Oldest deer ever harvested??

[Vabowman]

I read an article in D&D Hunting that said the oldest deer ever shot was in Alabama, 23 yr old buck!!! Second was a 21 yr old doe!!! Can't remember where the does was. They said in the article that there is really no such thing as a dry doe, rare to see a doe that cannot reproduce. Who knew?? Not me!!

[Schultzy]

I don't know If I agree with the dry doe part these folks are implying on. My dad lives in Northern Minnesota, they feed the deer corn every winter in a big bird bath about 10 yards from the house. (Its really neat watching them this close). Anyway they have a doe thats been coming in for 17 years straight now. She don't have a tail so thats how they know its her. Dad told me that she hasn't had a fawn now for at least 5 years. When these old doe's get old, allot of times I don't think they have any fawns. I'm guessing they still get bred but I think all of the energy goes into keeping themselves fit, thus they never have the fawn. In the Northern States I think it fits better with what I said because of the harsh winters.

[IAhuntr]

ORIGINAL: Schultzy

I don't know If I agree with the dry doe part these folks are implying on. My dad lives in Northern Minnesota, they feed the deer corn every winter in a big bird bath about 10 yards from the house. (Its really neat watching them this close). Anyway they have a doe thats been coming in for 17 years straight now. She don't have a tail so thats how they know its her. Dad told me that she hasn't had a fawn now for at least 5 years. When these old doe's get old, allot of times I don't think they have any fawns. I'm guessing they still get bred but I think all of the energy goes into keeping themselves fit, thus they never have the fawn. In the Northern States I think it fits better with what I said because of the harsh winters.

I guess "no more tail" means "no more tail"??

[MO_Bowhnter]

That's amazing, a doe can live 17+ years up in your harsh climate. Do you think she would make all these winters if your dad wasn't feeding her?

I was watching the QDMA show that featured a buck they raised in high fence captivity with all the best supplemental feed and documented it's antler growth. It lived til 12 and died of a bone disease.

[Vabowman]

Maybe Schultz, I always thought that a doe got too old to breed at some point..

[shed33]

Oldest buck may be this years, still waiting to hear back.. 8-10 was the estimate..

[GMMAT]

I was always under the impression that their life expectancy was around 12 yrs.

That's amazing......23 yrs.

[Rhody Hunter]

I didn't know they could live that long ? a buddy of mine got a buck thus year that the state said it was about 12 1/2 because the teeth were so worn down and that it was one of the oldest they had seen. they felt he did it a favor because they said it probably wouldn't make it through the winter

[PA Hardwoods]

I shot a doe in central pennsylvania about 3-4 years ago that was aged by a game commission biologist that was aged at 6 1/2yrs old. Here in PA they don't get to live that long in the wild. She did have a young deer with her when I shot her though. I wish I would have gotten her jaw bone but it was an afterthought and never did get it.

[nchawkeye]

How do they know that was the oldest deer ever killed???

Might have been the oldest ever recorded...Seems there were some pretty good deer hunters here before we were......