Age this deer... Looking for opinions.
10-09-2007, 08:38 PM
#34
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest suburbs, Illinois
Posts: 2,075
RE: Age this deer... Looking for opinions.
That buck is without a doubt 3.5 and perhaps a bit older even. But 3.5 yr. old would just about be my best estimate.
A 2.5 yr. old will have much more of a squared head. A thin body with practically no sagging belly.
Neck size is not determined by age. Neck size develops as the breeding season draws nearer. Even a 1.5 yr. old will get a larger neck.
A 2.5 yr. old will have much more of a squared head. A thin body with practically no sagging belly.
Neck size is not determined by age. Neck size develops as the breeding season draws nearer. Even a 1.5 yr. old will get a larger neck.
10-09-2007, 08:45 PM
#36
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: The OH-IO
Posts: 7,103
RE: Age this deer... Looking for opinions.
ORIGINAL: dukemichaels
That buck is without a doubt 3.5 and perhaps a bit older even. But 3.5 yr. old would just about be my best estimate.
A 2.5 yr. old will have much more of a squared head. A thin body with practically no sagging belly.
Neck size is not determined by age. Neck size develops as the breeding season draws nearer. Even a 1.5 yr. old will get a larger neck.
That buck is without a doubt 3.5 and perhaps a bit older even. But 3.5 yr. old would just about be my best estimate.
A 2.5 yr. old will have much more of a squared head. A thin body with practically no sagging belly.
Neck size is not determined by age. Neck size develops as the breeding season draws nearer. Even a 1.5 yr. old will get a larger neck.
I just have a hard time calling him 3.5 from these photos....
Like I said a visual will tell me everything I need to know.
10-09-2007, 08:48 PM
#37
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 21,043
RE: Age this deer... Looking for opinions.
Neck size is not determined by age. Neck size develops as the breeding season draws nearer. Even a 1.5 yr. old will get a larger neck.
Interested in hearing if this is not correct.
10-09-2007, 09:04 PM
#39
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest suburbs, Illinois
Posts: 2,075
RE: Age this deer... Looking for opinions.
No Jeff.. you are correct. A 3.5 yr. old will more than likely have a larger neck than a 1.5.. (usually).
I was just commenting on someone's earlier evaluation on the neck(s) of the first picture being to small and therefore the deer was .. (I forget what he put). I was merely stating how the size of the neck has little to due with age.
The difference in late sept. is usually not too much between a 2, 3, 4, even a 5+ yr. old. Not to mention that deer are as different from one to the next as you and I and some 2.5 yr. olds will have bigger necks than some 4.5 yr. olds. Some deer (like humans) are more passive and some more aggresive.
The pic. can be deceiving... but the ear size, antler mass, elongated roman nose, starting to droop belly and chest all signal to me the presence of a deer reaching the biologists version of an adult deer. That is.. one being of 3.5 or older.
I was just commenting on someone's earlier evaluation on the neck(s) of the first picture being to small and therefore the deer was .. (I forget what he put). I was merely stating how the size of the neck has little to due with age.
The difference in late sept. is usually not too much between a 2, 3, 4, even a 5+ yr. old. Not to mention that deer are as different from one to the next as you and I and some 2.5 yr. olds will have bigger necks than some 4.5 yr. olds. Some deer (like humans) are more passive and some more aggresive.
The pic. can be deceiving... but the ear size, antler mass, elongated roman nose, starting to droop belly and chest all signal to me the presence of a deer reaching the biologists version of an adult deer. That is.. one being of 3.5 or older.