Determining a Deer's Age

  Seems like every hunting related Facebook group, or even conversations amongst buddies always seems to drift towards heated discussions over the age of a certain buck. If I had a dollar for every time I had seen someone post a picture of a buck they have on camera with the caption "Age and Score?", hell, I'd be in New Mexico this September chasing elk! Many friends have also asked my thoughts on the age of a buck and I'm by no means an expert, but I'd like to think I have a solid grasp on the concept (at least enough to regurgitate what I've learned).

  First of all, if you're going to begin trying to age deer on-the-hoof, you'll want to know what not to do. Everyone always seems to think that the size of a buck's rack dictates his age, and that couldn't be further from the truth, so get a stack of Post-It Notes and put them over the antlers, we're aging deer, not measuring his rack. That being said, estimating the age of a buck isn't an exact science, nor is it 100% accurate every time, just like anything else, it's a skill, acquired overtime through tons of practice and experience gained by following through. More on that later.

You'll want your buck to be standing broadside to the camera, with his head up. 
You'll want him to be standing still, with his entire body visible 
and the camera parallel to the ground.

  Trail cameras have become an invaluable tool for deer management and scouting, and though its exciting to get that big buck on camera and try to age him, you want to make sure you're able to get an ideal photo before estimating age. What's an ideal photo look like? I'm glad you asked!! You'll want your buck to be standing broadside to the camera, with his head up. You'll want him to be standing still, with his entire body visible and the camera parallel to the ground. You'll also want to start estimating during pre-rut or near the peak of the rut, because that is when he will be the healthiest and all of his testosterone levels will be soaring. I know, cameras parallel to the ground goes against everything in the magazines about getting good trail cam pictures and not alerting the deer, but if you plan on aging deer then bite the bullet and set it at waist level, trust me, Mr. Big won't mind all that much (as long as you have self-control and stay out of the area as much as possible).

  Overtime, see if you can get multiple photos of the same buck, organize them in folders on your computer, and see if every photo coincides with what you estimate his age to be, if so, then you may be on to something.

  Finally, follow through! You can guess age all day, but it won't do you any good or help you get any better if you don't follow through by pulling the jaw and estimating an age that way or by pulling an incisor and sending it off to a lab to get analyzed. It's like taking a test in high school, doesn't do you any good if you don't know what you got right and what you got wrong. We follow through when we throw a punch, we follow through when we shoot our bow, so why not follow through on checking the accuracy of our aging abilities?

  Now, that we got that out of the way, the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) has a wealth of knowledge from all sorts of deer biologists with years and years of experience, so why not utilize it?! Hell, most of what I'm going to touch on you can read for yourself right here.

  So let's ask ourselves, what kind of deer do we want to shoot? Are you wanting to just fill the freezer? Kill a mature stud? Kill a young 'n' tender - I mean yearling? Ultimately, a trophy is in the eye of the hunter. I've shot a button buck and felt just as excited as when I shot a six and a half year old stud, so for me to tell you what to kill is asinine. Kill what makes you happy!

  Most hunters and biologists will agree that a buck is considered mature when he reaches four and a half years of age, however many will argue that the rack will be substantially larger when he hits five and a half, to each his own. A four and a half year old buck will have a fully developed chest, neck, and stomach making his legs appear short, his stomach and back will be sagging and his neck will be swelled up like you wouldn't believe! His waistline will be even with his chest and during the rut, his tarsal glands will have really heavy dark staining. Let's face it, we can easily tell when a buck is mature compared to a young buck, just like with people. An 18 year old kid, for the most part, is going to be lean and lanky compared to a young adult in his early 30s that's hit the gym everyday since he graduated, and that 32 year old man, is going to look way different than an 87 year old man that served in Vietnam. Deer aren't much different, observe their behavior while on stand, you can tell a young buck from an older buck by how they act around does. A young buck is gonna be chasing everything that moves, just like that 18 year old, whereas that mature buck is gonna let the ladies come to him just like that Vietnam vet and 32 year old gym rat. Now obviously, personalities differ from deer to deer, you may have an old mature buck that's chasing every doe in sight like an old man in a nursing home that just discovered Viagra, point is, nothing in this world is definite.

  Now, I can keep writing and go on and on, but I think visuals will work best for learning. 

I always post this photo when people begin to ask about deer age as a quick aid to help out. I realize it's difficult to read so I'm going to type out the key points below.

1.5 Year Old                                             2.5 Year Old

- Looks like a doe with antlers                 - Slightly thicker body than a yearling's

- Thin neck and body proportions            - Legs still look long compared to the body

3.5 Year Old                                            4.5 Year Old

- Looks like a toned athlete                      - Thick body and neck, stomach sags slightly

- Thicker neck and chest                          - Everything is in proportion - Solid antler growth

5.5 Year Old (and older)

- Everything is thick especially the neck

- Skin and belly start to sag

Even though, this is a great guide provided by Sigma Outdoors and Missouri DNR, there is no substitute for experience and practice. 

  Location, location, location! Again, this isn't an exact science, one size fits all method. Every deer is different and each area/region has it's differences. Let's face it, you can't even begin to compare a South Florida four and a half year old to a Saskatchewan four year old, you'd just end up confused and frustrated, which is why following through is so important! Gather your own data about the deer in your area, and use this all as a reference. 

  Below is another poster that was provided by the QDMA. If you'd like to purchase a large, laminated copy to display at your hunting camp, post up in your box blind or to reference out in the field, you can do so here. 

For now, here you are:

I can't begin to tell y'all how grateful I am to have your support, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to read this little blog. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to let me know! If you would like to see more of what I'm up to, or just follow along with my endeavors, I'd love to have you! Check out my Instagram page @Johnson.Outdoors or my YouTube Channel here, to see my latest hunts and videos, until next time, good luck out in the field, and God bless!

-Chris Johnson