How Many 5.5 Year Old Bucks Have You Killed? (and older)

[Lawdwaz]

I've only killed one that I know (according to the DEC and my best estimations) of that was 5.5 YO.  I THINK I've killed one that might have been 4.5 but I'm probably wrong on that anyway........As far as 3.5 YO, I've killed a fair amount of them.

 

The 5.5 YO I killed had a very plane Jane 8pt rack but was pretty heavy for the Naples area, around 172lbs or so IIRC.  He sure didn't look any different when he was dead on the ground to me.

 

Lots of guys on here have killed plenty more and bigger bucks than me so I'm curious what you've killed that have been verified by the DEC or an outside source as 5.5 YO or older.

 

Thanks!

Edited October 14, 2015 by Lawdwaz

[nyantler]

Never had one aged or killed a buck that I saw the year previous... I'm sure I have quite a few that are at least 3.5, but beyond that I can't be positive.

[dbHunterNY]

I haven't killed a 5.5 yr old or older buck yet.  doe is a different story.  I've killed a lot 5.5+ years old.  one last year was probably somewhere definitely over 8.5 and under 15.  didn't send teeth off to a lab to nail down an exact age.  a lot of 3.5 and 4.5 around here seem to dress out around 175ish.  5.5 - 7.5 around here that get shot seem to be 190-230ish.

[ATbuckhunter]

Well I cant tell exactly how old the oldest deer was but id estimate it to be about 3.5 years old.

[monkeyman2269]

My dad got kne that was 7.5 blind in one eye had three legs. His whole head was gray white. Tasted terrible

[turkeyfeathers]

My dad got kne that was 7.5 blind in one eye had three legs. His whole head was gray white. Tasted terrible

Your dad shot a pirate deer  Did it have a parrot on it's shoulder and stink like rum ?

[monkeyman2269]

It was all rutted up stunk so bad had no teeth

[f3cbboy]

0

[G-Man]

Oldest buck 8.5 by tooth rings was in decline, oldest doe dec said over 8, she was enormous teeth barely above gums dressed 183lbs on scale. And 3 buck 3.5 year olds by dec.

[Lawdwaz]

 had no teeth

 

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that.  Guys will pry like hell on the jaw to get it open and look in and say, "hey, this deer has no teeth except up front!!"

 

 

 

[Lawdwaz]

Never had one aged or killed a buck that I saw the year previous...

 

I'm not looking for any you've seen in the past on camera or anything, just how many you've ever killed that were 5.5 or older.

[Lawdwaz]

0

 

Clear, concise and to the point. 

 

I like that!! 

[monkeyman2269]

It legit had the littlest nubs left

[Lawdwaz]

It legit had the littlest nubs left

 

If so, quite a trophy in my eyes.

[grampy]

I have never had any deer aged. Pretty certain that I have killed a bunch of one and two year olds. A few 3 year olds, maybe one four year old (saw him for three years before I killed him), and never killed one five or older. But I have killed some big doe's that may have been five or more?

[dbHunterNY]

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that.  Guys will pry like hell on the jaw to get it open and look in and say, "hey, this deer has no teeth except up front!!"

 

 

 

 

Sunday night I was aging a youth harvested 8 pointer that weighed 160lbs dressed.  didn't want to pull the jaw in fear it'd screw up mounting it.  took three of us.  youth holding head up, my uncle holding a flashlight, and me using both index fingers to get back in there.  barely any dentine width, lingual cests sharp as knives, and crest of last cusp on last molar was still very pointed.  not concaved at all.  hell of a time just to find out it was 2.5 yrs old.  had a decent body and thick rutted neck though. plus they asked me to look.

[Lawdwaz]

 youth holding head up, my uncle holding a flashlight, and me using both index fingers to get back in there.  barely any dentine width, lingual cests sharp as knives, and crest of last cusp on last molar was still very pointed.  not concaved at all.  hell of a time just to find out it was 2.5 yrs old. 

 

Most people NEVER want to go through all the work of checking due to the difficulty so they guess.  I don't have one of those cool DEC type "jaw opener" tools so I struggle with each one.  Most of the time if it isn't going on the wall I'll take my knife and open the hide wide around the back of the upper & lower jaws, THEN pry like a MoFo to see the goods.

 

Not fun!!

[greensider]

none i killed a 300 pound deer in pleasant valley ny that was only 3 and last year a big 9 in tioga center ny that had mass and a bunch of junk i thought it was an older deer but also was only 3

[dbHunterNY]

jaw spreaders are pretty simple even to make out of smooth round metal rod stock and with a pair of pruning shears you can remove the whole jaw on a buck.  tad bit of hide stretch but nothing that a taxidermist can't work with.  we were even just down the road from the co-op check station with two of them but it was already hung in place in the garage.  I'm sure you can find a pattern for it one online.

 

.....different kinds out there but this type works the best for spreading the jaws and/or separating the hide from the jaw bones in a way not to get your digits all in there.

http://alabamahuntingandfishingtrail.com/images/alabamadeerinformation2.jpg

Edited October 14, 2015 by dbHunterNY

[dbHunterNY]

none i killed a 300 pound deer in pleasant valley ny that was only 3 and last year a big 9 in tioga center ny that had mass and a bunch of junk i thought it was an older deer but also was only 3

 

yea I've seen antler junk happen on a 2.5 year old but usually really starts happening at 4.5 from mostly what I've seen.

[nyantler]

I'm not looking for any you've seen in the past on camera or anything, just how many you've ever killed that were 5.5 or older.

I meant that I have never killed a buck that I knew the age because I'd seen it in prior years and was able to age it... I have a few that might be 5.5 but without Cementum annuli analysis one can't know for sure... it would be just a guess.

[LetEmGrow]

Two but not in New York

[Pygmy]

Nothing even close, out of perhaps 120 deer or so...I killed one buck that was probably a 3.5 year old ( 175 dressed)..

 

I never weighed many does but I doubt I ever killed  one that dressed more than 130 or so...

 

I have seen quite a few deer on the scales and the heaviest I ever saw weighed  was a buck that weighed 185 dressed..

 

Must be these deer along the PA border  run lighter than other parts of the state.. A deer that dresses out at 200 pounds is pretty rare around here, at least when they are weighed on the scales rather than with  the eyeball...I know people who claim to kill 200 pounders frequently, but for some reason those 200 pound deer seem to lose weight when hung on a set of scales and the 200 pounders lose 40 or 50 pounds...

[Fletch]

I have one buck 5.5 DEC checked taken with the bow. Dressed weight 186.

I've taken a few does over that age as well. I try to avoid taking matriarch does. In my experience it can drastically alter doe movement in a given area forever.

[chas0218]

1 and several 3.5. I would like to kill more older bucks but it is hard to pass a 140" 10 point.