe individuals can age on the hoof as accurately as they'd like to believe, for the simple fact, there's way more variables playing into effect than what they know. 3/4 of the shows, where their aging deer on the hoof is set in a controlled enviroment.Take these for example, you'd say the middle one is obviously older because of the mass, and signactly larger skull, right? Wrong, their all 3 1/2 olds. They all come from the same area, so nutrient does not have alot to do with it. Now hunter's that have hunted their areas long enough to get a good managment program, will have a good idea what there is in the area, simply because you've hunted it the past 10 years. Trail cam pics, passing them up, will kind of let you get a feel on what's in the area. I worked a check station pulling jaw bones on opening weekend, 3/4 of the hunter's KNEW how old the buck was, but GO AHEAD, and pull it. Well, pretty much all of em was wrong. BTW, if you don't think he has mass, his H1 and H3 on his left beam measures 5 1/2 inches, meaning the circumference between his G2 and 3 is the same as his base. Edited November 1, 2013 by abrown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Here's some more info. How Accurate is Aging Deer on the Hoof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Take these for example, you'd say the middle one is obviously older because of the mass, and signactly larger skull, right? Wrong, their all 3 1/2 olds. They all come from the same area, so nutrient does not have alot to do with it. [ATTACH=CONFIG]13913[/ATTACH] Cannot speak for anyone else, but me personally I do NOT look at antler size when trying to field judge a deer's age, nor do I consider the antler size when looking at trail cam pics when determining my guess at the age. Usually by looking at the body shape can get fairly close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter97 Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Heck im a 2 deer a day state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Age and score this buck? Abrown It's impossible to age a buck based on simply the antlers. I agree that at a check station so many people will say their buck is a certain age but in reality I'd say less than 5% of all hunters can accurately judge deer on the hoof up to 4.5 years old consistently. For the most part people misjudge deer to be 1 year older than they really are at 2.5 and 3.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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