Bill Yox I need a little help on aging this Tennessee buck ...he only had 3 teeth left and they where all in the bottom jaw ...any idea to his age? I was also wondering what you thought of the tannning method CroTan ...not sure I spelt that right ...

dd

First off, when they age deer through tooth wear, theyre looking at the molars, not the incisors. Look all the way back to those teeth. I cant explain it accurately enough here, but its based on how worn the tooth is, the buccal crest, lingual crest and the dentine line. Personally, I dont put too much faith in tooth aging, other than years 1, 2 and 3. Thats when the third premolar casts the three cusp baby tooth, the permanent molar errupts, and shows first time wear. After that its purely a crap shoot as to estimating the wear on teeth, and theres too many variables. Most of us eyeball the teeth, PLUS look at many other indicators, like hooves, body condition, size for that area, damage to ear edges, etc. To look at your buck, he doesnt appear to be overly old. Guys will tell you theyve been chasing the same deer for five years, making it 5 plus years old. More then likely theyre seeing more then one deer similar to the other, typical for areas will similar genetics.

I dont use Krow Tann for deer, but lots of guys do. Ive been comfortable using it with some small game though. You can contact a guy named Brian Harness, he sells it. I hear he has a different formula for deer now...maybe my feelings on it were correct!

Bill as always thank you my friend ... what tanning method would you suggest ...I will be having a local guy do this buck but still want it done right ... if not Krowtan ...what?

dd

You know what they say about "When in Rome..." Itsthe local guyscall, not mine. Personally, I use three tanneries plus two other products for the stuff I do here.