age this buck

[BIGRED07]

any guesses to the age of this deer? I shot him opening morning. He had a 30" neck, and dressed at 193#

[BIGRED07]

one more pic

[matchset]

i'd guess 3.5yr old if he was running around in my stomping grounds.

[hockeybc69]

3.5 with small chance at 4.5 possibly.

Edit..... I didnt see the size of the neck and weight. I may lean to 4.5 years old more than 3.5 if he truly pushed 200 lbs...

[eyeguy 54]

old enough to die :>)

[BIGRED07]

I was in a big buck contest and had him weighed as well as on our scale at our hunting shack they were within 1/2 a lb. wasnt weighed by an uncle that is really good at judging deer!! hahaha

[Stratosman]

YEah he's 3.5.. Starting to get a roman nose but still has a (relatively) small hind end... Great deer and a heavy tank!

Most guys that say they shot a #200 pound deer overestimate by 25 pounds minimum!

Glad you actually weighed it first!

[LandDr]

Flat back...flat stomach...small end...still a triangular nose...I would agree with 3.5. You will know when you see a 5.5!

[BIGRED07]

That is what i am thinking as well. Strostosman Love the outdoor news with all of the 250# deer!!

[slimngrizzly]

Id say 2.5 with a chance at 3.5 depending on where your at. The genes have just as much to do with the body as the rack. I know of plenty of 2.5 year old dear with larger racks, and plenty of 3 or 4 year old bucks with smaller bodies. Hes a chunk! Congrats!

[96trigger]

Looks like a 2.5 year old. Like slim says, it depends on what area he was shot at It could easily be a 3.5 year old, but I would look for longer tines and a little more mass from a 3.5 year old. Great buck!

[hockeybc69]

2.5 year old buck at 200 lbs?? Boy... I spose quirky things happen in nature though.

[BIGRED07]

I shot him just a little ways south of Walker. I got a bunch of pics of this deer in velvet as well.

[Musky Buck]

3.5 most likely but south of walker he could've been a spike in year 1 but will stick to 3.5.

[slimngrizzly]

I think you guys are very likely correct at assuming 3 1/2. BUT just to play the devils advocate, think about this....

The largest deer in the world have been from MN, 511 pound buck, 509 pound buck....

What do you think bucks such as these looked like at 1 1/2 or 2 1/2? Were they small and then just "ballooned" at 5 1/2... I would say no. These deer are genetically BIG deer. They are the "fat kids". Absolutely no different than having a 6 1/2 year old, 180 pound buck with a 240" set of antlers, its a mature deer but he had the genes to produce big antlers and not so much of a big body. Some deer are blessed with both, and unfortunatly... some with neither!

Young, HUGE deer are very possible, and probably more common than one might think! The old, "duds" are just as possible but far less common simply because we witness so few surviving to old age.

Something to think about.

[DonBo]

2.5 year old buck at 200 lbs?? Boy... I spose quirky things happen in nature though.

I agree. Doubt there are more than a handfull of 2 1/2 year old deer on the entire planet that are pushing 200 lbs. Another thing, you don't look at the size of the rear hams to determine age. The front quarters get bigger as they get older, if I'm not mistaken.

[96trigger]

In the full body trail cam pic, he does not look like an old deer to me. he could very well be 3.5, he could be a late fawn and be closer to 3 years old than 2.5. He could also be an early fawn with good genetics, good feeding habits, and be 2.5. Very hard to say. Be fun to send in a tooth and have him aged. Some animals just eat more. If you have ever fed out livestock, you know what I am talking about.

I think we generally want to say deer are older than they are for whatever reason. The majority of deer that are "trophy" deer, are 3.5 year old deer. A 5.5 year old deer is very noticeably different in size, face, body structure (look like a steer), and antler growth. The buck I shot this year had 3.5 year old tine length and main beams, but no matter how much I'd like to tell myself that it was a 3.5 year old, the truth is, he was 2.5 years old.

[BIGRED07]

i got a tooth and am going to send it in.

[PropsterII]

Sending the tooth in is the best way. Make sure to let us know. And the opposite of what Trigger says- too many of us like to believe that we have all these great 2 1/2 yr old 8 and 10 points running around!

[hockeybc69]

I will say it again. If that guy is 2.5 years old and 200 lbs, thats gonna be a rarity....

[DinnerPail]

All I can say is he's not going to get any older

[Stratosman]

Donbo...

I am gonna respectfully say the opposite, once a buck gets close to 4.5 years of age, the back half of the deer gets heavier than the front half. The rump becomes more rounded and muscular.

Either way, nice deer! Excited to see the tooth report!

[BIGRED07]

haha very true. i am very happy with this deer. We had 4 that were bigger on camera, was going to hold out, but pretty hard when he is 70 yrds away. Turns out the neighbors shot 3 of the 4 bigger ones opening weekend. so i am happy with the decision i made.

[DinnerPail]

Congrats on the deer, just trying to lighten up the mood around here.

[BIGRED07]

haha!! it gets pretty intense on some of the subject!!! Here is one that shows a bigger rear end on a deer. only pic i got of this deer. Has a little belly sag but it is hard to tell