Alright I'm going to cut right to the point. I myself and many thought that this deer was 3.5, but my taxidermist said he was only 2.5. This is my first time bringing a deer to a taxidermist, but the guy I brought my buck to is known for high quality work not only locally but also statewide. He checked out his teeth for me and insisted he was 2.5. So whats your take? I guess MI can grow some pretty good ones!
It's very believable, he does have kind of a young looking face. But, he's also got some thickness to his body/rack. Nice healthy deer.
Look at the size of his head/skull EI, that's the first thing my taxidermist saw and thought he was only 2.5.
Again, tough to tell from that pic, but I've seen plenty of trail cam and harvest photos of 2.5 year old bucks from southern MI with that type of headgear. Not much to go on from that pic besides the antlers. If you want to know for sure, send the teeth in for cementun aging. The taxidermist is really just making a guess. If I had to guess from that pic, I would guess 2.5 also.
