This is a topic that I have been thinking about for some time now and I wanted to get some insight from the board. I know that many of you are practiced in the aging of deer. From what I understand the main aspect taken into account is wear on the teeth of a deer. I have seen numerous jawbones removed for aging purposes, but have never been involved with the actual aging process. Now for a few questions and points that I am curious about.

Is dental wear the only feature of the animal used in the aging process?

Wouldn’t the major elements of a deer’s diet be a major variable in the rate of wear of a deer’s teeth? Example: If deer A lives in Iowa and the main staple of its diet is corn and deer B lives near a suburb in Florida a mainly forages on gardens and green leafy plants. Wouldn’t deer A show significantly more dental wear than deer B at the same age? Also wouldn’t the sugar content of the main staples in the diet potentially play a factor (tooth decay)?

Would the animal’s calcium intake come into play? Wouldn't calcium deficient animals may be more susceptible to dental wear.

Finally, is it possible that a method of aging could be derived from skull thickness or bone density? I know that many of you have noticed, as I have, that there is significant difference between the skull thicknesses of a yearling versus that of a mature animal. (I understand nutritional intake and the availability of vitamins and minerals would affect this also.)

These are just a few questions that I thought I would throw out there and see if anyone had any insight on this topic. It is amazing the thing that go through your mind when you’re sitting out there in a tree stand.

I know we have a member in hear that is a wild life bio but I cant remember the name sorry but hey good questions i wish i could help ya i just kill em and grill em dont matter what age to me

The only reliable method to age a deer in the field is through tooth wear and replacement. And once a deer gets to be about 3-4 yr's old, it's more difficult. The diet doesn't seem to make much difference. Soils do. Deer from sandy areas have faster tooth wear than deer from loamy or clay soils. More grit in their food.Deer seem to favor one side of the jaw or the other for chewing. One side will wear faster than the other. You really need to look at the whole lower mandible to do a credible job of age estimation. thickness of bone can verybetween individual deer and is not a reliable measure of age. A buck generally has more muscle mass than a doe, so chances are their bones will be larger, thicker, etc. even in the same age class. I've looked at hundreds of deer jaws, I've never seen tooth decay in any of them, regardless of diet.

Field Judge A Deer This is the time of year we get lots of calls ...


Aging Deer

when out in the feild you can givev a quick age guess bt looking at the snout the longer and skinnyer the younger the deer alson if the deer has a sag in its back it is an old deer.

Thats some interesting info.