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

[Buckmaster7600]

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...

I shot one 6 year old in NC on a marine corps base and as we were all standing around weighing it an old guy says " that deer will go over 200#" long story short I bet him 20$ it wouldn't go over 150, and with its guts in him it weighed 134. Cha Ching!

[Caveman]

None. Only killed 3 deer so far and the oldest was 2.5

[monkeyman2269]

I shot one 6 year old in NC on a marine corps base and as we were all standing around weighing it an old guy says " that deer will go over 200#" long story short I bet him 20$ it wouldn't go over 150, and with its guts in him it weighed 134. Cha Ching!

Wow he was way off gutted the thing would have been like 105

[LET EM GROW]

Only 1 buck for me that has been dec aged at 5.5yrs

9 pt, 126" gross, 209# dressed 

[WNYBuckHunter]

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

 

Or you can get one from the QDMA site...

 

A whole kit...

https://www.qdma.com/shop/deer-aging-package

 

Or just the extractor...

https://www.qdma.com/shop/jawbone-extractor-zinc-plated

[JFB]

According to some, the only accurate way to age is by study of the sliced teeth (usually lower front two teeth) studied under microscope. Basically to count rings and confirm age. Everything else is an estimate and most of the ones I've sent to the lab came back a year different. So someone is wrong frequently. 

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

0 for me BTW

[chiefbkt]

Just 1

[Billdogge]

0

[phade]

1 for me...6.5 by deerage tooth testing.

 

You start getting above 4.5 and they just don't make up a ton of the population base.

Edited October 15, 2015 by phade

[dbHunterNY]

Or you can get one from the QDMA site...

 

A whole kit...

https://www.qdma.com/shop/deer-aging-package

 

Or just the extractor...

https://www.qdma.com/shop/jawbone-extractor-zinc-plated

 

it is wrong to be ashamed that I realize I should've posted those links?  I'm a horrible branch volunteer.  somedays my cheapness gets the best of me I swear.

[WNYBuckHunter]

hahahaha, no biggie, I picked up your slack

[NYBowhunter]

1 for me, my bow buck from last season. By looking at its rack you would guess 3 1/2. But i had some history with that buck, i collected his sheds 2 years earlier and at that time i had him estimated to be 3 1/2. I didnt see him at 4 1/2, but i caught up to him at 5 1/2. At 5 1/2 compared to his sheds there wasnt much difference horns wise, just little thicker horns and few inches wider, tine length was comparable to his sheds. The reason that i believe he didnt grow much rack wise is because he had a deformed/ injured front hoof. Point is without a tooth analysis i would have but this buck at 3 1/2 had i not had a history with him.

[NYbuck50]

i've never had one aged, but have 4 that dressed over 175#. i figure they were all 4 or 5 year olds

[BuckThornBooners]

1 for me...6.5 by deerage tooth testing.

 

You start getting above 4.5 and they just don't make up a ton of the population base.

 

 

hey Phade i found the pix of your 6.5 year old deer .. now i really believe you. i bet its probably closer to 7.5 

 

[phade]

hey Phade i found the pix of your 6.5 year old deer .. now i really believe you. i bet its probably closer to 7.5

6.5 unicorn.jpg

do you think i am lying or something?

[Marion]

I've killed at least 5.5 1+ year old deer. Does that still count?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Lawdwaz]

i've never had one aged, but have 4 that dressed over 175#. i figure they were all 4 or 5 year olds

You wouldn't want to bet on that figuring.......you'd be mighty surprised.

[ants]

Don't think I have ever killed a buck that was over 3, maybe 3.5 . When i was a kid I killed a huge doe that had its teeth worn right down even to its gum line. She may have been 5+ but who knows.

[DirtTime]

NONE!

I have had many does in the 25-50 year range in the bedding area over the past 20 years..

[greensider]

this one had a drop tine and close to 8 points on one side real rough looking antlers i would have guessed 5 or 6 

[coonhunter]

I would guess probably none. I know for a fact that I have killed a few 4 years old from pictures. I can say that I have cracked the 200 pound dressed weight  a few times. I have had more than a few that I thought would be close, but they usually come up between 175 and 185. 

 

The heaviest doe that I ever shot weighed in at a little over 170. Most are in the 125-140 range. No idea on official age of any of them. I just wait for cold weather and pick out a bigger one. 

 

Tough for a buck to make it to 3 in this state, much less 5. As the number of hunters drops each year, we may start to see a few more. Took me a lot of years just to let the 2 year olds walk. I honestly don't know if I will ever be able to let a nice 3 year old walk consistently. 

[NFA-ADK]

One but never verified.  Was not to happy about that part!  Sagging neck to chest area, little muscle definition, and what appears to be declining antlers followed by a gray face.  What would you guess? 

[Lawdwaz]

One but never verified.  Was not to happy about that part!  Sagging neck to chest area, little muscle definition, and what appears to be declining antlers followed by a gray face.  What would you guess? 

 

100% impossible to guess unless you want a range. 

 

2.5-10.5

[WNYBuckHunter]

One but never verified.  Was not to happy about that part!  Sagging neck to chest area, little muscle definition, and what appears to be declining antlers followed by a gray face.  What would you guess? 

 

3.5+ for sure. Pretty near impossible to age one from that pic. Color of the fur doesnt matter really.

 

Oh wait, he doesnt have a roman nose, cant be a mature deer. Or so Ive been told thats what the states top biologists go by....