I'm sure its obvious that there must be some correlation between beam length and age, especially in the first 2-3 years of a buck's rack.

I got to thinking about it, because I was trying to estimate ages of deer taken, from the racks we had at camp, some from over 20 years ago. Some are obviously 1-1/2 yrs old (1st rack) others are obviously older. These racks are from deer before we used to keep records of this type of information. I was simply trying to discern between 1-1/2 and 2-1/2+ deer.

For example, one rack is from a crotch-horn - except the beams are 15" each. The diameter near the base is nothing special, but seems to be in line with 1-1/2yr old deer (on the high end of known deer). I have another rack known to be 3-1/2yrs old, that was only a 6 point, with 17" beams - but that rack is obviously heavier than any 1-1/2yr old and most 2-1/2 yr olds. These deer were taken prior to any management on the property.

My question to those in the know, is: Are 15" beams outside the normal length for 1-1/2yr old deer? It would usually be the case in my area. I realize that inside spread is likely a better indicator of age in most areas (when you only have the rack to look at). But the deer in our area rarely exceed 16" inside spread regardless of the age.