I have searched the net, and looked at everyone's "guess the age" posts on here, but I am still unsure of how to know when a buck is at the right age for harvest. I personally think a lot has to do with expierence out in the field, but does anyone have anything specific that they look for to tell if a buck is old enough before they pull the trigger.

The longer you hunt, the tougher the criteria gets. First, it's the first decent 8-point buck that you see. Then, it's 10 point or better. After that, you start looking for points and mass. Eventually, unless you're totally caught up in score, you'll just be happy to take a deer that pleases you. My own definition of a shooter depends where I am hunting, how late in the hunt or season it is, and what weapon is in my hands.

Fortunately in S Texas you'll generally see all age classes, but when you see that big black one that dwarfs the rest, you know it's him.

You are going to get some more specific comments like nose, brisket, belly, back, etc, but with enough experience you'll get to know when it's the one. When they quit looking like does and start to look like horses, pick up the gun.

Stick around here, we will have alot of age and score here before season. You will be an expert before end of season!

While nothing beats experience, there are a few guides that will help. This one isn't too bad and has a fair amount of info.

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2206.pdf

Well at least what a 3.5 yr old looks like. Seems no matter what, the majority guess 3.5, lol. Serious though just hang out here and you will get plenty of opportunity to learn. I always tell the guys that hunt with me and are a little unsure this....If he walks out and he makes you grab your weapon it is the right deer for you. If you have to look him over and try to decide you will probably be disappointed if you put him on the ground. The big mature bucks are obvious when they walk out at least until late in the season. Good luck this year.

Well said rtp

For me, the 3 biggest factors are neck size, chest size (how wide and how deep; no jokes now), and antler size (with antler size being the least accurate of the 3; and worthless after 4.5). To get good at aging deer, it is important to remember to use multiple characterisctis, never just 1. When looking at a deer, I always start with an overall impression of antler size (not just spread, or just points, or just mainbeam length, etc.) and put him into a young, middle, old category. Then, I use the neck and chest to further refine the estimate. You can't just use antler size, or it will get you in trouble. But, young deer follow a fairly consistent increase in anlter size through the age classes up to 4.5 years old. Deer that fall into the extremes (really small-antlered mature deer and really large-antlered young deer complicate things, but that is why you continue to use other criterion to refine your guestimate).

I've never put much too much stock in the ones you hear most often (sway back, gray face, roman nose, pot belly). While each is correlated with age to some degree, all have a large margin or error. For example, if you're itching to pull the trigger, if you look at a deer long you're going to see a pot belly on him, or a gray face, or a sway back, etc. Aging deer on the hoof is best used as a means to pass on a deer rather than to find a reason to shoot him. Gut size and sway back are both affected by not only age, but also posture and you see many young deer that appear to have a sway back or big gut. Gut fill (food, water) also influences the size of the gut.

For this reason, while the whole middle section of the body increases with age, the chest is a better indicator. Because of the bone structure in the chest, you don't see the variation and fluctuation in size like you do when looking at the gut.

A little trick I started using several years ago is the width of the neck. Start by drawing an imaginary line straight down from the eyes when a deer is looking at you. If the neck is inside those lines, you're looking at a 1.5 or 2.5 year-old deer. If the neck is roughly the same width as the lines, you're most likely looking at a middle-aged deer (3.5 or 4.5). If the neck is outside the lines, it's a good bet he's 5.5 or older. The rut complicates this criterion to some degree, but this works the majority of the time (definitely not always though). One exception I've noticed is on properties that have a lack of mature deer. The 3.5 are doing a lot of the breeding and their necks get huge. Another thing is the neck thing doesn't work on really malnourished deer or too early in the season (like right now). But, come October and through the season, the neck width thing works pretty well.

But the best thing I can tell you is that to get good at aging deer, you have to be able to look at mature deer for comparison (that's why many folks have trouble aging deer). And, like ST36 said, when the right one walks out, you'll know it.

I had compiled a list of 38 things at one time to use aging deer.
The last thing I look at is antlers. Face shape/color, neck, where the neck meets the shoulder, shoulder, chest, flank/bellyline, staining on the hocks, shape of the rump, ear hair color where the keys I looked at first. Once the pre-rut and rut started the staining on the hock was really great to age by. After the rut started it was not as easy to use it.

Experience and time in the field make all the difference for me. As has been said, if the one comes out and gets your heart going and makes the others look small, he is probably a mature buck. For me this is usually a 4.0 yo or older buck with good antlers.

Here are some bucks by ages and if you are judging by antlers good luck:
Top end 1.5 yr old in October. 6x5 typical. Found dead at 2.5 after last season scored 173 gross.

2.5 yr old in October.

3.5 yr old in October. Found dead in Dec. in the rut to confirm age that year and scored 180 gross.

4.5 yr old in December. Sheds grossed 190+ depending on spread. Killed at 5.5 the next season.

5.5 yr old in November 6x6 grossed 194.

6.5 yr in late December grossed 172.

7.5 yr old in October grossed 180 and dressed 208 lbs.

Old++++ in December never killed this buck.

Nice pics Ranchman! I'm droolin' over here!

I was lucky enough to be invited to Kansas/Missouri last year for my first deer hunt ever and I don't think I'm going to be getting that call back this year because I made the mistake of aging the deer by the overall size and pulling the trigger on him. He was just so big compared to the ones I saw growing up around Rhome and Boyd,Tx. I saw him running after a doe and didn't take the time to do this correctly. When the owner saw him, I could tell he was a little ticked at me because he couldn't have been any more than 2.5 yrs. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. Believe me, when I saw him, I reached for the gun too. I really hope I don't make this mistake again. Good luck to everyone this year!

What do you mean you can't look at the antlers STX...that's what we are hunting for

Antlers are pretty much worthless and from what I have found, those charts are only good in certain parts of the state. They suck in the Hill Country.

The key is to know the deer you hunt. A 3.5 yo in the panhandle doesn't have the same traits as a 3.5 yo in the hill country. And neither will look like a S. Tx deer.

The list that STX provided is great, if you know what each of them mean. Did I mention antlers are worthless to age by?

We have had some great "age these deer" threads in the past and I think it would be interesting to revisit them or do it again. We had deer from all over the state that the age had been confirmed.

That 6.5 buck did some steroids and p90x! What a beast! Awesome pics.

Aging deer is not my strong point, partly because I have never hunted in an area with high numbers of bucks to compare and contrast season by season. It seems the middle years of a buck's developments are the most ambiguous to judge. Then again, I have never had anyone teach me how to properly judge a deer.

That dead 2.5yo would still have me walking around ticked off.

This would cause buck fever in me. Nice pics stx

That more resembles a bull calf with horns than a deer! Dang.

Back to topic, I keep it simple and break deer into 3 catagories, Young, middle age, mature. Younge is hit the ground through 2.5, middle age is 3.5 to 4.5, mature is 4.5 through however old it gets.

For us we try to keep track of all the buck we see yar in and out so we know how old they are and then can use them to compare other bucks to that we see on the spur of the moment.

The biggest things I look at are neck, brisket, shoulders, belly and face.

matt

My closest encounter with a big buck like these was out by Possum Kingdom when he jumped right through our pack of Harleys. Stopped my heart as he flew across my windshield. We all made it.

I only harvest mature bucks. That means that 90%+ of the bucks I see are getting a pass, at least for now.

You'll know mature bucks when you see 'em.

Immature bucks tend to look like does with antlers and skinny, gangly, awkward teenagers.

not that i recommend spending anytime away from THF.com but www.whitetaildomains.com has a game that you can play that allows you to guess if its a shooter or to young. It also gives why it would be a shooter or one that you should let walk. It has really helped me out.

As stated above.....it depends on what part of the state you hunt in when it comes to aging by body size when you have absolutely no previous history with the animals.


Hill Country Buck (free-range) just a few years old. This is a fair buck for our property. But as a boy that would have been a buck of a lifetime for me. Still cant imagine getting a chance at one of the fine specimens in those pics from stxranchman!

Ck out QDMA!!!
Dr Kroll has a great book!

Mike Piggs photographer has a few also!!!

Krolls book can be good for someone in the area but im not sure if hes ever been outa boggy slue lol. Na the book is good stuff just wasnt impressed with the videos he put together

is this the equivalent of the fabled gumby?