Age this deer please!!!

Any ideas?

4-5 in prime with inferior genetics there...

Thanks DQ Kid. Thats kind of what I was thinking. To me, everything but the rack screams older deer but Im not a very good judge of age so thought I'd run it by you guys.

No problem, the body is a hoss, just short on the horns..You get some of those along the way.

3-4 years just no antler mass

I was thinking 2-3 looks like hes cold and hair is standing up

+1

Looks 3.5 to me

2.5

He's a turd. Shoot him next year before he empty's all your feeders!

4.5, rutted down a bit, and hair is all bristled up. I would probably target him early. In my opinion, he is a cull. Just not a big deer.

agree

dont agree.

2.5yo

Don't know, I see a pretty bulky Roman head and quite a bit of neck hitting down near brisket. IMO, 4-4+.

i think he is just fluffed up like nav said, makes him look heavier.

Its sometimes hard to age a deer by game camera photos. But in my opinion he is young. 2.5 years old. Since he has made it through this year, go ahead and just keep an eye on him. He shows all the characteristics of a young deer. Another factor is the natural body size of the deer in your area. I am used to looking at big north Texas whitetail and they are totally different than the hill country deer or south Texas. Take it for what its worth but I think he will definitely be bigger next year.

looking at his antlers his face and his hocks I'm saying 2.5.

3.5 if he is getting fed well which looks like the case. It may be an older deer with poor genetics then about 5 but I don't think so. Looks like a good young one.

No way he is 2 1/2. He is older than 2 1/2. Look at the neck how it meets the brisket and how rounded his rump is. Poor genetic 4 1/2 year old

4.5+ he's in his prime. He's got either got poor antler genes or he's short on protein and minerals. That body is not the body of a young deer. The lack of muscular definition could be from plenty of food but a lack of protein, or heavy fluffy hair. Either way, he is NOT 2.5, almost certainly not 3.5, and possibly over 4.5. Unless you get lucky, don't count on him being any bigger next year.

You just can't age a deer by its antlers. The face does help. You can check me on this, but I don't think their hocks are dark expect during the rut and for a while after. They could easily be light by now.

That's exactly what I have been thinking when I've heard it a few times lately. Don't they usually just piss themselves during the rut or leading up to it as well?

Hocks are starting to get dark in pre-rut and continue to get larger and darker the closer to the rut you get. The age of the buck along with time of the rut will determine how large, dark and scalded they will be. That staining does not disappear overnight. Bucks will still be chasing doe fawns in some areas and have stained hocks till April-May. Some older bucks will have some staining year round.

That buck is cold and has his haired "fluffed" to help insulate him to keep him warmer. Many people will over-age a buck when they see this. Same happens when a buck is displaying to show his dominance. I always age bucks more carefully on cold morning. Same bucks can look 1-2 or more years older on a cold morning. Many a mistake has been made by people doing cull or management hunts on those same days.
I will agree that he has poor antlers for his age, but I think he is 3.5 max. Seeing a pic of him when he does not have his hair standing up will change the way he looks a dramatically.

We should just get TWT95's opinion on this. After all he is the THF authority when it comes to aging deer and everyone else could learn from him. Well so he thinks.

I can't argue that the hair could be causing an illusion, but he sure LOOKS big.

Here is the same buck 10 days apart.
First pic was taken on 1-17-2007 when there was a 3 day ice storm.

Second pic was taken on 1-27-2007 on a clear blue day.


Looks and appearance of a buck in very cold temps can be deceptive and worse later in the season IME.

4.5 that could have been shot earlier. He is not going to get there.