How Old?

[loneranger]

All this aging by body and antlers very confusing. I try to age by body only. Big chest , big belly,,heavy all over body says he is mature. Antlers in my area mean nothing. Most of my bucks have been aged by incisor examination. One is 6 yrs old. You would never expect it by the horn. Horn you might think 3 maybe 4 .

 

[LYON]

All this aging by body and antlers very confusing. I try to age by body only. Big chest , big belly,,heavy all over body says he is mature. Antlers in my area mean nothing. Most of my bucks have been aged by incisor examination. One is 6 yrs old. You would never expect it by the horn. Horn you might think 3 maybe 4 .

Absolutely! Trying to judge a buck's age by antler size is like trying to guess someones weight by the size of their feet. You may be able to get fairly close in the first couple of years, but after that, it's just not accurate. I have the left side shed from the same buck at 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5. The 2.5 shed was smaller, but the next three years were VERY similar in size, like within 3" of each other. Those antlers would have told you NOTHING about that deer's age.

 

[twn417]

Yup, I'm going to say super old! Fat ole belly on that dude.

 

[Typical]

Long legs and no chest lead to 3.5. No sagging/loose skin to call him old.