Jawbone Age.....

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What makes you say 2.5? The picture may not show up right, but to me it is a clasic 3.5. The dentine on the first molar is wider than the enamel but not on the second molar which would mean not 4.5. He also shows some wear on the top of each molar. It sin't a lot but isn't sharp like a 2.5yo. I know that tooth aging is only a minimum age, and 100% sure that he isn't 2.5. However, from my limited experience, I call it 3.5 which is what I thought he was as well. Just curious why you say 2.5.......
 
From the pics it looks 2.5 to me also, but I'm on my phone and the pics are small. Is this from the buck you posted not long ago ?? If it is I have serious doubts he's a 2.5 yr old lol.
 
1 thing folks tend to forget is where the deer were killed at and what the soil is made up of, sandy soils might make teeth wear more than others , like bigger body bucks the farther north you go for the same age class can fool folks into thinking older deer imo .
 
On that particular jawbone, there is very little wear on the 3rd premolar, slight wear on M1. The correct textbook answer is 2.5.

I will say this, however...

This is a great example of why you have to learn the wear pattern on your local property based on prior years trail cam pics... if you had pics of him last year as a 2.5 y/o, then again this year of the same buck and you thought he was 3.5, then he most certainly is 3.5. If over the course of several years you see this same wear pattern, then you will be better able to age your local deer. ie, slight wear on M1 may be indicative of a typical 3.5y/o in your local herd.

Honestly, on my farms, that would be the case. After killing numerous 3.5 and 4.5 y/o's that we've been able to trace back to 2.5 through trail cam pics, I've found slightly less tooth wear than the 'textbook' age.
 
Agreed. I'll try to get a pic comparing him to a known 2.5yo for the same area. By body size, structure, and antler size, he's at least 3.5, but the wear shows no older. I know antler size doesn't matter, however, he was way above average for a 4.5yo in the area as he scored 140".
 
I need to post a rack of a 2.5 y/o I picked up dead 3 years ago. He was 2.5 based on trail cam pics, I put him off limits that year. Prob shot and lost by the neighbors, as I picked him up 40 yards from the property line the following turkey season. He was a mainframe 11 with a droptine... scored 135". Jawbone confirmed 2.5
 
By toothwear, 2 1/2. Not enough wear on the first true molar. Plus, the premolars display very little wear at all.
 
Here's an example of an exceptional 2.5 y/o...


The buck on the far left we thought was 2.5... I put him off limits to all adults.

We passed on him a few times that season... I wanted to vomit when I found his carcass the following spring turkey hunting. Gross score 135". I no longer have the jawbone, but it was classic for 2.5





 

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