New buck

[Shed Hunter]

Haven't seen this one yet

 

[lafn96]

Very nice! I know legs that appear short are an indication of age, but that buck doesn't look that old to me, maybe 4.5 y.o.? He just looks short to me, but there's nothing there for a size reference.

 

[BSK]

Great rack for what looks like a 3 1/2 year-old.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Very nice! I know legs that appear short are an indication of age, but that buck doesn't look that old to me, maybe 4.5 y.o.? He just looks short to me, but there's nothing there for a size reference.

I would assume young myself, but it'll be a few weeks before I start giving really guesses.

 

[Ski]

Not to be contrary but that deer is not young. He's ancient. Where else have you ever seen tiny Shrek ears on a 3yr old deer? Even a 4yr old? Doesn't happen because the big blocky head it takes to make ears look that small only comes from years & years of fighting, rubbing, and growing new antlers. His deep chest cavity and long snout support old age. In fact the only thing that looks young about him is a skinny neck & fresh coat. I'd say this buck peaked years ago and is well along his downward slope. I bet his teeth are smooth as a baby's butt, likely why his neck is so thin. He can only eat greens & soft beans anymore.

 

[lafn96]

Not to be contrary but that deer is not young. He's ancient. Where else have you ever seen tiny Shrek ears on a 3yr old deer? Even a 4yr old? Doesn't happen because the big blocky head it takes to make ears look that small only comes from years & years of fighting, rubbing, and growing new antlers. His deep chest cavity and long snout support old age. In fact the only thing that looks young about him is a skinny neck & fresh coat. I'd say this buck peaked years ago and is well along his downward slope. I bet his teeth are smooth as a baby's butt, likely why his neck is so thin. He can only eat greens & soft beans anymore.

Not doubting you, but wanting to learn. I don't see the pot belly, the big sway in the back, or as much loose skin in the brisket that I'd expect from a very old deer. I've heard of pockets of very small deer in TN, and was wondering if this may be one.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Nice deer. His rack seems somewhat "bladed" too

 

[Rem7600]

Haven't seen this one yet

I would guess a hefty 3.5 very difficult to not take him. He needs another year maybe 2

 

[Rem7600]

Not doubting you, but wanting to learn. I don't see the pot belly, the big sway in the back, or as much loose skin in the brisket that I'd expect from a very old deer. I've heard of pockets of very small deer in TN, and was wondering if this may be one.

Was all my thoughts, very interesting what ski said about the ears. The 2 biggest things for me is his back and belly and snout say 3.5.

 

[BSK]

Field-judging age through body conformation is not an exact science. It is far more an art form. And having experience with aging deer in a given location is a huge help. Field-judging the age of bucks in summer is even more difficult. The "rules" of field judging are are not present in summer (they are based on buck body conformation near the rut).

But on that buck, I'll stick with my original age until I see a picture of him around the rut.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Not to be contrary but that deer is not young. He's ancient. Where else have you ever seen tiny Shrek ears on a 3yr old deer? Even a 4yr old? Doesn't happen because the big blocky head it takes to make ears look that small only comes from years & years of fighting, rubbing, and growing new antlers. His deep chest cavity and long snout support old age. In fact the only thing that looks young about him is a skinny neck & fresh coat. I'd say this buck peaked years ago and is well along his downward slope. I bet his teeth are smooth as a baby's butt, likely why his neck is so thin. He can only eat greens & soft beans anymore.

This is why I enjoy watching more so than hunting. It becomes particularly enjoyable talking about deer with others, sharing my opinion, listening to theirs, age guesses, score guesses, how big will he be next year? Etc... then seeing how variable everything is. None of its exact. There's no written rule saying this deer can't be 1.5. He could be 10.5. I like to think man he must be a nice 3.5 year old and he's going to grow 25" next year. Unlikely and it won't be the first time I expected a big antler growth but saw a decline (even from a young deer) but he could even show up next year as a 170" deer

 

[Shed Hunter]

Field-judging age through body conformation is not an exact science. It is far more an art form. And having experience with aging deer in a given location is a huge help. Field-judging the age of bucks in summer is even more difficult. The "rules" of field judging are are not present in summer (they are based on buck body conformation near the rut).

But on that buck, I'll stick with my original age until I see a picture of him around the rut.

As much as the scrape I'm getting a fair amount of activity (this buck included) browsing on the deadfall tree with dried leaves. I actually was hoping breaking them shorter wouldn't startle them. Quite the opposite. They love it. Are dry hanging leaves a preferred food source of deer? Or are they just inspecting the difference?

 

[Shed Hunter]

Very nice! I know legs that appear short are an indication of age, but that buck doesn't look that old to me, maybe 4.5 y.o.? He just looks short to me, but there's nothing there for a size reference.

Adding size references to photos is something I'm going to start venturing into. My wife has photo editing software she can scale match and combine images with. A deer standing alone can be incredibly misleading. I always assume deer up here in Ohio are bigger than what I'm used to in TN but that's not the case. Even up here a lot of bucks are well under 200lbs

 

[Ski]

Not doubting you, but wanting to learn. I don't see the pot belly, the big sway in the back, or as much loose skin in the brisket that I'd expect from a very old deer. I've heard of pockets of very small deer in TN, and was wondering if this may be one.

All the conventional wisdom related to field aging bucks revolves around their rut bodies rather than summer, and it stops at peak maturity which is 5 or 6 years old.

But how many people have seen 8, 9, or 10yr old bucks still healthy in the wild? Of those how many have seen multiple, enough to establish an average for what they should look like? Fact is there is no standard protocol for aging a very old buck. But there are some tell tale signs such as the ears.

Ears are same size throughout the deer's life from birth. No matter how big he gets his ears won't grow. I challenge anyone to find pics of a 3.5yr or 4.5yr old buck with ears as small as the OP buck. Most 5.5yr old bucks don't yet even have ears that small. While I don't have a crystal ball or magic 8ball telling me the buck is old, I can deduce that he fits neither the young buck nor mature buck standards, but has traits only seen in very old bucks. So that's what I will settle on unless I see something convincing otherwise.

 

[Ski]

This is why I enjoy watching more so than hunting. It becomes particularly enjoyable talking about deer with others, sharing my opinion, listening to theirs, age guesses, score guesses, how big will he be next year? Etc... then seeing how variable everything is. None of its exact. There's no written rule saying this deer can't be 1.5. He could be 10.5. I like to think man he must be a nice 3.5 year old and he's going to grow 25" next year. Unlikely and it won't be the first time I expected a big antler growth but saw a decline (even from a young deer) but he could even show up next year as a 170" deer

I hope you kill him. I want to see his teeth! I think he and his rack are bigger than they look. Hopefully you get to see him next to another deer for reference, hopefully a 3.5yr old.

 

[Shed Hunter]

I hope you kill him. I want to see his teeth! I think he and his rack are bigger than they look. Hopefully you get to see him next to another deer for reference, hopefully a 3.5yr old.

I only have one other buck on that camera and I'm a little shocked at this.. I thought he was bigger than this myself.

I think what may be the issue with this buck is actually dwarfism. You guys likely know more about it in deer but I would speculate just like in humans it leads to unique proportions all around

 

[cbhunter]

Not to be contrary but that deer is not young. He's ancient. Where else have you ever seen tiny Shrek ears on a 3yr old deer? Even a 4yr old? Doesn't happen because the big blocky head it takes to make ears look that small only comes from years & years of fighting, rubbing, and growing new antlers. His deep chest cavity and long snout support old age. In fact the only thing that looks young about him is a skinny neck & fresh coat. I'd say this buck peaked years ago and is well along his downward slope. I bet his teeth are smooth as a baby's butt, likely why his neck is so thin. He can only eat greens & soft beans anymore.

Couldn't agree more on this one being over the hill. His right eye is what caught my eye making me think "he looks old"

 

[BSK]

But how many people have seen 8, 9, or 10yr old bucks still healthy in the wild?

I get to see them, but only very, VERY rarely in TN. How old is the buck in the below pictures? I would guess around 8 or 9.

 

[Ski]

I think what may be the issue with this buck is actually dwarfism. You guys likely know more about it in deer but I would speculate just like in humans it leads to unique proportions all around

You might just be onto something. He may a dwarf, or possibly piebald with no discoloration. Something is off about that deer. I still think he's old but he still has weird proportions.

 

[Ski]

I get to see them, but only very, VERY rarely in TN. How old is the buck in the below pictures? I would guess around 8 or 9.

No idea how old he is. Im not sure how you could even guess after they get that old. He for sure looks aged though.

I don't know for sure ive ever seen a deer in TN live past 5yrs. I'm sure it happens but it's much more rare than up north where the OP deer is. On my place up there it's common to see deer live to 6yrs old and seldom but not rare 7yrs. Sometimes much older but I don't see it much on my place in the steep hill country.

 

[BSK]

No idea how old he is. Im not sure how you could even guess after they get that old. He for sure looks aged though.

I don't know for sure ive ever seen a deer in TN live past 5yrs. I'm sure it happens but it's much more rare than up north where the OP deer is. On my place up there it's common to see deer live to 6yrs old and seldom but not rare 7yrs. Sometimes much older but I don't see it much on my place in the steep hill country.

In TN, in ridge-and-hollow or mountain regions, I almost never see them live to 7. In fact, 6 is somewhat rare. Life chasing does up and down those steep inclines is just too hard on them. They succumb to rut stress.

However, in farm country, a different story. In fact, the above pictures were from flat farm country in TN, on some of the best soils in the state (for antler growth).

 

[lafn96]

I only have one other buck on that camera and I'm a little shocked at this.. I thought he was bigger than this myself.

I think what may be the issue with this buck is actually dwarfism. You guys likely know more about it in deer but I would speculate just like in humans it leads to unique proportions all around

That is very, very interesting. This is one I'd definitely have aged; hope you get him!

I don't think I've ever shot one older than 5.5; and only have ones I thought were older than that on camera.