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Age of buck question?

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I have a question for all you boys who are good at aging deer!

How old are you willing to age a deer (WITHOUT camera pics history on that given deer)

I personally can tell if a deer is 2.5, 3.5 or 4.5. I have never felt confident after that, just think there are to many factors. Recently I have read a lot of guys sayign they are "passing" 4.5 year olds, setting goals at 5.5 or better.

Do yall think that is just smoke, or am I just not that good at aging deer?


thanks for reading!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
I think it really depends. To first answer your question about aging one without pics or history is a tough call. Aging a deer with pictures and aging a deer on the hoof is two totally different things. And I mean totally different. Nine times out of ten on the hoof you aren't going to have the time or angles to accurately field judge a deer past 3.5. Not saying it can't be done. But to say if that deer is 4.5 or 5.5 is a damn tough call on the hoof. To me the biggest piece of information you're going to lean on when making that call is the genetics of your area. You may not have history with that buck. But if you know your local genetics that will go a long ways towards helping determine that new bucks age. Personally. If a guy tells me he passed a 5.5 and just judged him on the hoof I instantly think 3.5. A 4.5 and 5.5 year old deer is a rarity. Less than 20% of the bucks killed in this state are 3.5 or older. I would say less than 5% are 4.5 or older. If someone tells me they passed a 5.5 year old deer I just smile and nod.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I think it really depends. To first answer your question about aging one without pics or history is a tough call. Aging a deer with pictures and aging a deer on the hoof is two totally different things. And I mean totally different. Nine times out of ten on the hoof you aren't going to have the time or angles to accurately field judge a deer past 3.5. Not saying it can't be done. But to say if that deer is 4.5 or 5.5 is a damn tough call on the hoof. To me the biggest piece of information you're going to lean on when making that call is the genetics of your area. You may not have history with that buck. But if you know your local genetics that will go a long ways towards helping determine that new bucks age. Personally. If a guy tells me he passed a 5.5 and just judged him on the hoof I instantly think 3.5. A 4.5 and 5.5 year old deer is a rarity. Less than 20% of the bucks killed in this state are 3.5 or older. I would say less than 5% are 4.5 or older. If someone tells me they passed a 5.5 year old deer I just smile and nod.

This is my exact same thought!

Ok what if someone just shows you 1 trail cam picture. No history and says "can you age this deer?"

Do you (or feel majority of hunters) could honestly tell you that given deer is a 4.5, 5.5, etc?
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
This is my exact same thought!

Ok what if someone just shows you 1 trail cam picture. No history and says "can you age this deer?"

Do you (or feel majority of hunters) could honestly tell you that given deer is a 4.5, 5.5, etc?

I'd have to watch a few grant woods videos before I gave an answer LOL.
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Unless you have history it is purely speculation after 4.5.

For example.... does this deer look 6?
uploadfromtaptalk1415792194344.jpg

I don't think he does. But I have the history to prove he is... otherwise o would have just said he was 4
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Joe and Zach are spot on. I've seen pics of 7-8 year old deer that look 3. You need pics and history to be accurate after 4.5 IMO.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
Unless you have history it is purely speculation after 4.5.

For example.... does this deer look 6?
View attachment 25902

I don't think he does. But I have the history to prove he is... otherwise o would have just said he was 4

Jesse, Zack, Joe, All,

I am so happy you all are saying this! I have always thought the same thing, and recently this is the new "CRAZE" I see guys saying, they are passing 5.5 year old deer.

I really feel confident aging a deer to 4.5 by 1 trail cam picture or if I can watch him for awhile before deciding to shoot. If you follow hunting FB pages, they always post pictures and ask for age. People will be like 6.5, 7.5, 8.5. There is just NO FUGGING way, you could be that accurate, IMO. Yall confirmed this for me!

Either way, I just wanted to see if I was just being overly judgmental or if most ppl are really full of it! hahaha
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Even aging teeth based off wear is inaccurate as far as I'm concerned. A deer who lives I. Big woods and east hard mast his whole life is going to wear his teeth far faster than a deer in ag country.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
Even aging teeth based off wear is inaccurate as far as I'm concerned. A deer who lives I. Big woods and east hard mast his whole life is going to wear his teeth far faster than a deer in ag country.

this was a point I was going to bring up! Good point!
 

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
24,834
247
I have a buddy that has a 9 year old buck as a pet. I don't think there is any way to know how old a deer is by looking at him. I have heard people say, "Needs another year" a hundred times, and in many cases, another year would not improve a deer's antlers one inch. "Sammy" has had the same antlers, essentially, for the last four years that I've known him.

To get an accurate age on a deer, you have to bisect his teeth. Deerage.com will do it for 35 dollars or so.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I use deerage.com for my bucks. Great service.

If you want to stop reading BS, you need to clean up that FB feed!

aint that the truth! What got me fired up was a guy who said he had a great season even though he didnt kill a buck. He then went on to say he passed several "4.5 yr olds" He was holding his standard to 5.5 or better.

So that got me thinking, either I am one dumb SOB and dont know what I am looking at or, people are full of shit! hahaha
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,720
248
Ohio
You would be amazed how many people bring me deer, that thinks they are 5 1/2.

Hey! Quit picking. I said I think he was a 4.5yr old. :smiley_crocodile:

With one picture? Not knowing local genetics? Pretty dang tough. Summer vs fall pictures vary greatly. I studied "aging deer on the hoof" the last few months trying to get better at it. I set out this year with a goal to kill "a mature buck." You know what happened in the 1-2 seconds I had to size up my buck before making a decision? I saw his rack and knew I was shooting. Pictures, history, and having him on the ground help me to "believe" he was 4.5yr old. I would be lying if I told you I studied his body as he came in. Even if I had that (time) opportunity, I am not sure I would have been able to tell you. 1-2yr old or 2-3 difference? Yes. 3-4 difference? Not always. 4-5-6-7-8yr old differences? Gets pretty hard after 4 in my opinion, based on what I have read and what I attempted to educate myself with online.

FB isn't a place to learn very often. Sort of like going to the D&T Expo. Lots of guys there who want you to believe they are the next best thing. I would lay money on the table you could learn more by reading TOO, than by hunting a season with "many" of those guys. Not saying "all" because I am sure a handful are legit and real deal, knowledgeable, hardcore hunters. I suspect many are simply fortunate in where they hunt and nothing else. Same could be said for myself. Wouldn't have killed the deer I did this year if I didn't have a property to hunt which held a deer like that. Then again, I am not trying to be some outfitter, bedazzeled pocket jean wearing, wannabe TV guy. I am just a dumb lawn mower jockey who spends as much time in the woods as possible and loiters on TOO.
 

Boarhead

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
Its tough to age them less you have some yearly history with them .sightings or cam pics or have a tooth tested.
I know on our farm we do have some bucks 4 to 7 yrs old just from cam pics each yr and a couple from sightings but no cam pics each season.Still amazes me a couple bucks on our farm I have yet to get a pic of and they have been around awhile but have had many sightings.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Tooth wear... Up to 4.5 with decent accuracy in my opinion. And normally I agree with most of what Kaiser says but I disagree on the variation from one end of the state to the next. Most deer in Ohio are eating similar foods. Whether north or south, they all eat corn and acorns and woody browse. After 4.5 though it's a fuggin crap shoot. Obviously you need a history with a deer to be completely accurate. The tooth bisection services are very reliable as well.