I've never really had a need to age a doe, but also know the characteristics I use to age bucks don't apply... this really came to life last evening as watched a doe that I know is at least 4. Anybody have any insights? -Bill
I really don't have a need to age does either. If I have a good shot on one I'm taking it. As long as it doesn't still have spots. :D
The biggest thing that I look for is just body size on a doe. Just IMO, I see enough does where I hunt that it's easy to compare them side by side. The only way I would know for sure is if one has a distinguishing mark on her that you can watch year to year.
Not sure if this has anything to do with age but the bigger does I have killed and my family has killed, the bigger ones which I am assuming are the older ones tend to have more of a gray tent to them instead of a deep brown. Maybe they get grayer with age like humans??? I'm not positive on this just something I have noticed, but the longer the nose does seem to correlate some how with the age of the deer.
The old ones are the ones that look up in the trees while they walk and seemingly always seem to know your location regardless of the wind. The young ones fall right into to the trap all you have to do is yell stop and let one fly. Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
This actually is spot on from my experiences. Last year I had an old doe I was trying to kill and she busted me. Always. Her young ones walked right in and gave me a perfect shot everytime (didnt take them though). She slipped away from me last season. Not sure if she is alive or not. Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2
hate those old does! always busting me. i have a name for those by the end of shotgun season. freezer filler. every time a doe busts me a just wait till shotgun season to drop them. thats the only time i even shotgun hunt. its my doe eliminator.
(1) The measurement from the corner of the eye to the end of the nose. (2) Mail jawbone. (3) How to Photograph a Deer Jawbone for Aging | Quality Deer Management Association
Since all the physical answers have been mentioned, I'll add that the doe that looks up in all the prominent tree stand locations is mature.
I killed a doe several years ago that field dressed 139# and had a huge head. I sent her jaw bone off to get her aged because I just knew she was old. Results came back and I was surprised to find out that she was only 2 1/2. Imo, you can't age a doe by size. sent from my samsung note 2
Like this:D I think a better sign of age is judging the hair. Grey around the muzzle and such. Many believe as a doe gets older she starts to deteriate in size. sent from my samsung note 2
You can't judge a doe's age by body size or head length. Where we hunt, all the does are aged via tooth wear and having a tooth sent off. I've seen some big bodied does that age out fairly old, and I've seen some dinky does age out fairly old as well. I've seen huge 1.5 year old does and 1.5 year old does that aren't much bigger than fawns. The closest thing I can by aging does is that if they have a fairly domed noggin, they tend to be more than 1.5. (hard to explain but you can see it)
