easy way to judge a deer's age?

[littlebilly]

Hey guys. Just wondering if there is an easy way to judge a deers age, particularly mulies? I've always thought in a bucks second year they will sprout spikes or forks, 3rd year will add a point, 4th will add a point, and so on. I read somewhere that spikes are due to bad genes and the buck will never grow anything bigger? I have never seen what has appeared to be a "mature" spike. You can tell they were all very young bucks. I shot a 4 point mulie this year and his antlers were not even as tall as his ears, and not any wider either. He did seem like a young buck as well. Was this a mature buck that was cursed by bad genes and a poor diet, or was he young and had the makings to grow really big? Sorry, the pics aren't the greatest. It was late, I was cold, and had to dress the monster.....

[OutWest]

That's a younger deer in your pictures. Not sure where you read that spikes are due to bad genes. It's a common misconception that genes are the key factor in the size of a bucks antlers.

[gamehunter6o]

Before gutting, lift tail and look up date.
Or cut 2nd molar from the back, crossways, vertically and count growth lines.

[elkdom]

Before gutting, lift tail and look up date.
Or cut 2nd molar from the back, crossways, vertically and count growth lines.

No point in looking up a date?, once the tail is lifted, the date is pretty much assured!:wink:

[bridger]

in healthy mulie populations buck can be small four points their second year. i have never found an easy way to accurately age deer short of sending a tooth out and having it aged. never thought of doing it myself and counting rings but it shoud be do able.

[MattB]

The buck you shot is a 1.5 year old deer with good genes for growing a big rack. If you ever see another buck that small with droptines let him grow as he's gonna be a big racked deer in a few years. Congrats on the deer!

[born2hunt]

[QUOTE=elkdom;763715]No point in looking up a date?, once the tail is lifted, the date is pretty much assured!:wink:[
lololol........................

[urbanhermit]

If you lift the tail, it is quite obvious by the license plate, that all deer are from Ottawa...

[digger dogger]

sorry to hijack!! I've heard that a mulie that goes 3 pt will always be a three point. anyone know if this is true?? My son and i saw the same mulie 4x3 for three yrs in a row, before he was big enough to kill.

[knighthunter]

in healthy mulie populations buck can be small four points their second year. i have never found an easy way to accurately age deer short of sending a tooth out and having it aged. never thought of doing it myself and counting rings but it shoud be do able.

Pretty much the same for whitetails also. Back in the day, I shot a 4 point whitie that I'm sure was 1.5 years old. I believe in genes playing a part of antler growth, but also nutricional(sp) value of the food they eat.

[Jelvis]

That buck in the photo is 17 months old born in 2009 around May 30th ..
Jel .. a buck doesn't get record size til about 66 months or Five and a half years

[littlebilly]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've always been curious to see if there is a way to field judge the age of a deer. Not that it determines whether or not I harvest the animal, but more out of curiosity.

[dana]

I agree with MattB that your buck is a young 1 1/2 year old with good genetics. He had the potential to be a monster in 4 or 5 years from now. These young bucks can easily be judged based on the size comparisons of other deer they are with. Young 1 1/2 year old deer will have small bodies compared to mature deer. Old mature deer will tend to be big and blocky and will tower over the younger deer with them. Other visable charateristics are their Roman noses and lots of noticable rips and tears especially in the ears.

[BlacktailStalker]

Before gutting, lift tail and look up date.
Or cut 2nd molar from the back, crossways, vertically and count growth lines.

Would it not say "expired" once down ?

[knockturnal]

ive seen spikes on a whitetail that had to be well over 16". My dad actually missed it. I laughed. He swore. lol

[Mountain Man]

About muleys......

A mature buck will also have a large nose, many times they will have a gradual bump on the top of there nose as they mature. I believe its called a Roman nose. They stop looking cute in the face and take on a more horse like face. A small buck or young buck has small facial features.

[Brian011]

i've also been curious about aging the bucks that i've shot. a lot of good info from everyone so far and i agree that your buck is a year and a half buck with very good genetics. as dana said, another 4 years and he would be a monster.
for the most part, yearling bucks are spikes or 2 points with a few exceptions like your buck. the points dont determine the age, on average the older a deer gets, the heavier his antlers will be and as a buck gets to maturity he will get wider and taller, also depending on his genetics. once a buck is mature it will have the same general frame but may grow abnormal points or just get heavier.
here is a pic for example... the 2 middle bucks (both closest to the gun case) were both aged at 6 and a half years old. both have different genetics and different frames. the buck on the far left and far right i believe to be older anywhere from 7-9 years old is my guess. the far right buck my dad said when he shot him, his teeth were pretty much warn right close to the gums so he would have been an old buck.

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af2/Brian_j_01/deer.jpg

i think the next buck i shoot i will send in a tooth and see for my self how old it will be. for the most part i think the average 4 point bucks that ppl shoot range from 3-5 years old.

[David Heitsman]

That buck is basically a yearling as it likely hasn't seen it's second birthday yet and unfortunately had the potential to be a fine wallhanger.
I'm sure it'll taste great but...

Brian011

Great 'TV' room.

[littlebilly]

Is the Roman nose common in all mature bucks? Seems that, depending on the area of BC, some have very pronounced ones, others not so much or hardly at all.
This buck was with another buck. The bodies were the same size. The other had slightly smaller antlers. Both were very "unlearned", as they gave me several minutes to watch them before I took the shot.