so this am around 7 a nice 8pt buck was tailing this doe and her little fawn as well as this other very nice 8. the one buck was about 10 yards away but i never got a broadside shoot so seeing how the rut is just kicking off i decided not to chance it but tonight once again my buddy saw the two same bucks following right behind the doe and fawn. is it unusual to have two bucks around 130 following the same doe without fighting each other.. i got the one buck on camera and you guys said it was around 130 and the other buck i have never saw before today which is alittle bigger. but after they walked away i tried everything to get them back, grunting rattling nothing stopped them... and does a really white greyish buck mean its an older buck?
Be careful what you use when attempting to call bucks back in. Rutting bucks that are with a doe already usually aren't interested in anything else but staying with that doe. If there were two bucks with the doe then they are most likely waiting for her to get into estrous. They may not get physical or display dominance between one another if she isn't in heat yet. The physical features you are looking for when judging age is the body and antler size, but more so in body size. A buck with a nice rack could only be 2 or 3 1/2 years old. Look for the neck, belly and nose sizes. Younger aged bucks have more of a "box" like complexion when it comes to body features. Look for a buck that is filling out his neck and belly. The nose will start to round off and a 3,4 or 5 1/2 year old's head will be much larger than a younger bucks. Trail-cam pictures can help you judge a deer's age better than field judging, so try looking at some trail-cam photos and practice judging these deer so you know their age already when they walk in. The greyish color of fur can be a sign of old age, but it can also be a dominant gene within your deer herd. A lot fo the deer in the new area I am hunting have developed small manes on their neck and back; something that I have not ever seen before. So the grey in the buck's fur could be age or just genetics, you'll have to take his body size and physical features into consideration more when judging his exact age. Goodluck and happy hunting!
That is interesting. Last Sunday morning I hit a branch and missed a doe. I felt that I should take her because I thought she must be an aging doe. Between her eyes and back to her ears she had a white/grey patch. She never moved real fast and seemed full grown. So age or genetics?
