I see all kinds of questions of people asking about aging deer, and I'm just straight bad at it. What are a 2-3 things I can focus on to have a better idea. Sadly I just wait for a group and try to pick out the largest for the shooting window I have (I only get one 3-4 day trip per year at a non-managed low fence friends place)

1) All deer are X.5 years old. Always.

2) If someone asks you how old a buck is that they think is "mature", your answer is always 3.5 years old. You don't even need to look at the picture/deer. Just rest assured it is actually 3.5, no matter how much they tell you it's 6.5.

3) Schrodinger's Deer: If you judge a buck to be X.5 on the hoof, and decide to shoot him, there are 2 immutable laws you must remember. If you kill the buck, he will instantly become 2 years younger. If you miss, he will instantly become 2 years older. The actual age of a deer is actually (X.5 +\- 2), depending upon the state of the observer. So, the average buck in Texas is both 2.5 and 6.5 at any given moment.

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Aging deer is tough and takes a lot of time in the field in my opinion... I would try and find articles online or in print (a few good books out there on this too) that help point out the tips along with pictures and accurate ages. This should help identifying the key things.

When you're out in the field, I would focus on a few of these things for quick reference:

• What does the stomach look like - does it curve up towards the hindquarters? Does it sag down? Is it parallel with the back and straight across? Older bucks usually have more of a potbelly. The younger the deer is, the more lean it tends to be. 3.5-4.5 tend to look the most athletic, to me.
• What does the neck look like - when broadside, where does the lower neck appear to connect to the chest? Is it in line with the shoulder (1/2 way up the chest)? Is it deep into the brisket (almost looks like neck just merges with the brisket)? Does the neck touch the top of the chest? Mature bucks tend to have necks that merge into their brisket and can have a looser look to the skin there.
• Legs - Do the legs appear thick and short in relation to the body? Do they seem tall and skinny? Older deer have bigger bodies and thicker legs. The length doesn't change but it appears that way in relation to their body size.
• Nose - How long or short does the nose look on the deer? Shorter the nose, aka "Roman Nose", the more likely it is a more mature buck. Again, this isn't the nose actually changing, just the length of it in comparison to the neck.

I am sure many other folks can chime in and add some great insight. Until you spend a bunch of time doing this in the field and then actually pulling teeth and jaw aging to more accurately validate your field assessment, this is all just a best guess.

Good luck!

What TTHA says. ... Great post and spot on.

Really young or really old is usually pretty easy to distinguish, 3.5 to 5.5 can be a challenge as you learn . There are some good flash cards and posters available online you can order. The post above is spot on and it is definitely a guess, not science, but you will get better at if you use as many resources as possible. Just look at the pictures posted on this forum and the wide variation of age guesses. I have had a few biologists say , look more for pre mature( young) mature, post mature. Don't worry about exact age .

Great post!

Another thing that I would add is to look at behavior. This is useful in determining if a buck is a still skinny 3.5 year old or a post-mature 7.5+ year old. As shown on another recent post here, many can't tell the difference with body type alone.

The older buck will move slow & stiff... won't chase does as much and will not seek out to fight much (or at all) He will be a cautious & wary dude. Ears may be tattered from battles & body may have scars. Note: this is not a determining factor, but another piece of the puzzle to observe.

The younger buck will spar with similar sized bucks, trail does & generally be more active & reckless. They will roam far & wide in search of tail.

Funny how bucks & man have similar characteristics.

If you are only hunting once a year on a low fenced non managed property don't worry about age. Shoot was is legal and makes you happy.

Well said. Another good post!

I don't know.... we have 2 sections in the heart of the Ozarks. The mind set and culture there is much like you suggested. So the average age of bucks harvested is 1.5 to 3.5 so very rarely is a really exceptional buck killed.
We don't even bother to hunt it much unless we just want good meat.
Neighbors are funny. We will go see them and they will have forked horns and basket 6 points hanging up but they say "Well we got our bucks this year"! ... and they are happy.
Whatever makes em happy I guess.

Distilled down, if they look young they probably are. They don't grow big (and old) when they are dead.

Awesome, thanks! That's exactly what I was hoping to get at. I have fun and always come back with meat, was more of a way to further what I choose to take or to be able to make better guesses at the "age this deer" posts.

Never judge a deer's age solely on a game cam picture if you are making a "hit list" for others to shot and never judge a deer by itself out in the field if you are planning to shoot it. This really only applies if you have goals of only shooting older mature deer or post mature bucks. As others have said how they move around and how they interact with other deer is important in determining age in pre rut conditions.