Field-Judging Buck Age Example II

[TheLBLman]

We're waiting Wes

Me, too! :grin:

Was kinda waiting to hear
what say the BSK before coming back.

 

[MFBAB]

2.5? No bulk in the body, tarsals look pretty clean for late October.

 

[tnclayboy]

5 1/2 +

 

[A/M/G]

Tell BSK to hurry up. It has only been 2+ weeks.

 

[BSK]

I went with 2 1/2.

But I suspect this is a "trick question"

 

[Mike Belt]

2.5....possibly 1.5
At that date he should have been beefed up and ready for the oncoming rut. No swaying back, no pot bellied stomach, small hams and neck, legs appear long with respect to body, slender snout and cheeks, and shoulders seperate from neck.

 

[baller_9]

Looks like a 3.5 to me who's neck hadn't blown up yet for the rut by then. Interested to see what he really is.

 

[BowGuy84]

Ok BSK has chimed in...lets see the pics and get the offical (teeth) age.

 

[TheLBLman]

I went with 2 1/2.
But I suspect this is a "trick question"

Here are the pics with the antlers.
Anyone want to change their answer before I post the jawbone pics?

Actually, this is not a "trick question".
Just a little "learning exercise" intended to help all of us get better at aging live bucks in the field.

And anyone want to guess the gross B&C score of this buck before I post the jawbone pics and the scoresheet?

 

[TheLBLman]

Let me help some of you.
The below was posted in another thread, but hope our friend BSK doesn't mind my emphasizing it again here:

. . . . . let me emphasize that field-judging age is an art and not a science.

Second, when field-judging buck age, always, always, ALWAYS ignore the antlers. I've seen 80-class yearlings and 80-class 5 1/2 year-old bucks. Antlers will fool you more often than any other feature. Just look at the body.

In fact, at least for me, the two most important and consistent body characteristics to look at are the length of the legs in comparison to the vertical thickness of the body, and the juncture of the neck with the front of the shoulders. Those two characteristics seem to be the best for judging TN bucks.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

100 inches

 

[baller_9]

116 gross

 

[buckhorn40]

2.5

 

[Mike Belt]

OK, how old is he?

 

[TheLBLman]

OK, how old is he?

Yes, inquiring minds want to know, myself included.

Here's the post-mortem pics with jawbone:

 

[pass-thru]

tough to see the jawbone with all the junk on it but it looks 3.5

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

3.5 what did he score.

 

[BSK]

Yeah, I would go with 3 1/2 on the tooth-wear as well. Looks like I missed the field-judge age on that one. I usually get 4 out of 5 right.

 

[Kirk]

Wesley, just of curiosity, how old was that buck Lance Elam killed
two years ago? He was a hoss.

 

[TheLBLman]

4.5 year old EHD survivor.

Kirk,

You may have just been making a funny, but may have hit the nail on the head, too.

At the time this buck was taken in early November, based mainly on his neck, he "appeared" to be 4 1/2 years old. The teeth were more suggestive of 3 1/2.

But here was the most "noteworthy" thing about this particular buck:
He only field dressed 107 lbs.

Gross typical score was 116 1/8.


[color:#000099]

Wesley, just of curiosity, how old was that buck Lance Elam killed
two years ago? He was a hoss.

I aged him at 5 1/2 or older.[/color]