Aging buck in field....

[growalot]

OMG Lawd ...even I got  that one lol

[Lawdwaz]

I shot an 8 point at 75 yards last year (in my profile pic).  He dressed out at 175 and the rack was really high.  When I see a deer, I try to judge by size of the body.  If he is big, I shoot.  When I have the time, try to see how long the nose is.  You can get a decent judgement if the snout is shorter or not.  IMHO, it works for me.  I had one person tell me my buck was 3.5 years old by the teeth and then my taxidermist said 2.5 years.  Whatever!  Got 4 grocery bags of meat out of him.

 

Nice buck!  Dressed at 175 is a stud, few guys have shot deer that heavy.  Aging a deer even when you have the jaw in hand can at best be only a guess unless you spend the money to have it sawed and put under a microscope.

 

People watch too many of these deer hunting shows that have footage of these bucks standing at feeders, trail cams, high fenced operations etc. with these "Pro Staffers" giving advice.

 

Dr Grant Woods is a different matter but he and I don't hunt under the same conditions.

[erussell]

 

A hunter should know if a buck is a..Shooter..the second he see,s it. If it makes your heart race and knees knock like you are going to fall out of the stand then...Take Him!  If you have to..Look..over a buck...He is not big enough!

 

Spot on!! Tho I have had a few ground shrink on me most others I was very happy I pulled the trigger.

[erussell]

 

This site has degenerated so much in the last 9 months.

 

Ha 9 months. must be a newbie. lol

[NFA-ADK]

Love that site! 

[landtracdeerhunter]

Grant uses his trail cam pictures to get an idea what deer have that sway back, pot belly, broad shoulder, signs of a mature whitetail. I like to use the same technique, given the chance. Of coarse, big antlers help too, LOL.

[VT Outfitter]

For me the process is this fast:

- Ass relative to shoulders

- belly relative to brisquit

- I don't think a particular age I think mature or not.

And then it's no or go....btw I'll shoot what I make for a 2 yr old on public land if he is nice.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The term "trophy" has seemed to have changed radically in the last 35 years. What once was a great 6pt buck that was hunted hard for and developed into a memory cherished forever with a story to share, to be proud of a successful hunt, meat on the table, and antlers on the den wall has now turned into "is it as big a buck as my neighbor got" or "how many inches is it" or "how old is it". I believe and practice sound management on my properties with regards to food sources (natural & planted), the carrying capacity, antler growth, and age. But I would never ask a hunting client to not shoot a buck because it is not old enough or the antlers aren't big enough. If it is legal to kill, they have the proper tag, and it is a ethical and safe shot, and it is a trophy to that hunter then it is a trophy in my book.  

That said, for those hunters of many seasons who have killed their fair share of whitetails, and are entirely focused on shooting only a very mature buck, then your description of what to look at when trying to quick judge a buck is right on the money. But, in my opinion (which is all my reply is) and what I instruct my hunting clients of any kind, is to consider to not pass up shooting an animal on the first morning that you would be happy to kill the last afternoon of the hunt.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

The term "trophy" has seemed to have changed radically in the last 35 years. What once was a great 6pt buck that was hunted hard for and developed into a memory cherished forever with a story to share, to be proud of a successful hunt, meat on the table, and antlers on the den wall has now turned into "is it as big a buck as my neighbor got" or "how many inches is it" or "how old is it". I believe and practice sound management on my properties with regards to food sources (natural & planted), the carrying capacity, antler growth, and age. But I would never ask a hunting client to not shoot a buck because it is not old enough or the antlers aren't big enough. If it is legal to kill, they have the proper tag, and it is a ethical and safe shot, and it is a trophy to that hunter then it is a trophy in my book.  

That said, for those hunters of many seasons who have killed their fair share of whitetails, and are entirely focused on shooting only a very mature buck, then your description of what to look at when trying to quick judge a buck is right on the money. But, in my opinion (which is all my reply is) and what I instruct my hunting clients of any kind, is to consider to not pass up shooting an animal on the first morning that you would be happy to kill the last afternoon of the hunt.

I see you say..Hunting Client...I would have to imagine that if a person is paying you to take them hunting they are not looking for a baby spike or crotch horn or yearling doe?  You would think they could find that for free in about any woodlot!

[G-Man]

I had a buck on camera for 3 years i knew this buck very well, a friend shot him the last day of muzzleloader season. He took the ten to the taxidermist who looked at the teeth and told him it was 2.5 ... i saw him out and he told me that i said nope 3.5 went home printed out 3 years of photos of this 10 pt.. 1.5,2.5 and 3.5.. said that is your buck he agreed it was. took pics to taxidermist who backstepped and had to give in the buck was 3 although the teeth say it two.. unless your trained/certified. on jaws from know deer ages from the area the the game was taken in.. tooth aging is a guess... unless you put it under a microscope. aging on the hoof is the same ..i can tell mature 3.5 or less, anything over 3.5 is a guess unless i have years of photos of the buck.

[VT Outfitter]

I see you say..Hunting Client...I would have to imagine that if a person is paying you to take them hunting they are not looking for a baby spike or crotch horn or yearling doe?  You would think they could find that for free in about any woodlot!

 

I take clients every season that have never shot a deer before. I guide for a lot of young hunters and adults that are new to hunting. I also guide for veteran hunters that just don't have time to scout, set up stands, set up trail cameras, plant spring and fall food plots, cut shooting and hiking trails. So, all the hard work is finished before they arrive. Which leaves the exciting work of hunting the deer to be done. As I said, I will never ask a client not to shoot a deer that they have a legal tag for, just because of someone elses definition of a trophy is different than theirs. If it is a legal game, they have the right tag, and it is a safe ethical shot it is up to the hunter to choose to shoot or not. You and I grew up hunting, so it is second nature for us to go to any piece of woods and find deer to shoot. But for someone that was never shown how to hunt or doesn't have a place to go, it seems at times to be an impossible task. I really enjoy helping people by giving them the opportunity to experience a great day of hunting and fishing without the stress of all the work that goes into it. Vermont law has been 2 point on one side for quite some time, which eliminates spike bucks and promotes shooting 2 year old bucks and older. I make them aware of the law and let them make the decision for themselves. Good luck to you this season! 

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I take clients every season that have never shot a deer before. I guide for a lot of young hunters and adults that are new to hunting. I also guide for veteran hunters that just don't have time to scout, set up stands, set up trail cameras, plant spring and fall food plots, cut shooting and hiking trails. So, all the hard work is finished before they arrive. Which leaves the exciting work of hunting the deer to be done. As I said, I will never ask a client not to shoot a deer that they have a legal tag for, just because of someone elses definition of a trophy is different than theirs. If it is a legal game, they have the right tag, and it is a safe ethical shot it is up to the hunter to choose to shoot or not. You and I grew up hunting, so it is second nature for us to go to any piece of woods and find deer to shoot. But for someone that was never shown how to hunt or doesn't have a place to go, it seems at times to be an impossible task. I really enjoy helping people by giving them the opportunity to experience a great day of hunting and fishing without the stress of all the work that goes into it. Vermont law has been 2 point on one side for quite some time, which eliminates spike bucks and promotes shooting 2 year old bucks and older. I make them aware of the law and let them make the decision for themselves. Good luck to you this season! 

Agreed 100% and truth is you either own the land or lease the land to hunt on? You also get paid for your services. Thats great and happens alot in our hunting world. Maybe that Steve guy will read this post about a guy that makes money off hunting and helps people at the same time. Congrats to you and keep up the good work helping those that cant do it themselves!

[NFA-ADK]

Thanks again for the link, enjoyed watching it last night. 

 

Hats off to you VT Outfitter, we need more like you!  Keep up the good work! 

 

Great point G-Man!  I could not agree more!  I can identify 1.5 and 2.5 but at 3.5 and older it gets a bit harder.

[Lawdwaz]

It's fun to guess what the age might be..................'cause it is a guess at best.