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Want your deer aged

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
Here's a website I was told about by Derry when I dropped off my deer. I had him remove a small portion of the lower jaw bone where the front teeth are so I can later remove the two middle incisors. I haven't done this yet but do plan on doing it soon. I believe it's the most accurate way to age your deer. Here's the link:

www.deerage.com/
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I've seen that before... It is indeed the most accurate aging method. It's basically the same way Icthyologists age fish with their otoliths. I've never sent anything in to have the cementum rings counted... But here's my opinion on it: In Ohio, I don't really see much use for it. Unless you're hunting large properties where the deer are confined to your land, it's very rare to kill a deer that's older than 5.5 in Ohio. Tooth-wear aging is fairly accurate up to 4.5 years old. The DNR actually breaks it down into 6 mo, 1.5 yrs, 2.5 yrs, 3.5 yrs, 4.5 yrs, and 4.5+ years... because once a deer gets older than 4.5, it's very difficult to distinguish between older age classes by tooth wear alone. The percentage of deer that get classified as 4.5+ years old is EXTREMELY rare during harvest surveys. In the rare instance that you think you've killed the Father Time of bucks and he's got no molars left in his jaw, then yea it'd be worth it to send the teeth out to a lab. More often than not, tooth-wear aging will get you damn close.
 

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
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24,834
247
This deer was 5 1/2. Sean, (BuckEyeCam) came up to hunt with me during the first bonus shotgun season, whatever year that was. I had hunted this sucker all season. Knew him like a pet and couldn't get a shot with a bow. Sean came up, set him on the opposite side of the thicket this deer was in and ran him out. Sean shot him at about 150 yds and dropped him stone dead. They had gotten to know the deerage folks from trade shows, so he sent the teeth to 'em. Very cool, takes the guessing out of the game. This deer showed up on my farm when he was 4 1/2, after gun season, and never left.
 

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brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
24,834
247
I've seen that before... It is indeed the most accurate aging method. It's basically the same way Icthyologists age fish with their otoliths. I've never sent anything in to have the cementum rings counted... But here's my opinion on it: In Ohio, I don't really see much use for it. Unless you're hunting large properties where the deer are confined to your land, it's very rare to kill a deer that's older than 5.5 in Ohio. Tooth-wear aging is fairly accurate up to 4.5 years old. The DNR actually breaks it down into 6 mo, 1.5 yrs, 2.5 yrs, 3.5 yrs, 4.5 yrs, and 4.5+ years... because once a deer gets older than 4.5, it's very difficult to distinguish between older age classes by tooth wear alone. The percentage of deer that get classified as 4.5+ years old is EXTREMELY rare during harvest surveys. In the rare instance that you think you've killed the Father Time of bucks and he's got no molars left in his jaw, then yea it'd be worth it to send the teeth out to a lab. More often than not, tooth-wear aging will get you damn close.

I disagree. We have pics of deer for three years that have not changed a bit. One that sticks out in my mind was a 145"er. He never grew an inch, and looked the same the last year he was around as he did the first. His body never "developed", no indication of how old he was by looking at him. If I had shot him and not known the history, I would have thought he was a 3 1/2 and would have said "needed another year". I am convinced there is no way of knowing how old a deer is by looking at them. Tooth wear is also subject to the type of food a deer is eating throughout his life. Beyond the early years of development, tooth wear is useless.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
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18,060
223
Ohio
I disagree. We have pics of deer for three years that have not changed a bit. One that sticks out in my mind was a 145"er. He never grew an inch, and looked the same the last year he was around as he did the first. His body never "developed", no indication of how old he was by looking at him. If I had shot him and not known the history, I would have thought he was a 3 1/2 and would have said "needed another year". I am convinced there is no way of knowing how old a deer is by looking at them. Tooth wear is also subject to the type of food a deer is eating throughout his life. Beyond the early years of development, tooth wear is useless.

I have to believe that that particular deer was an oddity. Tooth wear aging is not useless. In the first three to four years of development, it is a fairly accurate method, if you know what you're looking at. I'm sure different regions of the country use different criteria for tooth-wear aging, to account for the different food sources. As I said before, deer in huntable populations living beyond 4.5 years old in Ohio is not the norm. If you think you've got an old one, send it out.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I was fortunate in the fact that both of the taxidermists who mounted my deer left me the jaw bones since I forget to request them. I love knowing that both deer on my wall are 6.5 years old. They are not great deer score wise, but they were old and that is a pretty cool tidbit of knowledge for me. Knowing the true age of a buck you thought was old, really adds to the hunt. My two deer look completely different visually, but were the same age. Same with how people age: Visually some folks are older than they really are. My second buck looks like an ancient warrior and the first is sleek and clean with no scars. Sending those bones/teeth in was some of the best time and $ I've spent over the years...
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
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39,721
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Ohio
We have one on camera and 2 of us have watched him from the stand repeatedly this year that is 6.5yr minimum. The guy that hunts the property to the north of us has watched him the last 5 years and his rack is distinctive enough to differentiate him from the rest of the deer. He is all busted up this year and I am on the fence whether or not I would shoot him this year. If both sides matched his typical side, I think he would be close to B&C. As it is, with the one side all buggered up, he is unique and cool, but probably wouldn't score well. Much like Jesse's old deer, he would be a trophy regardless of score. I agree with Brock though, this is truly an exception to the rule of a fair chase deer.
 

brock ratcliff

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I really don't think it is all that odd. The deer that truly interest most of us are likely older than many would believe. I think the majority of them get as good as they are gonna get (rack wise) at 4 1/2. From that point on, they stay about the same for a long, long time. Just from watching Sean's cams, I know that many deer (not just the one I mentioned earlier) continue to do the same thing for years. They may not even get their picture taken until mid-November and are only around for a week or two and gone again until the next year. These deer are NOT sheltered from hunting pressure by any means, they are just better at surviving than we are at killing them, and I believe a good many of them do so for a lot longer than we'd imagine. Heck, M.R. James has a doe on his place that is 8 years old, and his farm (250 acres) is surrounded by public land - she made it through gun season again this year.

The point being, I think if more people actually sent the teeth in, most would be surprised at how old a lot of harvested deer really are. I for one used to think a 4 1/2 old deer was an antique in free range. I don't think so anymore.