Age this Buck

Here are a couple recent pictures from a mineral station .. Central Indiana ... Age this buck .. What do you use to determine your answer ? .... How much antler growth do you think he has left yet this year .. what will he score at hard horn ? ( I'll post my thoughts after some replies are posted )

 

Three

(Reasoning added)
Neck @ shoulder is even, no dip like a young deer also, visible brisket development. No fat/significant belly or really wide neck like you'd see on a 4 or 5 yo.


~Bill

 

Agree, I also think he's 3 years old.
Brisket doesn't look deep enough to be older, bulk is light, has the race horse like appearance where he looks heavier in the back half than the front.

 

2 or 3 year old. I'm leaning toward 3

 

I will say 3 years old.

 

I'm leaning towards 2.


Blessings........Pastorjim

 

I would say 3 also. Legs still a little long for his body. Back and belly are parallel. Brisket isn't quite fully developed. Neck still a little long. Very race horse like. I would think he would score around 155" when he loses velvet.

 

I think this is only about a 115" deer when his rack finishes growing .. ?? but I am a bit puzzled on body features .. that is why I wanted some other opinions.
My first thought was 21/2 year old ... based on antler size .. a little leggy ... and thin neck .... but then I start looking at sway back... shoulder hump ... big head ... and full belly ... & I start 2nd guessing myself ..?? I am easily fooled by comparing antler size to body size .... seeing this buck beside a 1 1/2 ... or 4 1/4 ... would help me on body size ??

 

Looks like a 3 years old to me. Seems too long legged to be older.

 

That's a tough one. Could just be the pic though, looks like a 2 1/2 by the pic but the body looks like a 3 1/2 body. He may thicken out more as the year goes on. Based on antlers and still having a good couple weeks left of growth he should make it to 130-140s. So until you get more pics of him Id guess 3 1/2 and 133" after done growing.

 

115" - 2 1/2

 

The sway back indicator that is commonly spoken about is not a very sound indicator for age from pics. Any deer can appear to have a sway back at times depending on their pose. Aging deer is far from an exact science, even by teeth. An experienced eye can be pretty accurate but can also be wrong, especially where deer with spring and summer builds are concerned.

 

I'm going to say about a 3 1/2 year old deer and all aid and done he probably will score 110" - 120" range.

 

2.5 to 3.5

 

Im gonna stick with 3.5 on this one.

 

Good swag in his back at 3

 

theres no half's was he born in februrary? no so he's a round number lol like 3

 

2 1/2, score between 110-115

 

Yeah I'd say 3 1/2

 

Most are born around June and don't have antlers the first year but have nubs or "buttons". That's where the .5 year comes from.