idelkslayer
WKR
A few notable people have been doing it for years but there seems to be a growing trend of getting mule deer bucks lab aged. State Game agencies also seems to be using lab aging more and more as a management tool to understand what is really happening with our herds, hunting pressure, and trophy quality. It's also just fun to know more about a specific buck. I jumped on the band wagon last year.
This thread isn't meant to be for debating the merits or management implications of lab aging. Rather, it's just to share the information that we get from aging our bucks. It will be too anecdotal to call it data but maybe if enough bucks are posted we might see patterns that we can debate in next winters management threads. For comparisons sake you might feel inclined to share, Private vs Public, Limited Entry vs General Seasons, etc.
No speculation, no guessing, lab-aged only.
My hunting partner and I saved a few teeth last year and year before. He shot a 150" buck with tons of mass that he killed in general season unit 2 years ago that aged 5.5. His 2024 buck from a different general season unit scored 165" and aged 5.5 as well. An acquaintance killed a 140" buck last year that lab aged at 6.5 years old, he couldn't believe it was older than 3. Not my deer so no pictures.
I killed this buck in 2024, in a general season unit, public land, mid-October hunt. I scored him at 166. His outside spread is only 20". He was lab aged at 6.5 years old.
This thread isn't meant to be for debating the merits or management implications of lab aging. Rather, it's just to share the information that we get from aging our bucks. It will be too anecdotal to call it data but maybe if enough bucks are posted we might see patterns that we can debate in next winters management threads. For comparisons sake you might feel inclined to share, Private vs Public, Limited Entry vs General Seasons, etc.
No speculation, no guessing, lab-aged only.
My hunting partner and I saved a few teeth last year and year before. He shot a 150" buck with tons of mass that he killed in general season unit 2 years ago that aged 5.5. His 2024 buck from a different general season unit scored 165" and aged 5.5 as well. An acquaintance killed a 140" buck last year that lab aged at 6.5 years old, he couldn't believe it was older than 3. Not my deer so no pictures.
I killed this buck in 2024, in a general season unit, public land, mid-October hunt. I scored him at 166. His outside spread is only 20". He was lab aged at 6.5 years old.
