aging a deer

[my82cam]

what is the best way to age a deer? do you just go by how large the base of the antlers are? i know once you shoot them you can look at the teeth and tell by how much they are worn down(not quite sure what to look for though), any good ides or pointers on how to tell the age? both from the scope and up close?

[Rightwinger]

Older bucks will generally have a thicker/darker cape on top of their heads. They will also have thicker faces and like most of us older guys, a bigger belly. They just look "mature". Of course a good 3 year old with good nutrition and good genetics will have a better rack than a 5 year old that is struggling to find food. Let the spikes and fork horns walk and encourage others in that area to do the same and then you can choose amongst them in a couple of years. If the area isn't hunted that hard, you can choose this year!

[DaveTN]

what is the best way to age a deer?

Don’t shoot it.

J/K… I could not help it.

[Guest Jcochran88]

I would suggest either getting with someone that knows or picking up a book, Dr. James Kroll also know as Dr. Deer has a good one. Just remember that our deer are not going to be the same body size as the ones in the guides they usually do them from the mid west.

[ShaunM]

Try researching on the net and compare pics of young and mature deer, one way that could help out.

[my82cam]

Don’t shoot it.

J/K… I could not help it.

that was an easy one.........lol

[Guest 1shot]

The only real way to age a deer is by looking at it's teeth. There are some guides that list pictures and how to do this. I worked with a wildlife biologist on opening day at a checking station for two years and I learned a lot about deer in TN. This was about 10 years ago but the biologist told me that he had only seen one 4 1/2 year old deer come out of the upper east TN area. Reason for this is they are either killed or they starve to death. The reason that they starve is because of the ruff type of food that they eat will wear their teeth down so much that can't eat.

[alwaysoutdoors]

what is the best way to age a deer? do you just go by how large the base of the antlers are? i know once you shoot them you can look at the teeth and tell by how much they are worn down(not quite sure what to look for though), any good ides or pointers on how to tell the age? both from the scope and up close?

I would stick with aging deer on the hoof by their bodies and not their antlers in TN.

A good way is their back and belly lines. You will have a older deer (4 plus) if his back and belly are swayed instead of straight across.

Also pay attention to where their necks meet their chests. Older deer (3 or older) will have less definition where the neck meets the chest i.e. older mature deer will have a neck and chest that just flow together due to the neck being so large.

For more info, there is a good thread at tndeer with pictures to help age bucks on the hoof

[my82cam]

i appreciate the help....

[dm239]

I would stick with aging deer on the hoof by their bodies and not their antlers in TN.

A good way is their back and belly lines. You will have a older deer (4 plus) if his back and belly are swayed instead of straight across.

Also pay attention to where their necks meet their chests. Older deer (3 or older) will have less definition where the neck meets the chest i.e. older mature deer will have a neck and chest that just flow together due to the neck being so large.

For more info, there is a good thread at tndeer with pictures to help age bucks on the hoof

agreed.

OP- this is a good link. I won't take credit for this. BSK at tndeer

forums is very knowledgeable and put together this very thorough

and informative post:

Tennessee Deer Talk: Field-judging buck age examples