Age these deer!

[sticknstring]

Yes.

[Mo Gator]

SNS, just wondering how you know that closer buck is a 2.5 yr old? Looks like a really nice one to be 2.5...

[sticknstring]

I think just being closer to the camera than the 2nd deer makes him seem more mature than he is. I've got 20 or so pics of him and he's definitely a young deer. Nothing on cam the year prior that would suggest he's older either. Never can be 100% sure though. You're right though, he is nice one.

[B. Amish]

i'm confused. if you don't know that the front deer is 2.5 for sure, then what is the point of this?

[slimngrizzly]

I think sticknstring is throwning out an extremely thought out and well researched educated guess. Hes as sure as one could be without being "sure". Im confident in his accuracy and agree one can never be 100% on this judgement with having a dead animal or one in captivity.

[JBone]

haha, this has been fun! obviously it has shown us that it is tough to tell age of deer

[sticknstring]

Slim's right... Since I didn't deliver him as a fawn and satellite track him over the past few years, how can one be 100 % sure? A buck can pack on a lot of bone during its 3rd summer and it's pretty tough to know for sure which yearling he was the year prior. I have a lot of pictures of this deer and I can say with a fair amount of confidence he was a 2 year old. And by was, I mean he's no longer roaming the woods. The neighbor shot him and he scored 114. Would have loved to see him as a 3 year old.

[B. Amish]

well, i thought you were trying to show that the deer on the left looked older than the deer on the right. and then you announced that the deer on the left was in fact younger, but in the end you were just making an educated guess.

so, after all we are just left with guesses on the age. it would mean more if we knew for sure or had a cementum age. oh well, carry on.

[sticknstring]

I'm sorry the post disappointed you B. Amish. If I'm fortunate enough to put the other buck on the ground, I'll be sure to send in a tooth to be sliced under the microscope (which btw is just an educated guess) so you can know for sure.

You didn't even guess an age anyhow so you shouldn't be too upset!

[slimngrizzly]

i enjoyed your post and understood your point stick. Even though a buck appears fat or big doesn't mean it is the older one OR the one with the bigger antlers. Reguardless of age, whether you were wright or wrong, most of us guessed the front deer was the "bigger" one and it wasn't. That was the point of the post.

I just like seeing pictures of big bucks

[Bear55]

I think the thing that can fool us the most with aging deer is when the fawn was born in the spring. Early/late born fawns can be very different sizes and if they survive the winter that can carry over the next year. I would be willing to bet many of the deer we age as two year olds are late born 3 year olds or some 3 year olds are super healthy 2 year olds. Then you throw in genetics and nutrition and there are just too many variable to say for sure. It is kind of fun to guess.

[Mo Gator]

Yes I agree, this was a fun post to follow. The reason I questioned that nice 8 point being 2.5 is that I also hunt the Buffalo MN area and 2.5 yr olds around me are usually 8 pointers but don't have nearly that much bone. I'd be willing to bet that deer was 3.5 last year when you're neighbor shot him. Or maybe the genetics in your area are just better... who knows!

[sticknstring]

Definitely some good genes in the area. Not uncommon to see 2 year olds with 100" + of bone. Definitely different than the property I hunt up north where a good majority of the yearlings are spikes.