2.5-3.5 or 3.5-4.5?

[CAW]

I realize this is not a giant, but my son missed this deer last year with his bow and we are both curious about his age. The first two pics are last year and the second two pics are this year. What do you think? Was he 2.5 last year or 3.5 last year? Or, do you have an entirely different estimate?

 

[TheLBLman]

Since you know this particular buck better than us, and seem to be wondering, my bet is he's a "tweener".

To me, his last year's pics had him looking more like a very healthy, well-fed, early-born 2 1/2 with above average antler genetics.
But similar he might look if he were a late-born 3 1/2 with average to slightly above antlers genetics.
Muddying the waters, he looks more like a healthy 4 1/2 in the very last pic above from this year.

You need to show some pics of his teeth, and we can provide much better age estimates. :tu:

 

[TheLBLman]

Just like people, individual deer can look either younger or older than their actual age.
I kinda believe this buck's age has caught up with him via that last pic, and am now leaning more towards him being 4.5 this year, but do suspect he was late-born as a fawn, making him appear a little younger (as he actually was if late-born) in prior years. He may have appeared more like a very nice yearling when he was a young 2 1/2.

But then, pictures can be deceptive.
And at least in the above, you're only showing us a couple summertime pics when determining age can be most difficult.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Looks like a 4.5 now to me.

 

[Andy S.]

He's 4.5+ this year, so he was at least 3.5+ last year. I love his body configuration/structure already, very indicative of a mature buck. I am also impressed with how much growth he put on in a year's time, which is not a big surprise to me, just something I like to see from one year to the next. I love his brow tines, that is not something you see every year in the woods. Great buck, good luck with him this fall.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Nice

 

[catman529]

I don't age bucks during summer anymore but I wouldn't be surprised if he's 4.5 this year due to the sag in his body


Sent from the talk of tap

 

[Realtree]

I'd guess 4.5 too. I like them brows

 

[Planking]

4.5 this year. Awesome buck!

 

[Fleet Fox]

I would bet 100 bucks he's aged at 3.5 if you kill him. No secret that your deer eat well. Does he look like he is fat enough to be 4.5? Yes he does. Does lasts years picture look more obvious to be a 2 year old than this years picture to be a 4 year old? I certainly think it does.