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I've heard that u can get a general idea of how old deer are by the color of there antlers. The darker they are, the older the deer. I've been using this method of ageing deer for a while. I just wanna no what everyone else thinks of this method.

I don't now how surfire it is but I agree that most of the older
bucks seem to have darker antlers. Some of the young ones almost
appear white. I think it also depends on what part of the country you
are in. Just my thoughts....

I don't think the color of the rack has much to do with the age of the deer. I just got a buck that had a pretty white rack, but the age of the deer was about 4 1/2 years old. At least thats what my taxedermist said. He judged the age of the deer by it's teeth.
Check this website out, it will help show how the deers teeth change as their age progresses.

http://www.whitetails.com/deer_info/age_determination.cfm

I think that deer with darker racks live in more shady habitat and / or rub on trees that can stain their racks darker. I believe the opposite for deer with lighter racks. I think that they hang out in more open areas such as crp fields and such where they get more exposure to sunlight wich can lighten their racks. There is more to it than this, but this is just the general idea.

I have never found a single indication about rack color and age. I've seen young deer with both dark and light antlers as well as older deer with both, dark and lighter antlers.

There is no relationship between age/color in antlers.

I found a small 3 point shed last year the was dark chocolate! So I don't think age has anything to do with it! JMO!

To my knowledge antler color is relitive to a deers diet. Canada, dark soil dark antlers, just a thought.;)

I think its likely genetic & what they eat maybe but has nuthing to do with age. I got a little 3 point last year with dark chocalate colored antlers & doubt he was even 1&1/2 but he mighta been.
I dont know how personally but you can age them by their back teeth. Fella at the check station here does it for his own information. Me, I couldn't care less usually how old a deer I tag is. If I get a nice buck I'll ask the guy what he thinks, other than that I care more how much meat I get than how long its been around.

I dont believe there is any rhyme or reason for a deers antler color except for maybe genetics. I was hunting this past fall over a corn field on my private land and watched a herd of does and two very nice deer, one with very dark antlers and one with large pearl white antlers push these does around in the pre-rut. I know that both of these deer are living in the same habitat and using the same food sources so i dont know if those factor into it or not. Just my two cents.

Nope, no relation that I have noticed. The buck I got this year has a chocolate rack and his teeth age him at 3 1/2. Tooth wear is the only method I know to properly age deer.

Quote:

ORIGINAL: MOTOWNHONKEY

Nope, no relation that I have noticed. The buck I got this year has a chocolate rack and his teeth age him at 3 1/2. Tooth wear is the only method I know to properly age deer.

Is it wear or how many they have? Like I said, I dont know but thought he was counting the back teeth.

Antler color comes from the type of plant species that the deer rub on. I have harvested a couple bucks right after they have shed their velvet. The boneis almost completely white due to the lack of rubbing. Even whenbuck rubs off hisvelvet he begins to add color...I also have these bucks sheds from the year or two prior. The sheds conversly are much darker due to the bucks abilty to rub. Rubbing puts the color on antlers. Here I see a variety of antler color. Bucks that rub predominately on pines/fir are brown and white. Cedar rubbed antlers are reddish brown and willow and poplar rubbed bucks have dark chocolate antlers here. I have found from scouting specific bucks that they tend to find a sapling species of choice and usually stick to that type of sapling. I believe they take a liking to certain cambium odors.

One other observation. From finding hundreds of shed antlers I have always noticed younger bucks rub less. I believe this could have to do with increased testosterone levels of older bucks versus younger bucks. Most of my 3.5 year old and older buck sheds are covered with color, not always but most are........ on the contrary almost everyone ofthe young buck sheds I have found are partially colored. I don't think these 1.5 year olds and 2.5 year olds are as aggressive in their rubbings, don't get me wrong they rub and rub plenty but the bigger older bucks seem to really prepare more intensly for the rut imo.. just my 2 cents..

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Antler color comes from the type of plant species that the deer rub on.

I am not sure about this.

I have seen pen raised deer with only a few trees to rub and antler coloration can vary greatly.

yeah i dont think the color of the rack has much to do with the age of the deer..my dad shot a really old deer this year bout 4 and a half years old..whiter than snow rack...i shot a smaller 5x5 this year about 2 2 and half years old this year and had a really really dark chocolately colored rack..i think it has more to do with the surroundings the bucks are in as to what color there antlers are..like i agree with greg h..whatever trees they rub on give them that color of rack..if you want to know the age of your deer id take a look at the teeth..i think thats the most accurate..

I really dont agree because it seems it depend on where you are and the deers genetics and nutrition. Canadas deer seem to have alot of dark colored horns. I dont know for sure, just my opinion.

Leverdude, it is the wear of the teeth that ages them not the amount of teeth.

It could be diet, genetics, whatever . . . but it's not age related. I've seen young, small racked deer with dark antlers and with light colored antlers. And I've seen some real bruisers, mature deer with large racks--bothwith the darkor light colored antlers.

But couldn't small rack deer just be older buck that are past there prime?:eek:

Deer are typically aged by how many teeth, and wear on those teeth. There are certain molars they get at certain ages, after they get their last molar then the only real way is to look at wear.
Any deer aging tool will show you this.
At a point in a bucks life the body shape plays a huge role in aging from a far, the heavier the chest and sagging belly line will help greatly in judging this in the field with a buck standing for you to judge. Hunting.net may even have this info somewhere with picks.
Here is one with drawings but I have seen some with actual picks of various aged deer in the wild.
http://www.1atexasdeerhunting.com/bodyagingdeer.htm

Deer antlers may be colored by several things but most of the time deer that bed in open swamps with alot of sunlight or fields with alot of sunlight will have bleached type racks, white or very light yellow. Bucks that bed in some deep thickets where sunshine is minimal will most always have dark racks.

a week ago I was out retrieving a duck I shot in an open marsh, I walked through some high weeds and jumped a 8 pointer with about a 19 to 20 inch spread about 50 yards from "land" and his rack was very white looking. I saw a good buck come out of another field type swamp this year while bow hunting and his was the same, very light. Where I normally bow hunt it is very thick and the bucks seen there sometimes you have to glass late in the eve just to see if they have antlers at all, at dusk it is hard to tell because their racks tend to be dark.

You can't age by antler color because antlers take on color all depending on what the deer rubs after velvet. If he rubs lots of small pines and gets lots of sap on his antlers then rubs thick barked hardwood trees his antlers will take on a dark or yellow color. It all depends, but color can't be used to determine age.

Icame across this info surfing the the web the other day..Racks question to me about the penned deer got my attention....this info belowseems to make sense..It looks like a couple factors play into over all antler color..they are stated below..

Oxidized blood/local plants - antler color depends partly on the amount of oxidized blood left over from velvet shedding and partly on a chemical reaction between the blood and sap from plants on which the antlers are rubbed.

I don't think color of antlers have anything to do with age. I live in Mt. and deer here deerlive in diff. areas and have diff. color antlers. Muleys that live in the ceder will have dark antlers because they rub on ceder and they get sticky and collect dirt. The deer that live in open country will have light colored antlers. I have seen deer with no teeth and have light colored antlers. This is just my opinion.

I found this to be very interesting reading.It answers about the coloration and other things.I am sure you will enjoy it.

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The development of antlers is one of the most researched aspects of white-tailed deer. Antlers are outgrowths of the skeletal system and are composed primarily of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals. Deer antlers grow from an area on top of the skull known as the pedicel, which is attached to the burr, or base, of the antler.
Bucks develop and shed new antlers each year. Antler growth may begin as early as mid March. Increasing daylight in spring stimulates production of hormones such as prolactin and antlers quickly emerge. The growing antler, which is the fastest growing form of true bone, is covered with a soft, hair-covered membrane known as "velvet". The velvet is interlaced with numerous blood vessels that transport and deposit minerals that build the antler. During this time, antlers are vulnerable to injury, which may result in deformation. Antler growth usually continues into September, when the bone hardens and the velvet dries and is removed.
Antler coloration is determined by the amount of stain received from hemoglobin of the blood in the velvet, and from juices of tree bark on which antlers are rubbed. Some bucks begin to strip the velvet from their antlers while there is still an active blood supply, while others wait until the velvet has dried completely. Antlers exposed to more blood will normally have a darker stain. Antlers exposed to moisture and sunlight will bleach out over time. Once shed, antlers begin to deteriorate from the effects of moisture and sun. In addition, rats, squirrels and even deer themselves will chew on antlers.
So, what makes deer antlers? The answer is very complex. Antler development is affected by nutrition and genetics, with nutrition being the greater role. Nutritional intake is used for the growth of antlers only after the body growth requirements are met. To achieve optimum antler development, deer must have nutritious food available in large quantities.
Sportsmen are always eager to learn how to increase the size of antlers for deer on their property. They often ask, "What should we plant to give deer better antlers?" Unfortunately, the increased use and commercialization of wildlife plantings have caused many sportsmen to mistakenly view such plantings as a cure-all for deer management. However, deer management is complex with many variables to consider. Supplemental plantings are of some benefit, but deer need nutritious forage year round to produce good body condition and antlers. It is important to remember that antlers are growing during spring and summer when many annual plantings are long forgotten. Naturally occurring spring and summer foods can be enhanced by prescribed burning before spring green-up and by fertilization, mowing and disking.
Producing better antlers goes beyond good habitat management. Proper harvest management is also a necessity. To ensure an abundance of high quality food, herd size must be kept within carrying capacity of the land. This often requires harvest of antlerless deer. Another prerequisite for large antlers is age. Body requirements use most of the nutrients taken in during the first couple of years of a deer's life and antler growth is restricted. Allowing young bucks to make it to the older age classes will greatly enhance their chances of growing a large rack.
As you can see, many factors including diet, genetics, age and herd management affect development of the white-tail's crowning glory--antlers. The next time you observe a deer's antlers, remember this amazing cycle of nature.

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