#1710715 - 01/06/10 02:51 PM
Re: Age this jaw bone please
[Re: pass-thru]
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pass-thru
10 Point
Registered: 10/10/04
Posts: 3047
Loc: va beach
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Here is the jawbone I mentioned in the post above from a 140" 10 point that was aged by the state as 2.5. Unfortunately, this side of the jawbone was soaked in bleach so the dentine does not show up like it should. But notice the wear on the premolars; the dentine on the first molar is about as wide as the enamel, and there is wear on the 2nd and 3rd molars. Perhaps this might be classified as a 2 year old based on generic charts, but when considered in the context of the area it came from, I have no doubt that the buck was a 3 yr old:
Then compare to a typical 2 yr old for the area. There is no wear on the promolars, the dentine on the first molar is clearly narrower than the enamel; only the slightest hint of wear on the 2nd molar, and absolutely no wear on the 1st and 2nd cusps of the third molar:
Of course the contrast is more striking when the jawbones are in hand.
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#1710763 - 01/06/10 03:27 PM
Re: Age this jaw bone please
[Re: pass-thru]
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Wes Parrish
16 Point
Registered: 06/12/02
Posts: 16961
Loc: Knoxville-Dover-Union City, TN
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Of course the contrast is more striking when the jawbones are in hand.
You'll get no argument from me in that I believe individual deer (just like individual people) have different rates of wear on their teeth ---- AND deer in different regions have different rates of tooth wear.
This is part of why aging deer by tooth wear becomes increasing less accurate, the older the deer being aged. The older the deer in question, the more likely to be erroneously aged a year older or younger.
But I believe the aging usually becomes less accurate when you bias your assessment by including the antlers as part of your age guess. Not always, just usually. I prefer to not see the antlers for my initial age guess.
This past season, there was a buck repeatedly seen during daylight in my hunting area. He was repeatedly passed up because some thought he was only 2 1/2, in large part because he had a small 8-pt rack. And besides, we're told mature bucks are mostly nocturnal, right? (Yea, tell that to those who hunt on President's Island.) Anyway, I knew this particular buck was AT LEAST 3 1/2. Someone killed him in late December, and the tooth wear indicated he was 4 1/2. His antlers had a gross score of 95 1/8".
My point is it's hard not to have a bias towards either "younger" or "older", once you see the antlers, whether we're trying to guess the age on the hoof, or by looking at the teeth.
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#1710786 - 01/06/10 03:44 PM
Re: Age this jaw bone please
[Re: Wes Parrish]
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graydw1
4 Point
Registered: 09/13/00
Posts: 115
Loc: Fayetteville, TN
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That is the reason I did not initially post pics of the horns.
Thanks guys.
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#1711138 - 01/06/10 06:46 PM
Re: Age this jaw bone please
[Re: graydw1]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Pass-thru,
I would put that top-picture jaw at 3 1/2, exactly for the reason you stated--the amount of wear on the premolars.
But I stand behind an age of 2 1/2, with 3 1/2 max for graydw1's buck.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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