age these bucks please

[rnharris]

you would very seldom see a mature buck if it wasn't for the rut!

[BOHO]

yea, they are really smart here. lots of hunting pressure and the camp next to ours used to run dogs. they cost me quite a few deer in years past. but they stopped last year so were hoping for more natural movement this year.

[Kevin Bahr]

Don't know about Mississippi deer at all.  If the pics were taken here, I'd feel confident that the first one is 1 1/2 and the last one is 2 1/2.

[BOHO]

you can pretty much add a year here Kevin. Deer dont generally get as big and it takes em a year longer to get a good rack. Maybe due to the heat and overpopulation. Not sure. The more I look at the back in the background, I dont think it's the same buck as the bigger one in  the other pic. To me he looks tall and not quite as wide. What do ya'll think? oh, and Kevin,  if you need some help shooting some of those Illinois bucks, send me a PM bro.  lol

[Tom Leemans]

They both need a couple more seasons before you get serious about them.  

[BOHO]

haha  Tom. the bigger deer in the pic will get busted by the first person that walks by him where I hunt. Nobody in our camp would pass him up. Lots of people in Illinois and Iowa pass up bucks like this and if I were there I would too. Not here though. You can pattern bucks there but here if you see 1 and he's nice you better kill him. You won't see him again.

[Don Stokes]

BOHO, I know what you mean. Here in MS the season is so long and the bag limit so liberal that a buck doesn't stand much of a chance, although the 4 pt. rule has helped.

[BOHO]

it has in ways Don. I read a study mdwfp did on that 4 pt rule. we have more deer reaching 3 plus years but the ones that are aren't as big as the 3 plus year old bucks before the 4 pt rule. Personally, I'd like to see us go to unlimited does and a 6 pt rule except for kids. They can kill 1 buck of any size.

[TSP]

Hard to age deer by their antlers...its mostly a guess since habitat, genes and general nutrition have a big say in antler size regardless of age.  Maybe you could ask them to give a big grin and show their choppers...tooth wear is the most reliable indicator.  Say CHEESE.....    

[DAGATOR]

I agree with Jedimaster.
Clay

[carparcher]

Best way is to:
1) shoot the deer
2) look @ the teeth
3) eat the deer

This will leave no room for guessing and close the matter.   :D

[Jedimaster]

Don and Tom are dead on about the MS deer.  You won't get too many chances on a mature buck anywhere near most public land.  Long and liberal firearms season coupled with lots of dog hunting pressure (in many areas), the new "primitive weapon" season (changed to single shot centerfire rifles with telescopic sights) and the ever present poachers keep the deer mostly nocturnal and/or dead.  At least we have a nice archery season in the early fall and again in January.

[BOHO]

a trend I have noticed though, at least in my area, is the dog hunters are getting few and far between. they are sticking to rabbits and leaving the deer alone. that will really help out alot. we used to have a good many poachers but they to arent as prevelant as in past years. all that spells success for more and bigger bucks in the years to come.

[Kelly]

1.5 for the first one and 2.5 for the second. The latter is not very big, bodywise. Neither buck meets your clubs criteria to harvest.

[BOHO]

I'd have to disagree with that Kelly. Not about the ages, but the biggest buck definately meets the criteria. I hope to have some pics of me and him to show later.    He's close to 17" spread.

[Widowbender]

First three pics I'd say are either 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 year olds. The last one is either a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2.
You'll probably only be able to make a better guess(and that's all it is) with more pics, video or seeing him person. A 3 1/2 years old will have sort of a race horse look to his body. If he is with other bucks he will be noticeably taller and at three and a half their legs will still look long...by 4 1/2 he will be looking heavier in the front end and you will start to notice that his legs look shorter. They aren't but the body will be thicker and that makes the legs look shorter and it will start to become hard to tell where the neck stops and the body starts. This really shows up when they get to 5 1/2. Its all just a guess at this point. For QDM purposes it would be easier to have more than one threshold for taking a deer other than just age which is the hardest for most people to judge on the hoof. In the Qdm club I used to run Deer had to meet one of three criteria for harvest: inside spread, number of antler points or estimated live weight. Even with these in place you will still take out some that are too young, but the majority will advance to the older age classes...
David