Seth, I would GUESS your deer at 3&1/2. 180, I'd guess yours maybe 4. now, 1) I could be WAY off because there's always freak examples where I'm WAY off. Off by several years. Now, on average, deer of certain ages have certain characteristics, sometimes they are often BUT MOST OF THE TIME they are accurate defining characteristics. Just like most guys with gray hair and severely bald are 60+ but you all know that guy who is like that at 40. Nothing is EXACT.
2) for BOTH those deer, I really would like to see FULL BODY shots, obviously standing is best, I'd want to see shoulders, belly, swaying in back, etc. I'd ALSO like to know what time of year they were shot. Your 6 year old buck is gonna have a whopper of a body in October and could shrink CONSIDERABLY by December- RUT.
Again, no exact sciences, many variables, much experience required BUT you can attribute traits and characteristics closely to age. IMO
*I suspect those pictures may have been posted because they are extreme examples of looking different than their age truly is???? Totally cool to show those examples though!!! Great deer too!! Always extreme examples on every farm, please don't think I'm saying different. We're talking about general characteristics, typical situations but NOT exact 100% science and guarantees.
*See buck in my avator (or whatever it's called), not a great example BUT in the big photo you can see all the loose skin- you can still see it in his neck/shoulder (look close), big hanging belly, swaying back and other angles show long defined snout + RACK. i know the deer very well over the years. What's the guess???? (and yes, once you get past 5 yrs old it's darn near impossible). He's 6&1/2. I'm not surprised by that and I find it consistent with a 6&1/2 year old buck (or any FULLY MATURE BUCK- most 2, 3 or even 4 year olds won't have all those defining characteristics).
2) for BOTH those deer, I really would like to see FULL BODY shots, obviously standing is best, I'd want to see shoulders, belly, swaying in back, etc. I'd ALSO like to know what time of year they were shot. Your 6 year old buck is gonna have a whopper of a body in October and could shrink CONSIDERABLY by December- RUT.
Again, no exact sciences, many variables, much experience required BUT you can attribute traits and characteristics closely to age. IMO
*I suspect those pictures may have been posted because they are extreme examples of looking different than their age truly is???? Totally cool to show those examples though!!! Great deer too!! Always extreme examples on every farm, please don't think I'm saying different. We're talking about general characteristics, typical situations but NOT exact 100% science and guarantees.
*See buck in my avator (or whatever it's called), not a great example BUT in the big photo you can see all the loose skin- you can still see it in his neck/shoulder (look close), big hanging belly, swaying back and other angles show long defined snout + RACK. i know the deer very well over the years. What's the guess???? (and yes, once you get past 5 yrs old it's darn near impossible). He's 6&1/2. I'm not surprised by that and I find it consistent with a 6&1/2 year old buck (or any FULLY MATURE BUCK- most 2, 3 or even 4 year olds won't have all those defining characteristics).
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Liv4Rut
Active Member
Its all about the score!! Anyone that says it isn't is a liar For me its not really a specific score it is more of a first impression, if he screams shooter, hes a shooter. If I was hunting based off of Age, I would of shot many 4.5 year old plus deer that would never break 150. They don't get me excited until the rut is dang near over or its late season.
For me its not really a specific score it is more of a first impression, if he screams shooter, hes a shooter. If I was hunting based off of Age, I would of shot many 4.5 year old plus deer that would never break 150. They don't get me excited until the rut is dang near over or its late season. Me too
jclaws
PMA Member
i really only care about the antler size.i dont hunt one single piece of managed property.if i had a big farm that i could manage and keep track of what deer are on it,then i might have a different outlook though.i go into every year with a minimum score this year it was 160", or something weird.the older they are the tougher they are to eat.
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muddy
Well-Known Member
Antlers first for the most part. I have now been hunting several areas long enough to recognize bucks from previous years but I am in no way planting food plots of holding out for one specific buck. These areas are small and like said above, the chances of someone else popping the buck is pretty high.
SaskGuy
Active Member
I said antlers and I guess I should clarify something brought up in a couple previous posts.
I don't hunt managed property or have a management plan so to speak. It's simply about looking for the right buck in places I have permission to do so. I think aging can be done rather successfully by picking sheds and studying cam pictures but in the moment of "here's a buck I've never seen" it's a crapshoot at best.
The oldest buck that I know of on all of the land I have access to hunt is an ancient old turd with a back as straight as a 2x4.
I don't hunt managed property or have a management plan so to speak. It's simply about looking for the right buck in places I have permission to do so. I think aging can be done rather successfully by picking sheds and studying cam pictures but in the moment of "here's a buck I've never seen" it's a crapshoot at best.
The oldest buck that I know of on all of the land I have access to hunt is an ancient old turd with a back as straight as a 2x4.
loneranger
Well-Known Member
I am really impressed with these stories of passing 4 yr olds, and 150s and seeing several "Mature" bucks. On the 40 acres I own, in 5 yrs, I finally saw,,and shot,,what a biologist thinks is a 4 yr old buck. It is a giant to me, and it may take 5 more yrs to see another. Yes,,, I do hunt in Iowa. Southeast, at that.
sethgade280
New Member
cedar creek and sligh 1 are right at mine being a 3.5. Thought he was much older, but I shot him on oct 3rd, so he had a big body. Now I wish I would have passed on him because he would have been a stud in acouple years.
cedar creek
Banned
Just goes to show 3.5 year olds can be studs! I'm willing to bet many who belong to this site have never taken a buck that size. Seems to be alot of would be trophy hunters here. I want to shot a booner just as much as the next guy, but i've shot many that weren't.