Age this buck

[Ewaragnar]

Shot this buck with my muzzie second to the last day of themuzzie season a few weeks back... much less meat than most whitetail I’ve taken. Zero fat inside and out. Had an infection on the side of his head and a lot of fighting scars. Curious if anyone has a guess on age from looking at the teeth!

 

[Broomd]

Can't tell anything by those pics. According to F&G (and it's debatable) one needs to view the inside of the lower teeth (molers) to ascertain age.

For true age, pull the middle front lower and send it in for staining and aging.

 

[Ewaragnar]

Got it, thanks!

 

[Yotekiller]

https://www.ckwri.tamuk.edu/sites/d...-05/insidedeerresearchnewsletter-fall2010.pdf

 

[lyingflatlander]

We keep a lower jaw from all the bucks we shoot, boil and label them. That deer is at least 6, but after that its hard to tell. Bucks by us do not live to be that old. But some of the doe’s do, and we save those lower jaws as well. Depends on your location and what they have available to forage on year round. My advice, start doing the same if you really want to know. Use yotekillers post and others to learn how to age them. Just be aware that deer have different molar configurations just like people. It’s all about the overall wear.

 

[Broomd]

... That deer is at least 6, but after that its hard to tell. ...

Can you articulate how you came up with that age?
No disrespect meant, but that reads like pure speculation. Can't see how those photos could provide viable information.
Part of the excitement of hunting deer for me is shooting old bucks, bucks that might not even be that impressive rack-wise. It's the age that gets me going.

 

[lyingflatlander]

No disrespect taken. Its all speculation, look at the first photo. Tells you nothing right? Now look at the lateral view of the second photo and zoom in on it. First Premolars are gone - thats automatically Older than 2 1/2. Now look at the gum line in the lower jaw, its still there even though he removed the hide. Six teeth left. First tooth worn, second and third worn almost to the gum line, 4th, 5th and 6th worn to the gum line or gone! It would be easier if you had a topside view obviously. Thats an old deer. If you look closely he actually has a bad cavity in his top fourth tooth. We have killed 5 year old bucks which have a lot more enamel left then that. I think you did this old boy an obvious favor as he probably only had a good year left. But like I said it depends on region and year round forage. We hunt in Michigan. Save your jaw bones, you will start to notice similar wear patterns in your deer that will help you age them. Then again its all just speculation. You don’t have to believe me, but I’ll trust myself more then the Wisconsin DNR rolling a bee bee over the teeth to age them.

 

[Broomd]

Agreed on DNR, they can't find their way outta paper bag.

I did save my wife's buck's jawbone this year....take a gander --->>>
This buck had 5"+ bases and great mass....he's on camera last year as almost the same size--a good buck--presumably at least 4.5 y/o last year...
I have him at 5.5 y/o for sure, your take?

I may pull a bottom front tooth and have him aged at a lab. It's the only way to know for sure.

 

[lyingflatlander]

Holy s#*+! Congratulations to her, what an awesome buck! When you look at the 6 teeth they are all worn evenly as compared to Ewaragnars buck. That means nothing other than this buck has better contact on his bite. Missing 1st premolars- automatically at least 2 1/2. There are no ridges left in the dentin or the enamel on any of the teeth so now your past 3 1/2 and 4 1/2. The infundibulum is worn almost completely away on the first molar (tooth 4 from front to back) 6 1/2. Infundibulum is present in Second and third molars. The infundibulum is that brown line in the middle of the tooth half way between the tooth from the tongue side to the cheek side. This buck is at least 6 1/2. That’s my best guess. Ewagnars buck is older, but now you enter into a pretty gray area, even if he did show you the topside view. Save your jaw bones, boil them, mark the year and points with a sharpy on one side and throw them in a shoebox. You can get pretty good at this too. Please message me when you get a final result, just to see how cracked I am. Congrats again!

 

[Broomd]

Thanks for taking the time. I thought solidly 5.5, but possibly 6.5. I'll get the lower tooth sent in, will share the deets when I get them.
Hard to imagine any buck around here living to 6.5 and beyond. That's a helluva lot of hunters to avoid! A combined one year of life spent literally under the gun.

 

[Lowg08]

Where was this deer killed

 

[ClearCreek]

First Premolars are gone - thats automatically Older than 2 1/2.

Where did you come up with that? Both 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old deer have three premolars. It is the number of cusps on the third premolar that distinguishes if the deer is 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 years old. If the deer has three cusps on the third premolar it is 1 1/2 years old, if the third premolar has two cusps the deer is at least 2 1/2 years old.

The best way to accurately age deer, or any cervid for that matter, is to remove an incisor and have a reputable tooth aging lab determine the age by doing cross sectioning of the tooth.

ClearCreek

 

[lyingflatlander]

Yep your right, that was cracked. I was going by memory. Its eruption of the third premolar from 2 to 3 cusps that defines a 2 1/2 year old deer. The more obvious thing you will notice on a 2 1/2 year old deer is just how sharp all the teeth are as compared to an older deer. There is very little wear as compared to even a 3 1/2 year old deer. If anyone has questions here is a link:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0755.pdf

Found a better link:

How To Age A Whitetail Deer.

Otherwise, if you want to try and do it yourself save your jawbones it will make the amount of wear between age classes a lot easier. Lets be honest, if your aging whitetails your probably curious if your buck is 3 1/2, 4 1/2, 5 1/2 or 6 1/2. Most whitetail bucks don’t live very long, making aging by tooth wear a little easier as you only have 3 or 4 choices. My point is if I read the link my anxiety climbs and my patience declines as I attempt to study it. It comes off as very complex. It’s not that difficult when you have common age classes of jaw bones in front of you and you see the wear patterns. Otherwise send it in. Good luck.

 

[bowjunky39]

5-6


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[Cody_W]

Teeth are so dependent on the terrain they’re harvested in. The buck I shot in northeastern Oklahoma this year was 6.5 and his teeth were in impeccable shape (loamy soil, decent bit of farm land) compare it to a 6.5 year old killed on a lease I’m on in south Texas that had not third molar and worth through the 6th. (Super sandy and rocky soil) best way to do it is pluck the front two bottom teeth of the buck and send them in for testing if you aren’t very seasoned aging bucks in the area. All of us guys unless one of us hunts the same area as you will just be able to give a poor speculation. Anyone who says otherwise probably doesn’t know what they’re talking about. JMO

 

[Tannerc]

That buck is old as the hills! 6 1/2 plus conservatively


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