Help me age this guy….
- Thread starter redblood
- Start date
GumbyGuy
Well-Known Member
What a tank!
Wanted to think he was an older one but he's not sway backed or pussle gutted. He sure is solid from chest to hindquarters
So I'm not sure 3 -4 year
I still might be off
Wanted to think he was an older one but he's not sway backed or pussle gutted. He sure is solid from chest to hindquarters
So I'm not sure 3 -4 year
I still might be off
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
No one can say for sure but he's not 3.5. Why take him out of the herd? Unless he's a rack-snapper or there aren't enough groceries, live and let live. He's not hurting anything. Let a kid shoot him and fully appreciate it. He's no more a cull buck than a 1.5 year old spike.,
At least 4.5 but I am almost certain 5.5+
Neck don't match body but they ain't all perfect examples
Neck don't match body but they ain't all perfect examples
I'd guess he's 4.5 minimum.
Mainly for the sake of knowledge. I need his tooth. I will certainly use him meat - but im trying to learn -to a higher level - the physical and behavioral changes a buck goes through as he ages and this has been interesting with the saga of this deer and his mistaken identity buck. i will post some pics. This is not on the big farm i live but rather the smaller piece where i grew up about 6 mikes away. I first got this deet on cam - or at least noticed him in november of 2022. I left the dates on the pics screenshots for reference
Last yr i had lots of pics of him and actually thought i killed him. Last yr he still had the crab claw but had a couple of other points. In my mind he was 5.5 last yr. Got pics after the season to confirm he had survived the 2023 hunting season- 2023 pics- same spot
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ImThere
Well-Known Member
Don't give him a "hint" this year you'll have better luck hunting him! lol.
I think your dead on with age. @6.5
I think your dead on with age. @6.5
And then the next day, old original tank ( i think) strolls down the same scrapeline. I have got him 3 more times on cam since- Including last night.
So a tooth would definitely help solidify or disprove my hunches and reveal a ton about how deer change over the yrs
So a tooth would definitely help solidify or disprove my hunches and reveal a ton about how deer change over the yrs
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Hey imthere. That deer is only about 3 miles from your old house on haskins chapel
ImThere
Well-Known Member
You're probably the only person who would believe the bucks I seen on that little 3 acres. He's a good buck! Honestly, I could see where he could be a few years older. Do you have any pics where you think he's 2.5 or 3.5?
He's not young. Impossible to say for certain how old but that sausage body only comes with age.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Looks 5.5+ to me
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Agree 5.5 minimum
5.5 without seeing the previous year pics. Could be 6.5 based on last years pic.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
IF it's the same deer, he would have to be 6.5...
That being said, the top pics don't look like a 6.5yo. Just doesn't have that 'ols' appearance, and neck isn't a big as it should be for even 5.5.
To me the top buck looks like a classic 4.5yo, fully mature, but not OLD yet. That's what makes me think it's not the same deer you were hunting last year.
That being said, the top pics don't look like a 6.5yo. Just doesn't have that 'ols' appearance, and neck isn't a big as it should be for even 5.5.
To me the top buck looks like a classic 4.5yo, fully mature, but not OLD yet. That's what makes me think it's not the same deer you were hunting last year.
I posted 2022 and 2023 pics in the thread. But this is him last yr
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Same spot. Last yr vs this yr
Look at tge similarities (last ye to this to this year), although he regressed a bit due to
Age or drought
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Outdoor Enthusiast
Well-Known Member
With those two pics alone, I am going to say I think it's different deer. For me, the change in the brow tines is too different for it to be the same buck. I can't imagine age or drought would change them that much.
But it could be th angle is slightly different.
But it could be th angle is slightly different.
Its possible. His weak and strong side did flip
And killing this buck isnt really on the table
For me. I have one tag snd have located a buck of a lifetimr on another farm down the rd , so unless my son kills him (or another hunter on a nearby piece) its all
Speculation anyway
You may be right. Gonna try to talk my son into hunting him. Its hard when their are better bucks running everywhere here but id love to solve the riddle and cant do it without a toofy
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Unless their racks are very unusual or have a certain deformation, it's very hard to track them from year to year from photos. We have a buck that we tracked for 3 years and his rack went from 130 inch 8 to a slightly bigger 9 and then blew up into a 160 inch 10 point. We know it's the same buck because of his knee injury from a gunshot. Otherwise you wouldn't know the deer from year to year. Another buck we tracked for 3 years was a big frame 7 point. His rack never changed. He might have added a little mass. I sent his incisor off for CA analysis and he came back at the age we thought 4.5. Good luck. I hope you get him and report back.
