Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

How old is this buck?

JD Boyd

*Supporting Member*
3,173
0
Urbana
Anybody think they know??? I'm just wondering if he will get better next year. I was thinking he's over 4.5 considering how rounded his forehead is?
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
 
Last edited:

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
I thinrt now s the hardest time of the year to look at them and judge age. Most of your bucks are gonig to be super light in weight compared to what they were 3 weeks ago. I know for a fact the deer I killed this year was a 4 y/o, only because I have a history with him. Although, if I had shot that deer and had no history I woulda swore he was three! From Oct. 1st to he day I killed him he probably lost around 60-70 lbs. Some people owuld say thats crazy, but Im telling you, it happened and I have the photos to prove it.

THe method of judging overall body size on this deer should be thrown out hte window, considering the time of the year it is! Looking at neck, where it meets his chest tells me he is atleast a 4 y/o. Although, he does have a bit of a sway to his back, which could put him at 5.5. His head is bulbous, making his ears look small. I would say you are correct in putting thsi deer at a minimum of 4.5. Although, I could be wrong and he could be 3.5! ha His slenderness looks like a 3.5 yo deer, but like i said, they are super light in weight right now!
 

JD Boyd

*Supporting Member*
3,173
0
Urbana
I thinrt now s the hardest time of the year to look at them and judge age. Most of your bucks are gonig to be super light in weight compared to what they were 3 weeks ago. I know for a fact the deer I killed this year was a 4 y/o, only because I have a history with him. Although, if I had shot that deer and had no history I woulda swore he was three! From Oct. 1st to he day I killed him he probably lost around 60-70 lbs. Some people owuld say thats crazy, but Im telling you, it happened and I have the photos to prove it.

THe method of judging overall body size on this deer should be thrown out hte window, considering the time of the year it is! Looking at neck, where it meets his chest tells me he is atleast a 4 y/o. Although, he does have a bit of a sway to his back, which could put him at 5.5. His head is bulbous, making his ears look small. I would say you are correct in putting thsi deer at a minimum of 4.5. Although, I could be wrong and he could be 3.5! ha His slenderness looks like a 3.5 yo deer, but like i said, they are super light in weight right now!

So he should get better next year then??? I want to get some more opinions on this because he is killable right now. He is going to my corn pile every evening and morning. If he's only 4.5 he's gonna get a pass from me. A buddy of mine killed one on this same property 4 years ago that looked identical to him but had an inside spread of 27 and had a big drop on one side. Longest tine was 9 inches. Netted 158. The tines going forward on this buck make it hard to judge his score.
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
So he should get better next year then??? I want to get some more opinions on this because he is killable right now. He is going to my corn pile every evening and morning. If he's only 4.5 he's gonna get a pass from me. A buddy of mine killed one on this same property 4 years ago that looked identical to him but had an inside spread of 27 and had a big drop on one side. Longest tine was 9 inches. Netted 158. The tines going forward on this buck make it hard to judge his score.


I think his overall frame is set for good. Meaning he isnt going to get much wider and I dont think he is going to grow in tine length much. Although, as you know, as they get older he is probably going to add mass and possibly start throwing some abnormal points. I think rt now he is going to gross in the low 150s. HE has good mass and super beams. What do you think for width, 19-20? HE just seems to be one of those old bruisers with a wide, short tined rack. Much like the deer I just killed! He is a stud for sure though. Do you have a pic of your buddies deer?
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Good thing you said "guessing" game. I am with "J" here. I am not good at this game. Like Kaiser said, where the neck meets the chest has me thinking 4 but I don't see tons of sway in the back. Hard to tell with antlers, but he is carrying good mass on the main beams. His nose doesn't look young either. Were it not for the neck/chest, I would have guessed 3.5. How much older he is above this your guess is going to be better than mine.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
Doesn't the length of the snout, from the eyes to the tip of the nose give away to some extent how old it can generally be? That Buck doesn't have a lot of length or doesn't it really matter??? Most younger bucks seem to have shorter snouts is all.
 

rgecko23

*Supporting Member*
7,466
0
Massillon, Ohio
I thought the older bucks had shorter snouts. And the younger ones had that long lean face. I would say that buck is 4.5 easy. Im not real good at guessing age either. I agreenwith zack on size though.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,171
201
NW Ohio Tundra
That deer is 4.5 in my opinion......If you look real close at the3rd picture you can count the rings around his nutsack, and there are 4 of them :smiley_crocodile::smiley_crocodile:

Didn't you guys know you can age bucks just like trees?
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
4.5+ yrs old... IMO, there's no guarantee he's gonna get bigger next year... kill him the first chance you get, JD.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
Fugg his age JD and kill that sumbeech!LOL He's a mature deer(I say 4.5 at least) The mass and character alone are reasons enough to kill him..........Plus I don't like to make it a habit passing SOLID OBB caliber deer. I love how the g-4 and g-5 slant extremely forward. One prob I do foresee is how he'll be scored. Will that tine on his right side between the matching shorter g-2's and the longer g-3's be defined as an abby or will it be paired with the true longer g-3 on his left side(which would fugg him good in the scoring process). I say it would be an abby and just a straight deduct because it looks like it just doesn't belong there. What do others think? I'd still swarp his ass, but thats just how I roll.:smiley_coolpeace:
 

Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
Fugg his age JD and kill that sumbeech!LOL He's a mature deer(I say 4.5 at least) The mass and character alone are reasons enough to kill him..........Plus I don't like to make it a habit passing SOLID OBB caliber deer. I love how the g-4 and g-5 slant extremely forward. One prob I do foresee is how he'll be scored. Will that tine on his right side between the matching shorter g-2's and the longer g-3's be defined as an abby or will it be paired with the true longer g-3 on his left side(which would fugg him good in the scoring process). I say it would be an abby and just a straight deduct because it looks like it just doesn't belong there. What do others think? I'd still swarp his ass, but thats just how I roll.:smiley_coolpeace:

He would be scored as a typical 11. The points one the rt side are in "typical" order/position. They come directly off the top of the beam!
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
Although I agree with both of you(Zach/Jim) that he is a typical 11 pt and that the tine in question is coming off the top of the beam, BUT if you start at the end of the beams and work your way backwards toward the g-1's it is clearly is the odd man out so to speak. I'm not an official scorer but I have scored a few in my day and I think I remember hearing or reading something about the tines being paired up as to the way they are positioned in the total configuration. I could be wrong but it just seems wrong to match a 6 inch tine to a 9 inch tine that is 4 to 5 inches further up the beam and directly across from a more appropriate mate. Just sayin'.
 

JD Boyd

*Supporting Member*
3,173
0
Urbana
Although I agree with both of you(Zach/Jim) that he is a typical 11 pt and that the tine in question is coming off the top of the beam, BUT if you start at the end of the beams and work your way backwards toward the g-1's it is clearly is the odd man out so to speak. I'm not an official scorer but I have scored a few in my day and I think I remember hearing or reading something about the tines being paired up as to the way they are positioned in the total configuration. I could be wrong but it just seems wrong to match a 6 inch tine to a 9 inch tine that is 4 to 5 inches further up the beam and directly across from a more appropriate mate. Just sayin'.
[/IMG]
[/IMG]

I think you are right. But it all depends on who is scoring it.
He was 50 yards from us being able to figure it out tonight.

Here's a pic of his little brother...
[/IMG]
And there is two 1.5 year olds with tines going forward as well.
 
Last edited:

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Although I agree with both of you(Zach/Jim) that he is a typical 11 pt and that the tine in question is coming off the top of the beam, BUT if you start at the end of the beams and work your way backwards toward the g-1's it is clearly is the odd man out so to speak. I'm not an official scorer but I have scored a few in my day and I think I remember hearing or reading something about the tines being paired up as to the way they are positioned in the total configuration. I could be wrong but it just seems wrong to match a 6 inch tine to a 9 inch tine that is 4 to 5 inches further up the beam and directly across from a more appropriate mate. Just sayin'.

That could be where I screwed up... I always thought you worked from the base to the tip when matching points, not the other way around. Too bad mrex isn't around to clear this up. LOL