Aging Deer

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  • GSuders

    Active Member
    Dec 13, 2017
    148
    Keymar
    Anyone know how the weight of a deer may correspond to its age? I've been keeping a log of the deer that my group has shot the last few years. We are lucky enough that we can get the deer back to the house and weigh them before we gut them to give a on the hoof weight. I've mainly concerned with aging the bucks. We have yet to kill any really good or monsters, biggest one has been a 14" wide 6 pt.

    BB - 95 lbs
    Half rack 2 pt - 110 lbs
    4 pt - 115 lbs
    5 pt - 120 lbs
    4 pt - 130 lbs
    6 pt - 140 lbs
    4 pt - 150 lbs
    Half rack 3 pt - 155 lbs
    3 pt - 170 lbs
    6 pt - 175 lbs

    All these deer have came from the same general area which is largely farmland with small wood lots. I'm thinking the 110-130 lbs could be 1 1/2 yrs old, 140-150 are 2 1/2 and the 170-175 are 3 1/2? The one that puzzles me the most is the 3 pt that was shot. It was basically a spike with a brow point, fairly heavy mass on the spikes and a HUGE body.
     
    I am not sure that it is possible to age a deer by it's weight. Several years ago I shot what I thought was a young injured doe. It had a bad limp and couldn't get around too well and it needed to be put down. As it turns out it was a buck with spikes about 1.5 inches high..When I took it to the butcher the DNR biologists were there to record age demographics. They had a device that roughly determined the deer's age by measuring it's jaw and teeth..I was told my deer that only weighed 54 pounds was somewhere between 3 and 4 years old. Last year I shot an 8 point and the biologists said it was probably only 2 or 3 years but it weighed 162 pounds.

    I think if it were possible to age a deer by weight the biologists would be using that method to determine age...
     

    E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    Due to the many variations in genetics, habitat, region, diet and nutrition, one cannot age deer by weight or antler growth.

    Tooth wear has been the standard method of aging whitetail deer for many years. It is relatively precise and there is a good guide to evaluating deer age here:
    https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0755.pdf

    When you used to have to take deer to check stations, part of the check in was weighing the animal and evaluating tooth wear. They sometimes took a lower jawbone to aid in harvest studies.

    In 1981, I killed what looked like a nice 4 point meat deer that weighed 140# dressed but actually aged close to 7 years. His teeth were very obviously worn down. He was not very good eating. The following year, I took a nearly identical looking 140# 4 point that aged 2-1/2 years.
     

    onedash

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 24, 2016
    1,026
    Calvert County
    I guess you can send in the front teeth along with $15 to get the age of the deer. Not sure where. My brother is sending them in for his last buck.
     

    cww

    Active Member
    Jan 28, 2010
    539
    as stated weight alone is not a good measure. older deer with have the belly hang, the swayed back, the roman nose, the indecipherable transition from neck to shoulder, tooth wear. Then their are the basic genetics, heard health and food availability. if you use your data and add in other observations and even the above mention tooth analysis you should be able to get a basic general idea of yow your local heard is structured.
     

    jhcrab

    Active Member
    Jun 28, 2012
    499
    Howard Co.
    One suggestion to have larger deer on your property would be to agree to not shoot any bucks smaller than 6pt. or even 8pt. Let the smaller deer live longer so they become the "monster" ones you are looking for. I'd be happy to help you out to thin your doe heard!
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    There are many considerations when trying to age deer. As Ed said, tooth wear(including dentine width) is a very good way to age dead deer, but is little help when trying to age "deer on the hoof". And that is what we should strive to understand. By the way, the definitive method used for aging deer is by grinding a cross section of the deer's first molar and counting the growth rings, much like a tree.

    Aging them on the hoof can be a challenge. I try my hardest and still screw up. I'm not going to go into each year class and their particulars. That would take a book to explain.

    The first thing I look at is his(bucks, we're talking about here) body shape. This is usually the best indicator throughout the year.

    I will also look at the neck, keeping in mind, the time of year because that can vary quite a bit.

    I'll look at the face, hair color in the face, and shape of the head.

    Antlers are the most misleading and should not be relied upon for basing age or 'shootability' if you are trying to gain age in your local herd.

    What I look for in a shootable buck; A large body. So large that his legs look skinny and spindly. He will walk stiff legged from arthritis. Since I am hunting him during the rut, his neck should go from the middle of his jawline, straight down to his brisket. No curves or indentations. His head will have grey hair and will be big and blocky, usually with a roman nose. Eyes will appear small and squinty. When I see a deer like this, I don't necessarily need to look at the rack. I'll know I have a mature deer(5.5-8.5 YO) in front of me and my brain tells me to shoot.

    If one is looking for a "trophy" animal, then he might go about things differently. He'll need to be able to tell the difference between a young deer with small rack, and older deer with a small rack that may never achieve trophy status due to poor genetics(called a management buck), or a oldish looking deer with smallish antlers that is actually a deer gone past his prime(a trophy in my book every time), and act accordingly.

    There has been a lot written on this subject and should be easy to research if interested.
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,371
    Hampstead
    There are many considerations when trying to age deer. As Ed said, tooth wear(including dentine width) is a very good way to age dead deer, but is little help when trying to age "deer on the hoof". And that is what we should strive to understand. By the way, the definitive method used for aging deer is by grinding a cross section of the deer's first molar and counting the growth rings, much like a tree.

    Aging them on the hoof can be a challenge. I try my hardest and still screw up. I'm not going to go into each year class and their particulars. That would take a book to explain.

    The first thing I look at is his(bucks, we're talking about here) body shape. This is usually the best indicator throughout the year.

    I will also look at the neck, keeping in mind, the time of year because that can vary quite a bit.

    I'll look at the face, hair color in the face, and shape of the head.

    Antlers are the most misleading and should not be relied upon for basing age or 'shootability' if you are trying to gain age in your local herd.

    What I look for in a shootable buck; A large body. So large that his legs look skinny and spindly. He will walk stiff legged from arthritis. Since I am hunting him during the rut, his neck should go from the middle of his jawline, straight down to his brisket. No curves or indentations. His head will have grey hair and will be big and blocky, usually with a roman nose. Eyes will appear small and squinty. When I see a deer like this, I don't necessarily need to look at the rack. I'll know I have a mature deer(5.5-8.5 YO) in front of me and my brain tells me to shoot.

    If one is looking for a "trophy" animal, then he might go about things differently. He'll need to be able to tell the difference between a young deer with small rack, and older deer with a small rack that may never achieve trophy status due to poor genetics(called a management buck), or a oldish looking deer with smallish antlers that is actually a deer gone past his prime(a trophy in my book every time), and act accordingly.

    There has been a lot written on this subject and should be easy to research if interested.
    Good analysis. In addition I’d say also as far as the body size goes, young bucks (does too) will have more of a “greyhound” shape to the rear of their body where the belly line will swoop upward to a smaller “waist” just in front of the rear legs. A more mature deer will maintain a near level lower body-line. A BIG deer will have a deep belly hanging down and be “thick-waisted”. Also, a big ol’ buck will have a “sway back” like an old horse, dipping down from where the top of rear-neck meets the top of the body, then back up at the rear hips.

    I do ask one favor from all my deer hunting brethren: please stop trying to sound like wildlife biologists by saying a deer is “3 and a half, 4 and a half, etc... years old. I get you’re trying to be accurate, but you’re hunting the deer in it’s 3rd year, or 4th year, or its 5th year. If you don’t actually know when that deer was born, you can actually be incorrect. If you shoot the deer Sept 7th, he could be roughly X years and 4 months (assuming late April/early May birth), if late muzzleloader season it could be X years and 9 months old. That’s X.33 year old to X.75 years old. It serves no purpose to say the “half” part. We only get to hunt them during the mid-year months of their lives, so it’s completely redundant. That deer is THREE, all the way up until the time it turns FOUR. OK, Pet peeve rant over, many apologies.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    Good analysis. In addition I’d say also as far as the body size goes, young bucks (does too) will have more of a “greyhound” shape to the rear of their body where the belly line will swoop upward to a smaller “waist” just in front of the rear legs. A more mature deer will maintain a near level lower body-line. A BIG deer will have a deep belly hanging down and be “thick-waisted”. Also, a big ol’ buck will have a “sway back” like an old horse, dipping down from where the top of rear-neck meets the top of the body, then back up at the rear hips.

    I do ask one favor from all my deer hunting brethren: please stop trying to sound like wildlife biologists by saying a deer is “3 and a half, 4 and a half, etc... years old. I get you’re trying to be accurate, but you’re hunting the deer in it’s 3rd year, or 4th year, or its 5th year. If you don’t actually know when that deer was born, you can actually be incorrect. If you shoot the deer Sept 7th, he could be roughly X years and 4 months (assuming late April/early May birth), if late muzzleloader season it could be X years and 9 months old. That’s X.33 year old to X.75 years old. It serves no purpose to say the “half” part. We only get to hunt them during the mid-year months of their lives, so it’s completely redundant. That deer is THREE, all the way up until the time it turns FOUR. OK, Pet peeve rant over, many apologies.
    But, but, in two(and a half) weeks, I'll be 60.5 years old! Hahaha! I get what you're saying.

    Don't ya hate parents who say "next week, junior will be 34 1/2 months old"? Who counts months? WTH?

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,371
    Hampstead
    But, but, in two(and a half) weeks, I'll be 60.5 years old! Hahaha! I get what you're saying.

    Don't ya hate parents who say "next week, junior will be 34 1/2 months old"? Who counts months? WTH?

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
    Yeah I hear ya - I came to your kid’s Christening/birthday party/holiday party/etc..., now you expect me to do math on my day off? Tell me how many years that is or I’m going home.
     

    kdmag88

    Active Member
    Jan 10, 2018
    125
    Good thing we don't measure peoples age by their weight. Or I'd just be an old fatty instead of a young fatty.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    Good analysis. In addition I’d say also as far as the body size goes, young bucks (does too) will have more of a “greyhound” shape to the rear of their body where the belly line will swoop upward to a smaller “waist” just in front of the rear legs....

    ...and mostly, if a buck's hind quarters are(sizably) larger than his front quarters, He's under 4 years old in most cases. I'll try and find examples later. I don't have them on this computer.
     

    wilcam47

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 4, 2008
    25,972
    Changed zip code
    Im another for the teeth method. While I like to guess when the deer is alive...the best indication is the tooth wear. I guessed wrong on big 9pt a lady shot. I thought for sure it was 5.5 or better...turned out it was only 3.5. Then another buck a different lady shot looked like a 3.5 yr old turned out it was a 5.5yr old. The buck the first lady shot was far bigger than the second lady's. Both were good deer just totally different.

    https://www.buckmanager.com/2007/01/19/age-determination-using-jaw-bones/
     

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