Help aging a buck

[Clinto]

Im getting more in to mule deer hunting and want y’all’s opinion on how old this buck is. We started seeing it after our season was over, hopefully he’ll be around next year. This is in the Texas panhandle area.

 

[Jaden Bales]

Man. I’ve had some great divscussions with @robby denning and @ntrlbrnhunter about this. There are so many factors like mannerisms, different angles of his face, etc. to help make a decision, but at the end of the day those guys normally say it’s a crap shoot. If you held a gun to my head, I betcha 4.5.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I'm really digging his uniqueness. But I'm going to have to say 3 1/2. Not sure why..I also haven't seen many panel handle mulies

 

[Wassid82]

I see the date on the picture. But I dont know when mule deer rut in TX. When I try to age deer I look at several things but a couple that I find critical are neck size and how it extends into the shoulders and head. As well as the coloration of the face. Was this picture taken before/during/after the rut?

 

[Clinto]

This was during the rut. Most mature bucks around here have a lot thicker necks and just bigger bodies in general. So just wondering if this was a younger buck with good antler potential or if he may be older and body starting to regress.

 

[Clinto]

here is a picture of what I’d say is typical body mass for a mature buck here

 

[robby denning]

3-8 years

but a good buck no matter. hope
you get to see him again. good luck

oh and I’ve lab-aged older bucks that don’t have that big bodies either. They’re sort of like humans, some guys are 6 foot four and others are 5 foot nine.


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[BRTreedogs]

No sway back, no pot belly.

 

[Jaden Bales]

Haha

3-8 years

but a good buck no matter. hope
you get to see him again. good luck

oh and I’ve lab-aged older bucks that don’t have that big bodies either. They’re sort of like humans, some guys are 6 foot four and others are 5 foot nine.


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Hahah. I was hoping you’d hop in here! The tooth stuff you are doing is awesome!

 

[RamDreamer]

3-8 years

but a good buck no matter. hope
you get to see him again. good luck

oh and I’ve lab-aged older bucks that don’t have that big bodies either. They’re sort of like humans, some guys are 6 foot four and others are 5 foot nine.


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You're range is tighter then what I was going to put! I was planning on saying older then a fawn and younger than 15.

OP, while there are some characteristics that lead to aging from fawn>immature>mature everything is a crap shoot and at best we can give an estimate with a few year range. Also, most everything is a bell curve and there are outliers all the time. Heck, even aging deer with a lower jaw in hand is only about a 50:50 chance on actually getting it correct. Cementum aging isn't even 100%.

Very nice pictures and a nice looking buck.

 

[Travis Hobbs]

I would guess he’s younger, but I’ve been wrong so many times, and without seeing teeth (even then it’s a guess) i know I wouldn’t put much into my guess. I am always fascinated by guys able to judge exact age on deer.

I know I sure can’t....

 

[wweaver]

The face tells a lot. First thing I look at, like a woman...Iam saying 3.5. If he makes it he will be a really nice buck this fall.

 

[Marble]

John dudley had an interesting podcast with someone who had done long term deer studies on white tail deer. It was really interesting.



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