Deer age?

[okie archer]

Any of you experts care to guess this bucks age based on his body? No need guessing his score. I killed this deer in early December 2011 in northeast Oklahoma and have always wondered how old he was. Back then I didn't care as much about age as I do now. Didn't save the teeth.
Yes that's a corn pile he's eating on (legal in my state).

 

[antlerradar]

A year for every point is what I was told when I was young. That would make him 6 at least.

Hard to tell for pictures form just one year. If he was in MT I would think that he is not an older deer with the sleek body, Maybe as young as 3 or as old as 6. Got any other pictures of him from previous years?

Nice buck

 

[pabearhunter]

I would say 5 to 6 depending on minerals.

 

[okie archer]

A year for every point is what I was told when I was young. That would make him 6 at least.

Hard to tell for pictures form just one year. If he was in MT I would think that he is not an older deer with the sleek body, Maybe as young as 3 or as old as 6. Got any other pictures of him from previous years?

Nice buck

No pics from previous years. That was the first you to hunt the property. When I first got access to the property I did a little scouting and found a match set of his sheds from the year before. Sheds were 35 yards apart and about 100 yards from where I killed him. He grew 25" in one year. Gross score 153 1/8".
I killed the deer in city limits with my bow during the Oklahoma rifle season. For years after I killed him I was afraid he might have only been 3 and thought what a monster he could have been. If that's the case oh well, to late now. I was super happy when I got him.

 

[WildWill]

Tough call between 3 and 4. I'd lean 3 just from body characteristics in the few pics posted.

 

[Steiny77]

5.5

 

[Caseknife]

Agree that he wasn't a very old buck, I would venture a guess at 4, beautiful buck. If he was indeed a young buck, would be neat to have a controlled environment, ie, no other hunters, to see what his potential could have been, 25" in a year is good growth.

 

[Shangobango]

Looks like a 4 year old to me.

 

[grizzly63]

All in for four, or less, no mature back sag yet.

 

[okie archer]

I would be satisfied with 4. 3 almost makes me cringe.
Like I said, to late anyway. Thanks for the replies.

 

[tzone]

3.5 or 4.5. Leaning on 3.5.

He's not big and bulky in the front like the old boys are. It wouldn't matter to me. My outcome would have been the same as yours if I saw it.

Rumor has it that The Hanson Buck was a 3.5 year old.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

After getting our deer from the last couple years aged, I've learned that my guesses on age don't mean much.

 

[00BUCK]

In order to guess age look at the body. The chest and sway of the back. Also, knowledge of the deer heard in the area helps a tons as size and shape very. Altlers is a factor but the most important of all are the teeth.

Did you look at the teeth or tack pictures of the wear?

 

[NEWHunter]

I’d say not more than 4.5 and if I had to bet I’d say 3.5. Around here that brisket area generally starts to sag and become more pronounced around 4.5 and your buck is really sleek through there. Either way, I couldn’t get him to a taxi fast enough. Great buck!

Were the pictures post rut?

 

[Treeshark]

Were the pictures post rut?

I’m curious as well. Doesn’t look like a super old deer, sure is a nice buck!

I would guess 4.5, hard to see such a big rack on anything younger but who knows.

 

[huntnfisher]

4.5 year old...a dandy, congrats!

 

[Whitetail_kid]

There’s no way that deer has that kind of a rack at 3.5. 4.5 or 5.5 my guess. Like others have said the main way I can judge a deers age is to have a few years worth of pictures.

 

[NEWHunter]

I forgot to add that there’s info out there that states, in general and on average, bucks add the bulk of their score by 4.5, and the gains in inches after that really slow down. Given the inches he gained YOY, that was likely his 2.5 to 3.5 or 3.5 to 4.5 jump.

 

[morley.tyler]

That's a STUD of a 4.5 year old

 

[tzone]

There’s no way that deer has that kind of a rack at 3.5. 4.5 or 5.5 my guess. Like others have said the main way I can judge a deers age is to have a few years worth of pictures.

I wouldn't take that bet....
My buddy is huge into QDM and manages around 800 acres of his family farm in central WI. Early on they had the same mentality you do about the bucks rack. After sending them in for years at the beginning they were shocked to find out the majority of the "mature bucks" they were shooting were actually 3.5 years old. Including some that scored near 150".