We all know your can't age a deer by its rack... But how close can you get going just off of body weight?
Just going off where I hunt, racks can vary greatly but body weights are fairly consistent by age. Its not a sure thing, but I think its closer than going by antlers.
Body weights can be all over the board too. This year I saw a 2.5 year old buck that weighed 195 lbs field dressed. I shot a 3.5 year old that weighed 185 lbs field dressed. I've seen button bucks that dressed at 100 lbs and 1.5 year old bucks that dressed at 100 lbs. (From the same areas)
When aging I ignore the antlers as best I can. I look at the neck to shoulders/chest and stomach to hinds/back. 1.5 to 2.5 to 3.5 is "relatively" easy. After that it gets difficult for me. ( I hunt PA and haven't see that many LMAO. ):p
Honestly.. I don't think you can tell with either number. You have to physically look at the animal to get the read you need. You might get a close guess on 75% of them with just a rack or body weight.. then you'll be WAY off on the other 25%. Fact is most whitetail many of us hunt were transplanted to our "neck of the woods" 80 years ago. So many of us are hunting deer that might have originally came from Wisconsin.. or Texas.. etc etc. JZ took a phenomenal 2 year old just a few days ago. Thing had near 120" of antler on his head.. but the little bugger probably only weighed 120 pounds after field dressed! That's not normal.. on either accounts. Just do as I do.. get your hands wet and look at the teeth.
LOL, that quote cracks me up. By the way Jeff I took that jawbone to the base biologist and handed it to her without saying anything. She said it looked consistent with a 3.5 year old.
Had to let us know that did ya? I gathered it from your thread, but what is the point of posting it in here too? I am interested in which ass is getting kissed too? Do tell, since it's important enough to be made into a thread and a post in another thread. Let's get it out there.
I got to work a few check stations working with the DNR. I watch the bioligist age them by looking at there teeth. I honestly could not tell you what they how they came to the ages they did. There local diets will have an effect on their teeth, so the jaw bone theory does not work for me. Then again you took to the base bio Based on the weight and from what I could tell from the picture of his snot length I guessed 2.5.
How does one's opinion change the actual age of a buck? Who cares what anyone guesses, that deer's age isn't changing no matter how much ass gets kissed.
So you are saying that you think there are a few people on the boards saying they killed 3.5 year olds when IYO they did not, you just decline to offer your thoughts on which ones specifically, right? Fair enough, you would probably just get flamed for it anyhow.
Jeff is dead on. And y'all are nuts to think he'd name names. Other than a few guys who legitimately and unbiasedly analyze the deer, everything else is based on the popularity of the person posting.
Here, it's relatively easy to pick out the 1.5, from the 2.5, from the 3.5. Honestly, it's not the most accurate way, but on "most" deer here, you can judge pretty well by rack size. Some 2.5 and 3.5 yr old deer get iffy with that though, usually there is a noticable mass difference. Past 3.5, I don't even try aging them.
I might be one of those you're talking about. I never had mine aged and have been mentioning here that I believe him to be a 3.5 based on what I've observed on our property. He may not be a 3.5, because like many have said here, it can be very tough to judge without the jawbone.
