Age this jawbone please

[username]

 

[BSK]

Kind of a tweener. At least 3 1/2 and shows some wear that suggests 4 1/2 (wear on 5th tooth [2nd molar]). But I personally like to go with a minimum age, so I would put that deer at 3 1/2.

 

[pass-thru]

I will go with 4.5, because the 1st & 2nd molars, and the back cusp of the last molar all look 4.5 to me, and if I am not mistaken, known age comparisons shows that erring on the side of the deer being older tends to be significantly more accurate....

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

I'll go 4.5

 

[deerhunter 1981]

3.5

 

[username]

I'm confident he was 4 1/2 but when looking at the jawbone, I couldn't really identify for certain either way. I'm still learning how to age the jawbone though. It seems everyone I pull could fall within 2 age categories.

As for this buck, I've passed him up the last two seasons. He was at least 2 1/2 in 07. I had a suspicion that he may be 5 1/2 but looking at the jawbone pretty much ruled that out.

 

[username]

Here is another one that has me perplexed. This deer was almost certainly 3 1/2 but the jawbone looks to me that it could be 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. Btw, I passed him in 08 as a 100-110 class 5X4 and this year he was still a 5X4 that grossed 129 7/8.

 

[pass-thru]

Yeah that second one would be a very hard sell for 3.5 based on the jawbone. Do you have pics of the bucks?

 

[username]

This is the buck on the top. (cell phone pic is all I have uploaded currently)

And this is the buck on the bottom.

 

[username]

Also both bucks weighed in the 160's field dressed which would normally almost rule out the possibility of 2 1/2 but not this year. I know of some incredible body weights this year.

I beleive BSK's group killed a 2 1/2 that would weigh at least that.

 

[TheLBLman]

As seems to be so commonly the case, we're running into "wondering" if a buck was "x" or "y" age, based on his tooth wear.

I feel comfortable saying both were 3 1/2 or older.
But the older a buck may be, the less likely we are going to be in "guessing" (and that's all this tooth wear aging really is) the exact age.

 

[megalomaniac]

I'd go 4.5 on the top jawbone

3.5 on bottom jawbone

 

[BSK]

I would really have no problem with 4 1/2 on the first jawbone. It's definitely a tweener. But I would have certainly said 2 1/2 on the second jaw, even though that buck is obviously older than 2 1/2. Once again, proof that toothwear should be looked at as a minimum age and not an exact age.