I borrowed this pic from elk hunters other post(hope that’s ok).
Can anyone tell much about a deers age with only a pic like this. Trying to learn.
Looks like you gotta click on link.
https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2022/11/full-28770-368974-img_8027.jpg

Here ya go FR...areas can make so much of a difference to me on length of nose and size of head. I could guess but that would be all I would be doing (I think that is all anyone would be doing).

I wouldn’t have a clue on aging just using the head. He’s pretty, that’s about all I’ve got.

I'd say that was a mature buck due to the length of nose and the size of the pedicel. But that's a guess

Anyone ever hear about aging them by the number of wrinkles at the base of their ear? I read an article about it, years ago. It was a fairly rough estimate on age, but it seemed to have some merit.

10

I have good binos but dang...

I’ve heard the same, along with other subtle things. I really don’t know and looking for input. Sagging skin under the jaw which usually will give that triangular or boxy head look is a big key for me but there’s more to look for. Few absolutes in aging, IMO.

I think the only absolute in aging deer is knowing their birthday.

It does require a close look.

I'd say the same thing

Be some serious mass if he was under 5.5 that is for sure

Aging summer velvet deer outside of mature or not is an exercise in insanity , just using the head is a certification level for that insanity

A very prominent member on here asked just the other day for a head shot pic to help in an age and score thread. That’s what made me think about starting this thread. I was curious what he, and others, looked for. And this thread isnt about this particular deer but wondered what can be told by a head shot at any time of year on any deer. I did wonder on this particular deer if anyone thought much about the pronounced vein/lines in his face and the different coloration of forehead and seemingly squinty eyes.

It turns out the deer always has a body attached to the head...so aging solely on a head seems to be a fools errand.

Nobody said “solely” on a head. Just isolating one aspect of what to look for. Next we could look at another specific area of the body.

In velvet it’s all hard. I use head and arse to go from 5 up, but not in velvet. That’s just me. STX has had the opportunity to deal with a lot of known aged deer. So he gotten real good at head only. But he is in a class of his own. Only guy I know that’s in the blind with camera compiling data starting Aug.

Short slick Summer coats make me always think older

Yes he is in a class of his own with this no doubt
But, he isn't hanging out with us degenerates anymore it seems.

[censored] im out on this one lol ill be watching this post for some good input tho

For me...age is the least thing I care about when hunting. My first thing i consider when hunting is something unusual. So.. I m not very good at aging but when I try...I consider the triangular shaped head and long nose..
The big base rack..I read an articular about size of the horn base verses age, which correlated with our deer -somewhat.
The squenching of the eyes..some old age probably do...I don't have a lot of proof...I do believe they could
The roman nose..I think some do and some don't
The drop of the lower jaw..
...................
Some of my observations:
Having broad shoulders
Swayback some what
more alert and careful
Each year overall get heavier..our heaviest was 182 lb.s and 175 lb.s but most averaged at six years was around 150 to 160..some more and some less.
I had a white 8 pt buck years ago..really stood out. I first saw him at three years old. He was at my blind for 5 more years so I could see him develop from year to year. He started out at about 17" spread and ended up at around14". His later years his hips were bony like and swayback for sure. I have seen two white deer over the years ...the 8 pt and a ten point years earlier.

Just got to know how to summon him.

Surely some will agree you can tell something about age from this head. Disregard horns and neck.

I’m refreshing this thread. Since STx has been around lately I’m hoping he will offer his valued insight. I’ll add a couple more examples for all to play with. The one with two pics is a very unusual set of horns so don’t let that fool you.
As I said before, I’m trying to learn all I can about aging and just isolating the head to narrow the focus to that for now. Any comments are welcome and not just about the heads shown. Feel free to post pics of other heads as examples. I’m trying not to factor in the racks.

I guess the things I look for in a face/head are examples of being around the block. That younger buck (which has way too thick a neck to have such a small set of spike antlers imo) has just a clean looking face, he shows no signs of battle, he shows little sign of a decently long life.

The older buck pictured above the spike shows signs of wear. A thicker pad above the brows showing years worth of rubbing and some scars on him show wear and tear and "years of life".

A young buck has the appearance of a doe head, while a bruiser shows the part. These are obvious examples of what I look for, but I do not know any other subtle things to see. For me, it is the whole package, but I am not good at that still; so right now we are simply talking book smarts and it goes out the door when I need street smarts.