What do y'all look at to age bucks off trail cam pics? It's something I've never had the opportunity to really do it until this year, would like to learn from those with experience doing it. Would someone mind aging these two and talking me through how you came to your conclusion?
Aging Bucks by trail cam pics?
- Thread starter HoytDawg
- Start date
Extremely tough to do while in velvet IMO. Come late October and early November it gets much easier although not an exact science
With that being said, I'd wager to say those bucks are not mature
With that being said, I'd wager to say those bucks are not mature
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
This on all accounts
Mr.Bro
Well-Known Member
2 year Olds. Cause they don't look 3.
That was my thought process too
BSK
Well-Known Member
The only measurement of body conformation that actually works in summer is the relationship between chest depth and total shoulder height. Basically, from the ground to the top of the shoulder, what percentage of that is chest thickness? Those two bucks look no older than 2 years old based off that.
Even in summer, before necks thicken up, a mature buck will have a very deep chest.
Even in summer, before necks thicken up, a mature buck will have a very deep chest.
How To Age A Whitetail Deer On Sight
<p>Better deer management starts with the ability to accurately field-judge the approximate age of a buck. Here are some quick-hitting tips that will help you make the best decisions this season.</p>
Thin chest, straight belly lines(no sags) rear ends wider than their chest, bottom of necks go in high in the shoulders(no neck sag), 2 year old bucks
BSK
Well-Known Member
Here's an example of a mature buck, summer to rut: the first two pics are of the buck in mid to late August. He still has a relatively thin neck, but you can see his body is wide and his chest is deep. The second two pics are him around the rut. He turned out to be a pig of a 5 1/2 year-old.
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Basically same as BSK pointed out, I look at ratio between chest height and leg length. If chest is as thick as legs are long, buck is mature. I also look at hind legs and rump. If rump is big as the torso with long hind legs, it's a younger buck. The older a buck gets the more he resembles a keg with stumpy stick legs.
Over time and seeing lots of buck pics you'll begin getting a feel for age. Soon enough you'll be able to recognize general age almost as instant and certain as you do on other people. A fawn will look like a child. A young buck will look like a teenager. An early mature buck will look like an athlete. And an old mature buck will look like a tired old man.
Over time and seeing lots of buck pics you'll begin getting a feel for age. Soon enough you'll be able to recognize general age almost as instant and certain as you do on other people. A fawn will look like a child. A young buck will look like a teenager. An early mature buck will look like an athlete. And an old mature buck will look like a tired old man.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
It's not hard to age them without antlers or in velvet. Just look at leg length vs chest depth. If legs are longer than depth of chest, they are young (like the 2 bucks in your pic... those are 2.5yos) if the chest depth is about the same as leg length, they are 3.5. If the chest is deeper than the legs, they are mature.
The only problem with that is you need to be able to see the entire animal from his back to the ground without obscuring vegetation... and there's usually a lot of vegetation blocking the legs in summer
The only problem with that is you need to be able to see the entire animal from his back to the ground without obscuring vegetation... and there's usually a lot of vegetation blocking the legs in summer
When the gut starts to sag bringing the back down a little usually starting @ 4.5 years of age .
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Body shape and depth. Cannot gauge a deers age by looking at the neck this time of year. I would guess the deer in your pictures are all 2.5 year olds.
BSK
Well-Known Member
As we discussed in a previous thread on field-judging age, I'm not a big fan of using a "saggy belly" to age bucks. I've got pictures of well over 1,000 different mature bucks from TN, and not one has a saggy belly.
This video is about an hour long. But, if you want to learn how to ago whitetails this will give you some of the best information on how to do it.
It's a little bit of a long post as I had lots of history with this buck, but to summarize here are four pics spanning five years of what I believe to be a 7.5yr old buck. You can see how he changed year to year. Not every buck ages the same so understand this is only one buck.
I first began getting pictures of him in March of 2019, just before he shed is 2018 antlers. My thought then was that he was a pretty normal up & coming 3.5yr old. He sported a 125"ish 10pt rack. That's on the higher side of normal for what I see from 3.5yr olds on that property. I guessed no lower than 3.5 because his chest was developed and face had grown into his ears so they didn't look dumbo anymore. I didn't think any older because his neck was still not quite flush to chest and his body was sleek like an athlete. I see lots of bucks year in and year out on that property and in that first pic he had all the hallmarks of a 3.5yr old.
Then once new nubs began sprouting in summer 2019 he disappeared, which is normal. And he stayed gone which is also fairly normal. He didn't come back at all in fall of 2019, or at least never in front of a camera nor did I see him while hunting. It was fall 2020 when he came back home and he had turned into a brute, although his rack barely changed at all. It gained a little mass & width but generally was exactly the same as 2yrs prior. Other than having a smaller rack than I expected a 5.5yr old to have, his body looked exactly like a beefy 5.5yr old. I didn't get to see his 2019 rack but I assume it was the same. Although I was happy to see him back and alive, I was a wee bit deflated to see just a 130"ish rack on such a big, mature buck.
2021 rolls around and his antlers finally grew. Brow tines sprouted, frame gained a little height and a lot of width. 5.5 to 6.5 was the biggest jump his rack saw, and I am pretty certain was his largest. He now looked like a big buck ... except that his body now looked old & ragged. In the 2021 pic you can see his fur tufted up at every vertebrae along his back. Growing that rack either took a lot of energy, or else he was rutting his butt off. Whatever the cause, his body shriveled up and his rack grew. He didn't look unhealthy, just old & weathered.
In 2022 he was a no show again until the second week of November. I really had come to terms with the idea that he'd either been killed or died of natural causes. Up until then and barring the 2019 season he had been the most regular buck I've ever had on the property. Day, night, spring, fall, he was always around. He lived a significant portion of his life there. So to see him after an all fall absence I was surprised and happy. He was what I believe 7.5yrs old, which is OLD for a buck in that area. His body looked a little better but his rack shrank in scale. It gained mass & a couple stickers, but otherwise lost width and a little height. He lost some score for sure, but it's not unheard of for racks to peak at maturity then begin declining into old age.
I killed him 5 days after that photo. I suspect he was able to live so long partially because at no point was he ever the biggest buck in the area. I personally passed him two years in a row for bigger bucks, and suspect other hunters in the area did the same. In the years he lived on/near my place I never once saw him with a saggy belly or stumpy looking legs. His neck never was super full and his brisket never hung out much more than it did at 3.5yrs. His rack never exploded or added extra tines. In fact his rack never hardly changed at all except for in scale and brow length.
I first began getting pictures of him in March of 2019, just before he shed is 2018 antlers. My thought then was that he was a pretty normal up & coming 3.5yr old. He sported a 125"ish 10pt rack. That's on the higher side of normal for what I see from 3.5yr olds on that property. I guessed no lower than 3.5 because his chest was developed and face had grown into his ears so they didn't look dumbo anymore. I didn't think any older because his neck was still not quite flush to chest and his body was sleek like an athlete. I see lots of bucks year in and year out on that property and in that first pic he had all the hallmarks of a 3.5yr old.
Then once new nubs began sprouting in summer 2019 he disappeared, which is normal. And he stayed gone which is also fairly normal. He didn't come back at all in fall of 2019, or at least never in front of a camera nor did I see him while hunting. It was fall 2020 when he came back home and he had turned into a brute, although his rack barely changed at all. It gained a little mass & width but generally was exactly the same as 2yrs prior. Other than having a smaller rack than I expected a 5.5yr old to have, his body looked exactly like a beefy 5.5yr old. I didn't get to see his 2019 rack but I assume it was the same. Although I was happy to see him back and alive, I was a wee bit deflated to see just a 130"ish rack on such a big, mature buck.
2021 rolls around and his antlers finally grew. Brow tines sprouted, frame gained a little height and a lot of width. 5.5 to 6.5 was the biggest jump his rack saw, and I am pretty certain was his largest. He now looked like a big buck ... except that his body now looked old & ragged. In the 2021 pic you can see his fur tufted up at every vertebrae along his back. Growing that rack either took a lot of energy, or else he was rutting his butt off. Whatever the cause, his body shriveled up and his rack grew. He didn't look unhealthy, just old & weathered.
In 2022 he was a no show again until the second week of November. I really had come to terms with the idea that he'd either been killed or died of natural causes. Up until then and barring the 2019 season he had been the most regular buck I've ever had on the property. Day, night, spring, fall, he was always around. He lived a significant portion of his life there. So to see him after an all fall absence I was surprised and happy. He was what I believe 7.5yrs old, which is OLD for a buck in that area. His body looked a little better but his rack shrank in scale. It gained mass & a couple stickers, but otherwise lost width and a little height. He lost some score for sure, but it's not unheard of for racks to peak at maturity then begin declining into old age.
I killed him 5 days after that photo. I suspect he was able to live so long partially because at no point was he ever the biggest buck in the area. I personally passed him two years in a row for bigger bucks, and suspect other hunters in the area did the same. In the years he lived on/near my place I never once saw him with a saggy belly or stumpy looking legs. His neck never was super full and his brisket never hung out much more than it did at 3.5yrs. His rack never exploded or added extra tines. In fact his rack never hardly changed at all except for in scale and brow length.
I agree. I can tell maturity level and that's about it unless I'm familiar with the deer. Once they hit 3 or 4 it gets near impossible to pin an exact number.
I've seen 3.5's that seemed to stay 3.5's for years lol. Sometimes a buck just doesn't ever develop the tell tale signs we use to age them. I relate it to my high school reunions. Some guys really age while others don't. Most get bellies and second chins. Some don't. We all look various ways and various ages but actually all the same age from the same place. I suspect bucks are not much different.
