I have several friends that believe a decent number of bucks die of old age. Their thinking, once a buck gets so old he becomes almost impossible to kill. I disagree. I believe that they get smarter with age but i don't believe that even one buck a year in my county dies of old age (if that).

That really depends on where you’re from. I would say that your friends are more right than you are. Sorry.

I agree with you!! I don't believe that any buck is impossible to kill. Actually, they facehunters, other predators, disease and illness. With that said, I just don't think that many of them make it to old age.

There are just too many things working against them.

Depends how old your talking abought ???
Eventualy deer start loosing there hearing , eye sight , get a little slower ,not including any old wounds from m, getting shot , hit by a car , or back buck to buck or predetor fight ???ECT..
Not saying they get dumb , just start going down hill .

When they say old age we are talking 10 to 12 years old, if they die in that age group I will directly contribute their demise to "old age". I just cant believe in my mind that a buck can survive that long in normal hunting environments.

In nature, dieing of old age means that you become slower than the predators. I don't think many deer die in their beds of a heart attack or a stroke.

So if a 35 year old man dies in bed from a heart attack is that contributed to old age? I dont think there are too many things other than man that preys on a mature buck where i live even if he slows down he is still kickin some coyote azz. I was questioning the life span of a buck in the wild, and weather or not they reach that 10 to 12 year range. Not dying from natural causes

If we're talking about a biologically old deer (over 10 years old) then it definitely depends on where you're living. Remember that in a lot of places over 70% of buck harvests are deer that are under the age of 2.5 years. That being said, with that many harvests of young bucks, its nearly impossible for a lot of bucks to make it past the 3.5-4.5 yr old range. Of course, I'm sure in some areas out west where the hunter-per-square-mile ratio is much, much less then it is possible for deer to reach this old age and perish merely due to "old age"

Yes I feel that some die from old age. Why would they not?

I would agree that quite a few deer die of older age, meaning they lose a step and are taken out by predators or weather, etc. I don't think that too many die from a heart attack, or just lay down and die in their sleep or something like that.