How old is this buck?

[treetoppredator]

Take a piece a paper, your thumb, anything..and take his antlers out of the equation.  I think he is definetly a mature animal! Very rounded rump and deep chest, I think that he is atleast 4 1/2 years old if not 5 1/2.

[ron w]

Old enough...........

[hunt it]

Around here he'd be 2.

[awbowman]

Not that familiar with northern deer, but look 3.5 to me

[buckeye_hunter]

3.5 to 4.5

- Healthy roundness, but not sagging gut.
- Good head and nose, but not as thick through the shoulders. That might change as his testosterone amps up.
- No sagging around the jaw, so not an old deer.


All that said, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. Then again, I also don't have many game animals under my belt with a bow.

[Nook]

This one came from SE Iowa four years ago.  He was 2.5 years.  Very similar and had a big body.



Jeff

[Nook]

Here's the hero pick for a better size comparison:

[Robhood23]

In Iowa, I would say 2.5 year old!

[Big Ed]

2.5 years old

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Originally posted by treetoppredator:
Take a piece a paper, your thumb, anything..and take his antlers out of the equation.  I think he is definetly a mature animal! Very rounded rump and deep chest, I think that he is atleast 4 1/2 years old if not 5 1/2.

X2, you guys need to look at the body not the rack!  Nook, your buck looks like a 3 yr old. Congrats!

Tracy

[Montanawidower]

For IA... I'd say 2.5.

[FerretWYO]

3.5

[Earl Jeff]

OLD ENOUGH  

[Yellow Dog]

3.5, about two years older than the average Michigan buck makes it to around my neck of the woods  

[far rider]

2.5-3.5 if it's an Iowa deer. 4.5 around here. My guess I should ask.

[gringol]

Originally posted by Earl Jeff:
OLD ENOUGH    

ding! ding! ding!  Stick him!

[ishoot4thrills]

This is easy: he's 2 years, 6 months, and 4 days old. Sorry, that's as close as I can get without seeing his teeth.    

I'd try to get him this season, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if I didn't. And then, I'd be even happier to get him next season! But, I'm not real picky either.

[Cootling]

He'd be a very typical 2.5 year-old around here.

[TSP]

Ishoot4thrills is right...deer are better aged by the amount of wear on the cusps of their molars, or (best of all) by lab-sectioning the teeth.  Size and antlers are too affected by variable factors like diet, minerals, geographic location, genetics, stress factors, general health, etc., to be consistently reliable.

Maybe you can get that buck to give a big grin into the camera the next time he comes to visit...      

[tradgreenhorn]

2.5 years old