How do you judge a deer's age?

[BobT]

Rather than steal another thread about QDM I got to wondering and thought I’d start this discussion. How does the average Joe or Jane hunter determine the age of a buck at a glance as it is moving through a thick forest? Size, rack, hide color? Consider deer that I’ve shot.

One year I had a nice thick-necked brute of a buck come into range spouting nicely polished white 10-point antlers, very symmetrical, 5” brow tines, 9” maint tines, 20-1/2” spread, and moderate thickness at the base. His antlers were so polished and white they glared in the morning sun. Of course, all this analysis didn’t occur when I was standing there looking him in the eye from 40 yards through my scope. It happened afterwards when he was laying on the ground expired. I figured I had better call my brother on the walkie-talkie to help me drag him to our hangers as he looked pretty huge. We both figured he had to go at least 180 or 190 pounds. Later that day when we loaded him into the truck we realized how short he was and then it occurred to us that this deer was all front end. Built like a bulldog with a huge neck and front shoulders but virtually no rear end at all. When we registered him we put him on the scale and he only weighed 159 lbs. A friend of my brothers is supposedly able to age deer and in his opinion it turned out the deer was only 1-1/2 years old. Imagine what potential he had in his genes!

Conversely, I’ve taken bucks with small 6-point racks that later were age estimated at over 4 years.

I know that I personally can’t guess the age of another human being even after close scrutiny much less the age of a deer at a glance through brush that I’ve never met before. So how does one do it and give QDM a fair shake?

Bob

[B. Amish]

I will say this. Be careful with using teeth for aging. There are three ages that you can 100% guess from tooth wear: fawn, 1 1/2, & 2 1/2 or older.

The rest is just a guess.

The process of sending them somewhere where they can be sliced and examined is supposed to be over 90% accurate.

[vister]

There are a number of factors that come into play when it comes to judging a deers age on the hoof. First off, a deers size is not really a result of its age. Health, genetics, and its nutrition are the key factors. Also, a factor in a bucks weight was its health coming into the spring, one entirely overlooked by most. If it was busy chasing does all fall, early winter long, it may have lost a lot more weight than the average buck. It may have been run down, tired, and spent a lot of its time recovering, rather than finding food.

There are two ways to guess a deers age on the hoof. does its nose appear long and skinny, or does it look fat. A "roman" nose is typical of older, mature bucks. second, is its back straight, or does it have a sag in it kinda like a horse, also characteristic of an older deer.

The only true way to identify a deers age is by its teeth. When deer are born, there first molars have three cusps on them. Typically after the age of 2.5, they lose these teeth, and are replaced with molars having two cusps. However, they can lose their first molars between 2.5-3.5 years of age, so it can be tricky identifying how old he is in that age group.

For instance, the buck I shot bow opener went 175 4/8 net non typicall. Weighed 160 lbs field dressed. However, he still had his first molars. So he may have been as young as 2.5, but not older than 3.5. Also, he claimed 2nd place at the Mn classic last weekend in the current year adult nontypical archery. woo-hoo!

As far as giving QDM a fair shake, it just takes time to see it effects. at least five years. Genetics are some the biggest players in the horn industry. Not just any buck is capable of being a trophy. By taking does, you you are eliminating the possible number of deer to breed, making mature bucks search for a mate, and also making deer spar for a mate, which the larger, more mature buck usually wins. Over time, this creates better genetics, as scrub bucks are less likely to breed, and by now some does are also carrying good genetics themselves, making everything a better ballgame. ya dig

[Bear55]

I generally judge by the body and rack size. As others have said it hard to determine the exact age on the hoof or even once you have them on the ground. Most often I find myself knowing if a buck is mature and if I feel he is a shooter the split second I see him. A mature buck even acts much different from his younger brothers, they move a little different and are much more cautious. I think for most QDMers there won't be a need to split hairs and say this deer is 2.5 or 3.5 or 4.5 or this deer might be a shooter but this other deer is just a little smaller so I might pass him up. Just like meat hunters the QDMer has to shoot what makes him/her happy and what might be available in the area and most will know right away if they want to shoot a buck or not. There might be cases where a guy shoots a borderline buck thinking it was bigger, this will happen and it has happened to me, its a good learning tool.

[Musky Buck]

When using words like supposedly and estimate you really have no sure answer. Here's what I do. I send the jaw(s) to somewhere in Madelia MN, they age them for me and send back an update, I haven't been sending them lately so I can't remember the name where I have sent them, I do have the address etc. in an album at home if you wanted it. Luckily in New York Mills most years, someone from the DNR is there to age them. For me it seems obvious the difference between a 1 1/2 2 1/2 3 1/2+ at least in farm country. Bob, I would be very shocked if a 1 1/2 year old buck cranking out his first antlers, could sport 9" tines and a 20 1/2 inch spread basing that on the hundreds I've seen in my days, if true that buck is rare. I'd also be surprised with 6 pointers that are 5 1/2 or older, send me the pictures of those ones, I'd love to see them. I know that 2nd year of growth it seems some bucks seem like they put more into body weight/less rack and others put more into their rack/less body weight. The face of an older buck doesn't lie, look at the face and not the horns on the bigger bucks in let's say the outdoor news and you can tell the maturity. As far as gauging one in the wild for me it either has a shootable rack or not, quick glance I try to take in spread, thickness, and if any doubt I don't fire, that quick glimpse risky shot could turn into a broadside sure shot 5 minutes later or at least I am aware of a big boy in the neighborhood and that really helps me to stay longer, stay more alert and maybe it will happen. If I have an age ? I just register in Mills or send it in. I think 1 1/2, 2 1/2 in my area are easy to figure out, 3 1/2 and up can get cloudy but it's not very important for me to know the age, a true big buck is a true big buck whatever the age.

[RuttenBuck]

One year I had a nice thick-necked brute of a buck come into range spouting nicely polished white 10-point antlers, very symmetrical, 5” brow tines, 9” maint tines, 20-1/2” spread, and moderate thickness at the base. His antlers were so polished and white they glared in the morning sun. Of course, all this analysis didn’t occur when I was standing there looking him in the eye from 40 yards through my scope. It happened afterwards when he was laying on the ground expired. I figured I had better call my brother on the walkie-talkie to help me drag him to our hangers as he looked pretty huge. We both figured he had to go at least 180 or 190 pounds. Later that day when we loaded him into the truck we realized how short he was and then it occurred to us that this deer was all front end. Built like a bulldog with a huge neck and front shoulders but virtually no rear end at all. When we registered him we put him on the scale and he only weighed 159 lbs. A friend of my brothers is supposedly able to age deer and in his opinion it turned out the deer was only 1-1/2 years old. Imagine what potential he had in his genes!

I would have a very hard time believing this deer was only 1-1/2 years old. His rack size, body size and probably more importantly neck size indicate he is more than likely an older deer. My guess is he had lost a little weight from the rigors of the rut. Like others have said, it can be hard to judge them on their feet. Yearlings however, are the easiest age class to distinguish as they look like does with little antlers. They don't have big swollen necks and built front shoulders like your deer did. We try to age deer from their body size and chacteristics of the neck, shoulders, stomach and use the antlers to either bump up or down an age class if the deer looks like it could be in a few classes. It is not an exact science but with a little practice, I think people can get pretty close. Best way to age is to extract a tooth and send it in for analysis.

[BobT]

Okay. So as we have been discussing QDM, I kept hearing over and over that we should let the 1-1/2 year olds go. So far, nobody has been able to give a clear answer how to make that determination on the hoof. Therein lie my difficulty. If those that feel confident about their deer hunting can't make that determination, how can we expect the average once-a-year hunter to do it?

Note: I'm not trying to argue. I'm genuinely interested.

Bob

[archerystud]

I'm looking for a 3.5 year old buck or better.

Depends on the view -

If the deer is looking at me I mostly look at the spread,tine length and mass. I also have to judge this based on WHERE I am hunting. In So. MN most 1.5 year olds don't have any of the three. A 2.5 year old might have decent length or spread but won't have all three either. Most 3.5 year olds will have at least two of the three but the racks just look MUCH bigger in the field compared to a 2.5 year old.

A side view can be harder and takes a little bit of time to master. Then I look at the antler mass of the main beam and neck size. Even in early pre rut those older bucks just have a larger neck. If the bucks haven't really rutted and their neck is small a 3.5 year olds rack will look much more impressive since his body size is smaller.

It does sound difficult to do but after a season or two I would say it typically takes me 1-3 seconds to determine a shooter buck. A guide in Missouri gave me great advice when judging a deer in the field. His comment was if you are debating then you know it isn't a shooter. A shooter buck is like when you buy your house, you know it almost immediately.

[buckhunter21]

Like RuttenBuck said 1-1/2 year olds are the easiest bucks to identify. They are the same size as a doe, maybe a little bigger depending on the deer. They might get a slight neck swell during the rut but nothing even close to that of a 3-1/2+ buck. Their legs will also be very lanky and look to be too long for their body compared to a mature buck their legs will look short and it will make them look stalky. They will have a long slender nose, a mature bucks nose will look short and blend into its face.

I think anyone should easily be able to tell what a yearling buck is even if they dont hunt that much. There is no mistaking a mature buck for a yearling for the simple fact that they will have a good 100 pounds more weight on them. You can almost always tell a yearling too by their rack size but im sure there are some freaks out there that do sport some huge racks their first year but i have never heard of a yearling dressing out at 200 pounds. So i would say the best way to age a deer is by body size.

[archerystud]

One year I had a nice thick-necked brute of a buck come into range spouting nicely polished white 10-point antlers, very symmetrical, 5” brow tines, 9” maint tines, 20-1/2” spread, and moderate thickness at the base. His antlers were so polished and white they glared in the morning sun. Of course, all this analysis didn’t occur when I was standing there looking him in the eye from 40 yards through my scope. It happened afterwards when he was laying on the ground expired. I figured I had better call my brother on the walkie-talkie to help me drag him to our hangers as he looked pretty huge. We both figured he had to go at least 180 or 190 pounds. Later that day when we loaded him into the truck we realized how short he was and then it occurred to us that this deer was all front end. Built like a bulldog with a huge neck and front shoulders but virtually no rear end at all. When we registered him we put him on the scale and he only weighed 159 lbs. A friend of my brothers is supposedly able to age deer and in his opinion it turned out the deer was only 1-1/2 years old. Imagine what potential he had in his genes!

I don't think deer are that much different than humans. I'm 40 years old but I'm only 5'6". I play hockey with other 40 year olds who are 6'5". I would bet that was an older but shorter..... I mean vertically challenged deer!

[Musky Buck]

It is our unregulated job to become familiar with whatever it is we are hunting. Since we are talking yearling bucks those typically are the small ones. If in doubt put the gun down and don't shoot. The hunting handbook has rough pictures of the age classes for the Itasca hunt on typically the age class and differences in young bucks and it's fairly reliable. Like the stud said, it's either a shootable or not, if in doubt I put the safety back on and put the gun down till I either get a better look or not. If there is a ? don't fire. Bob, I think this is why AR is the topic because some may not know how to identify yearlings, but we can all count to 4.

[Bear55]

Okay. So as we have been discussing QDM, I kept hearing over and over that we should let the 1-1/2 year olds go. So far, nobody has been able to give a clear answer how to make that determination on the hoof. Therein lie my difficulty. If those that feel confident about their deer hunting can't make that determination, how can we expect the average once-a-year hunter to do it?

Note: I'm not trying to argue. I'm genuinely interested.

Bob

The good news is those are the easiest to identify. For the most part your 1.5 year olds are the spikes, forks, small 6's or possibly a small 8 pointer depending on nutrition or genetics. Their bodies may appear big at first or when they are standing next to a doe but their necks are fairly skinny and commonly dress out anywhere from 120 to 145. Even the 2.5 year old are easy to identify, they are generally your larger 6 pointers minus brow tines or G3's, a scrawny 8 or 10 pointer with a basket rack that is lacking a lot of mass. Now you might find a genetic freak in there with a small body and huge rack but they are rare. I would say 2.5 year olds dress anywhere from 140 to 165 depending on nutrition.

Once they get to 3.5 and older things can get pretty cloudy but usually by the time they reach this age you have a pretty nice buck on your hands and you should be busy taking your safty off or getting ready to draw.

[Musky Buck]

Luckily, I have 1 good area left to hunt with good age structure in place because we go/grow the little bucks making aging them a bit more interesting and at least that can happen. In another area I hunt, the area Bob it is getting very easy to age the deer on the hoof because 90% of them are 1 1/2 or less because any deer with any size around there is gunned down pronto. Just pondering tags etc. That area most hunters buy multiple tags, I have 9 other stands around 1 of the areas I own and these people have zero deer on their few acres but shoot across fields into my creek bottom as a backdrop, not the for sale one on the real estate HSOforum, and I figure there is about 25-40 animals roughly on this piece usually each fall. There are more permits then animals so it's lead flying every fall.

[onlydrakes4me]

As mentioned above younger deer ( 1.5yrs) are easy to age, but as a buck grows older it become more difficult to judge.

I live in southern MN and deer around here have plenty to eat along with proper genetics. If more people would only give them the chance to GROW, we would have a more mature deer herd.

I have read numerous articles on aging deer on the hoof, and most of the information mentioned above is right. An older Buck will have

bigger body

look at the hind quarters in relation to the front, now imagine that you are trying to balance the deer younger deer will have ( i can't remember which) an unbalance front shoulder area or hind quarter area.

An older deer's back will not be straight, i.e. looks as if belly area is sagging

Larger antler mass, but sometimes this can also be due to good genetics.

I can ussually judge a deer from 1.5 through 3.5 but after that things become difficult, even so called experts have a difficult time judging deer older than 4.5 yrs of age

[Getanet]

I usually check their ID. Sometimes they have their antlers stamped - like certain bars do.

Just kidding. I can obviously tell the little guys are young, and on a few occasions people in our group have shot a doe or buck that appeared very old. Everything in between just seems like a guesstimate unless you send it into a lab.

[CSTPETER]

Around here it's easy to identify the 1.5 year old bucks because they usually have a couple bullet holes in them and are laying supine, or hanging from a gambrel!!

[heat checker]

I also have a tough time judging the middle age bucks. I've had the tendency to shoot anything besides a fawn that comes along. Don't get me wrong, I believe in letting them grow. The problem is, I hunt a one mile stretch of a small river, not a whole lot of woods on the sides, and thousands of acres of crops available to them. VERY hard to get a pattern on anything. You might hunt 30 times a season and have one deer come by within bow range. The last few years I've been eating my tag holding out for a doe or an oler buck, but it's really tough not to put the thwackonem when you have many hours of practice, preparation into it. It's nice to just be out there, but seeing something in range every 5-10 hunts would make it ALOT easier to pass up on deer. Sorry for steering this post off coarse, BobT's question is a great one, and I'd like to hear some more input from the veterans, specifically on the mature one's attitudes, reactions to different things, versus the 2.5 year old deer.

[fr0sty]

Would anyone care to estimate the age of this 8 point? I have the rack in my garage. Here are some measurements.

The brow tines are 5".

The tip to tip inside spread between the first beams is 7.5"

The tip to tip inside spread of the back beams is 11.75"

Sorry for the non-official measurements, I am new at this

Here is the pic here

[alwaysonthemove]

To me it looks like a 2 1/2 year old

[buckhunter21]

I would agree with 2-1/2. Not alot of mass on the horns and hard to tell in the pic but the body doesnt look like it is fully mature yet.

[RuttenBuck]

I would guess 2.5 years old as well. Starting to see signs of a little swelling in the neck but appears to be a little too thin in the shoulders to be older than 2.5.

[Archerysniper]

It' very hard to tell when deer are on the ground but the lack of mass I have to agree with the others as 2 1/2 like I and other said when their laying down it's very hard to judge. When their coming in you have to look and see if their neck and cheast blend or if the neck looks larger than the chest and you also have to look at the back for a dip. Basically you want a buck with a swayed back and no deffinition between the neck and chest. If a buck passes this and has 8 point that are wider than his ears when he look at me it's a shooter for me.

[fr0sty]

I agree, it's hard to tell on the ground. This was my second deer and first buck. It looked even bigger in the heat of the moment, you know what I mean?

No sway back but the rack was wider than the ears.

[Archerysniper]

Everyone get confused in the heat of the moment I have passed many bucks I wish I would have shot it's hunting and the venison always tastes good. One tip I can give is don't pass a deer the first day you would shoot the last day this has haunted me many seasons. I eat lots of tag sandwiches but thats my curse.

You can't eat the rack but

they sure look good on the wall.

[Musky Buck]

Where was it shot roughly ? In my area he'd be a 2 1/2.