An aging buck on the hoof question

[elk yinzer]

I am lucky enough to hunt places where bucks die of old age fairly often. The downside is that they may never sport giant racks.

It is rough country spread all over the map. I really do not have much desire to develop history with individual deer.

So one thing I have always struggled with is aging deer. An 80-100 inch deer is pretty much presumed to be a 2 year old in much of the country. Here with our infertile soils up high, some deer never hit 100. Most do, but not all by any means.

I have always had a thing for the idea of pursuing really old bucks also. Like 7+.

So you are sitting in your stand freezing your tail off on a 20 degree morning. A 100" 8 point comes grunting through the laurel all swollen up and moving fast and you get about 5 seconds to decide if you are going to shoot. How do you tell if it is an up-and-coming 2 year old you want to pass versus an old gnarly buck on the way downhill that you would love to pack out?

[Whitetailaddict]

Aging is hard. The best way is after they're dead but by then it's too late. Sheds and trail cam history is probably the best in your situation. Bodyweight changes throughout the year and antlers are a bad way to judge age as you probably know.

[CarolinaKid]

Man, great question.

My 2 cents: I've always looked first at the deer's overall size and then at the deer's snout. The bigger the body and longer the snout, the older. If I've got time then will see how how boxy/developed his brisket is, how swooped his back is, and how much his belly sags. That's tough to do in 5 seconds, but possible with experience.

A good article with pictures attached where you can see how a deer develops with maturity: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9485

[elk yinzer]

Last year I shot the young guy, is the reason I ask....

Exact scenario happened. I am in an area that is just getting beat to pulp by this buck. But an area that always has been. Every single year bucks tear this bedding area up. Historical buck bed. Bad dude usually takes the best bed too, right?

Perfect weather morning. Day after a rain. Freezing. Kind of day that gets the bucks a little prematurely feeling randy. I had on 2 more layers than any hunt to that point in the season. And I was still shivering and having strong cravings for a hot coffee and fall foods. Even busted out my booties. Wind blasting. I would laugh at those temps in December. I always said temperature is relative.

He comes in grunting like a Primos video into a doe bedding area where a doe and her bb just came through and lives. Checking her status.

He is swoll as an instagram gym pic. Truly a stocky deer in body and face. I thought he looked like an old battler. He came in acting dumb and maybe that should have been my clue. 10 yard shots even I can make.


Teeth didn't lie. He was not 3 yet. I was still proud but when I pulled the trigger I tought he looked like the king of the mountain, body wise. At this point in my hunting career I have fought through real problems but this is basically a made up problem and I am willing to recognize that. But any insight I can gather is valuable because I want to kill old mountain bucks.

[fireforeffect]

Old deer are more deliberate than their younger counterparts. They're also heavier on their feet. You can really tell the difference between young bucks and old bucks by the sound of them walking.

Young deer usually have clean racks. Older deer develop "character."

Young deer will appear to have long legs. Old deer won't.

Old deer will have loose skin and a pot belly.

When you encounter a truly mature buck, you will usually know it. They're a different animal.

Of course, there are exceptions to all these "rules".

[SneakyHunter]

Very tough to do. Individual buck genetics can control the color of their coat, length of their snout, the famous Roman nose, etc. The few things they aren't born with are a big swollen belly, a sagging back and a brisket that looks like a skid-steer. It would be nice if an old one always came in with a young one, that would make your decision much easier.

[Boogieman1]

To me a old buck looks like he's old. The way he moves more deliberate, saggy belly, short blocky head and like someone mentioned horns take on a lot of character and knarely kickers. That said there's no sure way and when they are passing by at a pretty good clip u often see what u want to. That's one reason I like to have a history with a buck so I can tell right away.

[stash59]

It's tough in 5 seconds. Since the rack is one of the first things we look at. If it seems to have more mass than average. Young deer rarely show mass. I've seen young bucks with lots of junk. But never a young one with extra mass.

Then the face. It takes seeing a few. Like people they have different traits. Hard to explain but an old deer just looks old. Big old roman nose is an obvious one. Others it's in the eyes and the hair around them.

[UofLbowhunter]

Its pretty hard to get an actual age on a buck for sure!
Check out Growing Deer.tv. There is two recent episodes of age mature whitetails on the hoof, Dr Grant Woods has a great show going on and does a good job of talking a bout deer and habitat. These two recent episodes go in some great details about ageing bucks, that will go along with this topic!!

[SplitG2]

5 seconds is no doubt not enough time to age a buck accurately. Best you can do in that time is maybe get in the ballpark if you're lucky unless you have prior history with the buck.

But sticking with the question and the timeframe allowed....first thing I look for is immediaetly see if at first glance I recognize the deer from current and past trail cam pics that I have stored in the rolodex in my brain. This can be done pretty quickly and that will help me age him no doubt. Outside of that I'm looking for grayness in the face, does his belly curve upward right before his back legs or blend in due to sagging, short/stubby look to his legs and just sheer thickness of his front shoulders. If all of these line up, I feel he is mature and will get an arrow reguarless of his antler size.

[Redman232]

When you encounter a truly mature buck, you will usually know it. They're a different animal.

Of course, there are exceptions to all these "rules".

I was going to offer the same sentiment. A 250lbs live weight deer looks a lot different than a 200lbs deer. But there may not be that much of a size difference where you are. The best way I can describe my thought process is, I have a certain mental image of what a "big" buck should look like. I don't need a real good look at the buck, if he fits the profile i'm preparing to shoot. The sound of his approach plays a role as well.

[Boogieman1]

A lot of big time deer farms realized just how hard this judging on the hoof can really be for a serious buck hunter. That's why they use different colored ear tags for diff age groups. Makes for a much more enjoyable hunt, who has time to learn how to figure out how old something is they plan on shooting at... J/k