Some days I feel like I’m making progress on aging deer and some days I am clueless. I’ve gone through a lot of the threads on aging deer and I feel like I’m still missing details. I do realize that the different areas of Texas have different sizes of deer at maturity. So here is a deer at our lease in San Saba county. Would love to hear some of your input on age estimates.

For the record, I think he’s 3.5. I added a day and night photo.

Not sure how hard the rut was in your area but he looks middle aged to me. Could be a 3.5yr old or a rutted down 4.5yr old.

I could see 4.5 but the belly still looks like it is still pretty tight.

The that’s my exact thoughts.

Could you explain some characteristics of a buck post-rut (hard rut vs average rut)? Assuming both fat and muscle mass (which could cause that belly to appear a little more defined and less parallel with back)?

I'd put him at 4.5 from those 2 pics.

4.5

This year all ruts are hard as it’s a drought year for most the state.

3.5 would be lack of staining in tarsals and also neck not making it all the way to brisket. Another indicator is neck not swelling past head during prime rut. Both pics express it. This is usually right 8/10 times but rut and bad drought years would cause more exceptions


-4.5 is based off his chest width(right to left measurement, his is thick across )1st pic
- 4.5 is based Jaw line has some sag to it (2nd pic)
-4.5 is based of the loose skin in general
-

Rutted down indicators that could also make him look 3.5
-rear tuck on his stomach to rear ham is real high, not deep and saggy(1st pic)
-lighter weight making legs look longer
- neck does not swell well past the head (1st pic) age or lighter weight
-straight back -could be age or being lighter weight
-[censored] isn’t fully rounded.

That’s the kind of deer you like seeing bc you know it still has potential regardless if you call him 3 or 4 if you chose to give him another year.

Pretty buck

3-41/2 they did go through a drought and the rut.

I'd say 4.5. Give him 2 years.

4-5

To illustrate some of Bobos points. I took this one while ago and the other yesterday.
Sometimes how a deer is standing can confuse what you see. I took video of this guy walking at me on purpose to show my lease mate how narrow across the chest he is and it was like that every step and not just how standing,
The other is a look at an older bucks head and sagging under skin.

Super helpful! Those points were great Bobo and Freerange. At 4.5, I personally would feel comfortable with taking him (especially if he was taken late in the season after the breeding has been done). If he is 3.5, I'd fight the urge and cross my fingers that he lives another year. With that said, if I'm watching him walk away into the sunset on the last day of the season just out of range, I definitely won't be too upset.

The joy of being on a small low fence lease is the dreaded neighbor risk. We don't have a ton of bucks, but I do have a 2.5 yr old 8 that looks very similar to this guy antler-wise as well as a 9 pt 2.5 year old. We just started to supplement cottonseed and protein (testing which gets the most action at certain times of the year) with our year-round corn. Hopefully, that helps out over the next few years.

I wouldn’t fault anyone for taking that deer. He is gorgeous.

With that said more times then not every large mature buck was passed on at some point in his life.

Not only were they passed on at one point, more than likely they got mature because they were smart enough to show up really early/really late to meal time... I might have made it sound like taking him was going to be an easy task- that would not be the truth.

Good stuff Free but like I've always said seeing lots of deer, both bucks and does helps make a person tested and proven. Would guess over 45+ years primarily hunting South Texas, I've seen a couple of thousand of each. But absent that experience, you and Bobo have provided sage advice here.

3.5 years old period! Back straight, no brisket or belly sag, tight azz he is a youngster.
You are in San Saba county so I would guess that you are in the middle of the rut, his hocks and not that badly stained so he is not rutted down.

A pic I took today that shows what Bobo referred to on the neck wider than the head. One buck pretty much is and one isn’t. I think that was what he was talking about. Being Bobos Illustrator doesn’t pay good, so there’s that…. You couldn’t pay me enough to be his proof reader…..
And, DQ, thanks for the kind words but Bobo provided the excellent advice, I just provided the pics.

Oh I have same problem. Oct or Jan is truthful the best time to kill a big buck, not always rut

Sorry for the pic of my camera screen but I deleted card. it’s a good pic of a very rutted down 5.5/6.5 year old(teeth 5.5, history 6.6 per a Trex)

Very, very good stuff above BoBo and Free.

And I believe DQ stated there is nothing better than lots of experience and lots of looking at deer over the years and he is also dead on right.

I can also say that a fluffed up 3 year old can look 4 or 5 if you don't look twice! lmao
Different angles make deer look way, way different. It is always best to get as many of those angles as you can of them but once again there is no better way to age them then to know your deer herd well.