Age this deer

[NonTypical]

I cut part of the last molar off when I trimmed his lower jaw, but is it safe to say that this buck was at least 4.5? 5.5? I’ve never aged a deer, but from what I saw online I was thinking 5.5. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by NonTypical

[NonTypical]

Im actually thinking 6.5 now due to his third molar being so worn that it was dished. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by NonTypical

[dbHunterNY]

@NonTypical at this point you're past the usefulness of the tooth "replacement and wear" method. it's likely 6.5+ yrs old. the 1st molar (4th tooth back from the front) is like as you said "dished" meaning the tooth is worn down so much the infundibulum isn't now continous that separates the sections of that tooth. if you want to know a more exact age you can pull the center two incisors and send them out to Deerage.com or Matson lab for cementum annuli analysis wear they take a cross section of an undamaged tooth root, dye it, and then under a microscope count the cementum deposit rings. it's similar to how you'd age a cut tree.

[dbHunterNY]

congrats on taking a fully mature buck!

[Marion]

That's a yearling can still see it's milk teeth

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[NFA-ADK]

5.5 possibly older.  Those are worn!  Possibly 6 wow!  Congrats!  

[BizCT]

[mention=4978]NonTypical[/mention] at this point you're past the usefulness of the tooth "replacement and wear" method. it's likely 6.5+ yrs old. the 1st molar (4th tooth back from the front) is like as you said "dished" meaning the tooth is worn down so much the infundibulum isn't now continous that separates the sections of that tooth. if you want to know a more exact age you can pull the center two incisors and send them out to Deerage.com or Matson lab for cementum annuli analysis wear they take a cross section of an undamaged tooth root, dye it, and then under a microscope count the cementum deposit rings. it's similar to how you'd age a cut tree.

+ 1 on Deerage for a better estimate. At that point you can go by wear. The age range could vary several years


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[NonTypical]

Thanks guys. I had a feeling that he was a very mature deer when he was on the hoof. I figured 5.5 at least for sure. I’m good with that. There’s no need for any further analysis. I’m just happy to be able to have harvested a fully mature buck, and especially one that I set my sights on at the beginning of the season.