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Age this buck

C

cchadww

Well-Known Member
Starting a thread for those who think about aging bucks on the hoof.

Personally, on our farm, our goal is trying to get them to 5yo before harvest.

When you post, mention the general location and time of year.

Here is one for starters…

SW Iowa in September before the rut. What would you put this guy’s age at?

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I’d say- 4 1/2….we chased multiple bucks for multiple years, got teeth sent in and found out the “age” they predicted as well. I think it’s very hard to tell as each deer, like humans, are their own beasts. Everything is different per deer IMO.
 
I’m guessing he is not 4.5 to 7.5. His rack looks similar to what I would expect on a 3.5 but his body looks mature to me. Last year I ran cameras for the first time and I was very surprised how many photos it took of each deer to be confident of age with no previous history. Fun exercise.
 
I'd guess 3. 50% sure.
More meat on him than a 2.
Not enough chest/shoulders for a 4.
No wrinkles on neck from previous yrs' swollen neck.
Gland on back leg would be stained by 4 or 5.
It takes me at least 20 pics to be 80% sure, lol.
 
Stoney said:
I’m guessing he is not 4.5 to 7.5. His rack looks similar to what I would expect on a 3.5 but his body looks mature to me. Last year I ran cameras for the first time and I was very surprised how many photos it took of each deer to be confident of age with no previous history. Fun exercise.
Click to expand...
My thoughts too. ^^ Body says probable 4.5, antlers say probable 3.5...I wouldn't be likely to shoot him this year if it were me.
 
Buckscrape said:
I'd guess 3. 50% sure.
More meat on him than a 2.
Not enough chest/shoulders for a 4.
No wrinkles on neck from previous yrs' swollen neck.
Gland on back leg would be stained by 4 or 5.
It takes me at least 20 pics to be 80% sure, lol.
Click to expand...

Good point on the leg glands.


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Before posting, I was thinking either 3.5 and 4.5. The pot-belly tips toward 4.5, and the more slight neck/shoulders and proportionally longer legs tips towards 3.5. One of my buddies thought he might be older than 7 on the downhill side. For my part, he gets a pass this year. :) Can’t wait to see how the long eyebrows turn out next year.

Good learnings from how others process aging on the hoof.

Anyone else got a buck to age?


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No harm seeing where his rack goes next year. A possibility I hadn’t considered when replying is that he just doesn’t have the genetics for much mass. My nighttime photos tend to make bucks look older and more mature than daytime photos for whatever reason.
 
Here's one for guesses. I haven't taken the time to look back for any old pics of this guy but going by this pic I'd say he's probably 5 and a half.
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