deer tooth aging experts, come on in

[fr0sty]

Any opinion on what age this deer was?

[Gofishleech]

I have no Idea of course but I would say young. Looks like good teeth. I have seen them almost gone on older deer.

[hoytshooter]

looks like 2.5 to me. all permanent teeth are there and there is very little wear on the premorals

[laker1]

It is at least a 2.5 year old. The third tooth is bicuspid. If it was a 1.5 year old it would be tricuspid.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Its 3.5

[jay83196]

Bring it to a dentist

[shortfatguy]

How ever old it was I would say it needed to brush and floss more often.

[hockeybc69]

Not very old in my opinion.

[Jameson]

Not as old as the doe I shot this Fall:

[Musky Buck]

Do they still age them at Madelia,MN ? I used to send them a few but it's been 20 years ago maybe already. Some wildlife or deer research center there.

[fr0sty]

I emailed the dnr this morning. They forwarded my email to a biologist. That persons reply was to do a Google search and use one if those companies.

If I can get the incisers out, I will give that a go.

[laker1]

Little more info-weight and sex of the animal? Like i said it is at least a 2.5 year old,the 3rd bicuspid looks sharp that indicates maybe not real old? If it was a buck in the 150-160 lb range than I would stick with 2.5.

[fr0sty]

It was a buck. No scale around, but it took three of us to load it on the 4 wheeler. Below are pics of it.

If I can get the front teeth out, I will send them off for aging.

[fr0sty]

As a comparison, this deer is known to be 3.5 years old. I think you may be able to tell why we have been able to ID him each year!

The teething aging company I emailed yesterday (located in Texas) said boiling the jaw won't cause any problems, so I will be sending off the teeth for aging.

[bigbucks]

That is one STRANGE rack, very cool though. So are you thinking the dead buck is 2.5 or 3.5? I'd guess 2.5, but he sure could be 3.5. It just depends on the area & how big he was as a fawn.

[fr0sty]

I see evidence for both. That front shot on the trail cam looks like a 2.5 year old to me. Body size makes me think 3.5 Tooth wear shows some of the signs of a 3.5 to me, but I am no expert.

It will be fun to find out what the tooth test shows.

[Musky Buck]

Our area is one of the fastest antler growing areas in the state so Frosty I'll go with a stud 2.5 year old, but yes to get that kind of body size that quickly is interesting. We had a 2.5 11pter dress 187 one year, we thought 3.5 but it was a horse 2.5, either way it'd be tough not to drop that guy. And yes messy rack is a 3.5 for sure as tcam 1.5,2.5,3.5 are all recorded and it's obviously the same goat. He must be a smart bugger and Frosty next year you can get him out of the gene pool. How long to get results back ?

[fr0sty]

$20 for 120 day turn around, $30 for 90 day and $40 for 45 days or less.

[Musky Buck]

Man this country has a clenched fist on everyones wallet with everything the honest man wants done. I'd go with the 20 clams lol. Hey I'll do it for 15 bones lol. Planning on Muzzy this wkd, will be in the swamp, but basically to empty my gun as firing is my only option, I don't want to shoot another deer and I won't, but it's kind of a farewell to deer season. Not sure if my tcam is functional, but will haul it out and if I see anything on it I'll send you photo's or an update. Regardless of your deer's age, you got a really decent one.

[fr0sty]

Teeth are out and going in the mail today.

[slimngrizzly]

Its my understanding that a 2 1/2 will still have a tricuspid for his 3rd premolar which it looks that this deer has...?

Based on everything it looks like a 2 1/2 to me, and a very nice one at that!

Can they actually tell how old a deer is? I dont think when a deer gets OVER 3 1/2 there is any science to it but just an educated guess... does anyone KNOW this? Do the incisors actually have growh rings and is this truly acurate?

A friend sent in a jaw a few years back to some biologists and they aged it at 4 1/2.... funny thing was he had 8 years of sheds off it... This may have been done by tooth wear instead though? I am just not sure or confident there is a way to be positive on a bucks age based on his teeth?

Does anyone know if thats the case?

[B. Amish]

Quote:

The cementum annuli technique is similar to aging a tree by counting growth rings and is the most reliable method for accurately estimating age. Each year as a deer ages, cementum is deposited on the external root surface of its teeth, resulting in a pattern of “rings.” Counting these rings is relatively expensive because of the time and specialized laboratory equipment required to perform the analysis. Several commercial sources offer these services.

[E 2 fish]

on the trail cam pics the deer looks younger your still photo shows the antlers better and it looks like an older deer from the ne quadrent of the state.soley by the teeth i would think 4 1/2 because the back crest of #6 is more stained then at 3 1/2.

[fr0sty]

I received an email from the Wildlife Analytical Labs folks today. Looks like it was a 3.5 year old.

[E 2 fish]

frosty,thanks for posting your lab findings that was fun.could you tell us what area of the state it was shot.the staining on the teeth made me think it was a year older than the wear of the teath showed thanks.