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re: Help with aging a deer on the hoof
Posted on 11/22/17 at 7:30 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Posted on 11/22/17 at 7:30 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I am in agreeance with you however I'm a believer that the vast majority of deer killed are over-aged. There are a ton of two and a half to three year old deer that are killed by people who swear they are at least 3 and 1/2 to 4 year old year.
Bucks see their biggest jump in antler growth from three and a half years to four and a half years due to the fact that their skeletal bones do not quit growing until they reach 3.5 which is where the majority of the nutrients they take in go until that time.
Would love to see a decrease in the amount of the tags given and a antler restriction for at least some parts of the state.
Bucks see their biggest jump in antler growth from three and a half years to four and a half years due to the fact that their skeletal bones do not quit growing until they reach 3.5 which is where the majority of the nutrients they take in go until that time.
Would love to see a decrease in the amount of the tags given and a antler restriction for at least some parts of the state.
This post was edited on 11/22/17 at 8:15 pm
1
Posted on 11/22/17 at 7:47 pm to DuckManiak
One of the best pieces of advice I got when I started was to take the antlers out of the equation. If you have tine to watch the deer, take your finger and cover his antlers, and then look at him. Does he look young or old. Practice on the picture in the previous post. It worked great for me. Good luck
Posted on 11/22/17 at 8:12 pm to Stexas
quote:
something that just takes experience
Yep. Looking at gamecam pics of the deer on the place/in the area helps a lot too.
Posted on 11/22/17 at 9:16 pm to GREENHEAD22
They both look 3.5 to me...too one maybe older
This post was edited on 11/22/17 at 9:17 pm
Posted on 11/22/17 at 9:37 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:You're butthurt over how people choose to hunt their own property?
ETA: I know of “hunting clubs” where part of the criteria to shoot is it be a certain age buck and determining that age is up to some dumbass who declared himself president and is worshiped as a god, and that’s where my butthurt on this subject comes from.
Posted on 11/22/17 at 10:22 pm to DuckManiak
When I am aging deer in the field, I take their body into consideration more so than the rack. Look for a big front brisket, big sagging belly, wrinkly skin, and broad looking face. The base of the antlers should look thick and oystered up.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 4:21 am to AlxTgr
No. If I didn’t have to hear about it all the time it’d be fine. Listening to people talk about it makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 4:34 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
That's weird as hell.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 7:06 am to GREENHEAD22
quote:
Bucks seentheir biggest antler growth from 3.5yr to 4.5yr
Bucks make their biggest gains early with the biggest jump for rack deer from 2.5-3.5yrs.
Percent of total antler growth
1 1/2 years of age = 29%
2 1/2 years of age = 61%
3 1/2 years of age = 79%
4 1/2 years of age = 91%
5 1/2 years of age = 98%
But I agree from 3.5-4.5 is when bucks go from good to great
Posted on 11/23/17 at 7:50 am to ABucks11
I could be off, its been awhile since Ive read up on it. But yea imo that extra yr makes all the difference.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 12:02 pm to DuckManiak
Shoot what you want. Apologize later.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 12:30 pm to GREENHEAD22
Your top buck is mature and should be taken out. Bottom one needs about 2 more yrs imo.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 8:28 pm to bushwacker
I disagree. I think the top buck is younger
Posted on 11/23/17 at 8:53 pm to bushwacker
Those aren't from my lease but a Buddies small piece of private property in Tangipahoa Parish so wasn't expecting much. I saw some decent rubs last year's of the side of the stick a camera out this year and so far I've gotten those two. I plan on shooting the wide 6 point and letting the basket rack walk and see if he lives till next year to what he'll look like.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 9:28 pm to GREENHEAD22
I'm in the same position. Im really trying to learn aging on the hoof. Sunday night I had 11 deer in the plot including 3 bucks. Suddenly they all took notice of something coming. Out walks a really nice white horned buck. He made a really grand entrance and every other deer took notice. He made is way to the back of the plot roughly 150 yards away. I studied him for several minutes debating. I knew there was another buck in that plot so I decided to give it a few minutes and see if he showed. I'm very new to this but I estimated him to be 4+. I started with his body and compared him to the smaller younger bucks. He had a nice belly, his neck was twice as thick, legs appeared shorter. I couldn't see his face well bc he continued to feed. I couldn't even see his width great bc he kept his head down. I could tell he was at least an 8 maybe 9 pt. Next I looked at the length of his main beams. I tried to determine if I could fit two hands on the end of his main beam. It was close. I could tell his mass was solid but not exceptional. His G2's were 6+ inches. Finally something spooked in the plot and he looked directly at me. He was 17-18 inches wide. One doe threw her tail up and ran and the plot cleared. Most of them came back but he didn't. To me that's another sign he was an older buck. I think he was a shooter by our club standards but I only get 1 trophy buck a year.
I learned from this that it's really hard. Sometimes you just don't have enough time. Also, no-one does it perfectly. You just do the best you can and learn along the way. If you kill a young one just learn from it. I think the grand entrance and 3 other bucks to look at really helped me.
I learned from this that it's really hard. Sometimes you just don't have enough time. Also, no-one does it perfectly. You just do the best you can and learn along the way. If you kill a young one just learn from it. I think the grand entrance and 3 other bucks to look at really helped me.
Posted on 11/23/17 at 9:37 pm to tigereye58
Not sure where you are hunting but if he is considered a nice buck for your club and would have been your biggest buck to date I would shoot him if you get tge chance again. Now if your Club is in a good area and he was just an average buck and you have more quality deer on camera then holding off may not be that bad of an idea. Overthinking can sometimes take the fun out of hunting, I try to make every Buck I shoot as big or bigger than my last one.
This post was edited on 11/23/17 at 9:40 pm
Posted on 11/23/17 at 9:46 pm to GREENHEAD22
Yea...i kind of kick myself bc he would be my biggest buck ever. However we are in a really quality area and there are bigger bucks in the area. The rut is still to come also.
Posted on 11/24/17 at 6:53 am to tigereye58
Yeah aging deer is hard. Getting to see a 4.5yr out in a plot is a cool experience and sounds like you have a good place to hunt. I agree with GREENHEAD that a certain point over analyzing takes some fun away. At the end of the day it’s deer hunting and is a hobby we do for entertainment. I went through a phase where my goals were too lofty for the place I hunt and I didn’t shoot a buck for 5 years. I learned a lot and passed a lot of nice deer. Now my goals are more realistic based on the acerage I hunt.
Best case you passed on a quality buck that will only get bigger and will get a crack at his older brother. Worst case you passed on a quality buck that will only get bigger and learned from the experience.
Best case you passed on a quality buck that will only get bigger and will get a crack at his older brother. Worst case you passed on a quality buck that will only get bigger and learned from the experience.
Posted on 11/24/17 at 7:05 am to tigereye58
Never pass on a buck early in the season that you would shoot on the last day
Posted on 11/24/17 at 8:54 am to Ron Cheramie
Key to aging bucks is to hunt with binos and use them. Binos are also very helpful for identifying button bucks, does, etc for antlerless hunting.
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