Hal The Slayer
Well-Known Member
Bam Bam can you tell them to smile so I can see their teeth!
Age this guy.
- Thread starter bamban
- Start date
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Will do, boss
THE SHADOW
Well-Known Member
2.5
Gobbler256
Well-Known Member
2 or 3 at the most. He needs 2-3 more years to reach his potential
TX Badger
Well-Known Member
Yep, trying to cull free ranging deer is a waste of time. Only thing you may be able to do take an old bully off your land to make room for a young stud with more potential. You can't manage the genetics.Bottom line is if you want big deer you have to let them grow........Even the "cull" bucks will often turn out pretty nice if you let them reach maturity. We have found that shooting "cull" bucks before reaching maturity does not the reduce the number of these bucks you will see the next year. We now only shoot bucks that must be a minimum of 5 1/2 and it has made a huge difference.
Five years ago we took over a place in the Texas Hill Country that's not really known for huge deer. The place had been shot out and most of the bucks we did see were 2 1/2 with the occasional rare 3 year old. I was appointed "wildlife manager" of the group (6 of us on 2500 acres) and decided we were only going to shoot does the first 4 years. It was hard to do and ****ed some members off but they are sure glad now that we stuck with that plan. Last year the biggest buck we took off the place grossed just under 170".......and I think he was a 4 year old deer
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shooter53
Well-Known Member
can you get him to smile
Wild guess, good 2 yr old or averagish 3 . Like others have said, teeth tell the tale for the most part. Here in Central ga , we got deer imported from the coast, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Texas years ago. Its a crap shoot to age on looks . I've seen 5 yr olds verified that look like 2 yr olds. I've seen bucks that had huge bodies and decent racks age at 2.5 . The brisket and back sway/pot belly are good indicators of maturity , but just to deferentiate between immature and grown deer .
Starlite
Well-Known Member
Straight back, no belly, frame is still quite small (from the best I can tell) - no older than 3 1/2 - probably 2 1/2.
Starlite
Well-Known Member
My avatar is a big old "jaws" that was captured on my trail cam last fall. He's a biggy that's likely a 4-1/2. I've seen a big ole WTD taken down 3 Seasons ago that the guys thought he was around 10-1/2 to 12-1/2. Biggest dear I've ever seen was also last fall while bringing my FIL lunch to his road build site. Was an ole non typical that had to many points to count. He came out of the heave bush. Looked at us as if to say "this is no place for a road" and then sauntered back into the woods. We stared in disbelief.
AKINGE
Member
3 year old, but teeth are the best way to be sure.
Creedmoorcarl
Active Member
3-1/2 yr old
