Next question would be...how good are those opinions

My guess on the second one was 5.5 by looking at his brisket and stained hock but with the hair standing up it is very hard to judge a deer if that is the only time you have seen him. It so very different when looking at pics than in person. Deer are relaxed in some pics making them look so much different than they would in person. But in my defense I can waffle with the best of them. and eat crow as a main course most of the time

Ok your turn. What do you think of this buck. Both are October pics and about 4 days apart. The first pic was taken before the second one was as a point of reference.

Hard to tell when they are alive imo

That 2nd pic looks like a 4.5 yo but the 1st pic makes me think he's more like 5.5-6.5yo. I'm probably way off.

I would go with 4.5 at the oldest...

Reasoning: knees, neck, and no fight marks to speak of. Horns throw me off, but that is because I am not used to those (and I try not to look at them for age, but still)

Second pic I think 3.5yo but agree with LandPirate on the 5.5-6.5yo for first pic.

Goes to show camera angle makes a huge difference...same deer

Sorry my bad on some info...both pics are from the same year in October and 4 days apart. Now what do you think.

I think it is a good thing that I am not writing what I am thinking as I jump between the two pictures...because I am waffling worse than you were

I'm gonna go with 4.5...I'll add that you don't often see that kind of mass development on antlers of deer that young. Of course, he's probably been slurping down protein his whole life, which helps.

Location within the state makes a big difference too.

I think they're spot on. I'd say he's 4.5 right now based on his pics from last year. This time of year is always tricky and you really have to look at the "whole" deer. Looking at last year's pics I see the longer nose, long legs and a "quarter horse look". This year's pic isn't the best to judge on but for me I'm saying 4.5 this year.

I agree with STXRM on the fact that some deer that are way past their prime appear to be a 3.5 year old because in most cases they are lean with bad hips and a big chest. It's easy to see a slimmer body and a set of horns that isn't spectacular and automatically think, "I need to give him a year or two". Not every old deer has a giant body. We had a deer a few years ago that looked like a middle-aged deer at first glance but when you really studied him he had all of the signs of a deer waaaay past his prime. We ended up taking the deer(130 class 9 pt that was 24 inches inside) and he was 8.5 years old.

It's not an exact science and that's what makes it fun. Once you think you've got it figured out you'll get fooled.

I don't ever want to figure it all out. Part of what I love about hunting is being able to think about and second guess myself constantly, even when I am not in the woods. We have been on our place 17 years and every year is different and provides different challanges.

Home field advantage in aging is priceless. I had guessed this buck to be 3.5 the first time I took pics of him. He was 3.5 in those pics because 60 days later he was a rut mortality figure. He was the best 3.5 yr old I have seen. He was just the right buck from the right buck/doe combination and yes he had food plots, protein and native habitat but they are no substitute for genetics. By the way he grossed just over 181.

Dang, 3.5!!! Imagine what he might have been at 6.5? Great buck.

At least I didn't make you suffer...come on man

Try to age this one based on looking at one year alone and not the rest. These pics are the same buck from one year to the next year to the next year.
This pic is in January.

The next year in the rut in Decemeber.

The following year in October.

I was actually close ...I wanted to say 3.5 but didn't trust it...Give me another one


That sucks to lose a deer like that. I can't believe those horns at 3.5

Are the last two the same year?

It is to much fun to suffer. Being humbled is part of it. Learning from being humbled is called experience. I have lots of experience.

Man that really sucks STXRM. I was thinking three and that's the best case of "don't look at the antlers" I've ever seen. I was telling myself that there's no way that 170" deer is three! What a buck!

Yes my bad again. Same day about 20 minutes apart on pics also. Notice how much older he can look from one pic to the next.

At first glance I thought deer two was still a pup; 'sharp nose' and the typical lean racehorse muscle tone/appearance. BUT his knees are very swollen (arthritis?) - I think he is older. I am probably over-thinking it and way off: 6.5 for buck 2 and 4.5 for buck 1.


Wow, this thread just blew up. this goes for some of the Page 1 stuff

Good observation! What you are seeing is rut stress from a buck that was a very bad fighter. Knees get really abused in a fight as they are on the ground in most fights and torqued for leverage at very bad angles. Most common rut injury is to the knee.