Age a jawbone please
 

Anyone care to guess the age of this jaw bone? Its off of my euro mount I did yesterday..I'll post pics of the deer after a few people guess at it...

Looks young to me as the teeth don't have much wear, still sharp and pointed. I would guess 2 1/2 and no older than 3 1/2

4 1/2 - 5 1/2

I'd say 5 1/2 yr's old too.

From the teeth we know the deer is at least 2 1/2 (third molar has 3 cusps) (aging beyond that requires closer examination).
But, I would guess not much older, contrary to what we would like to believe, The chances of a deer living to 4 1/2 is rare and one making it to 5 1/2 is very rare, Not that they can't we just won't let them. Doc

Looks pretty young to me still. Maybe 2 1/2. Teeth aren't worn too bad. Still look pointy.
-Jake

I think 2 1/2 years old

I would say 1 1/2 years old!

I only see 2 cusps on the 3rd toof, looks like the 6th toof is in all the way.

Okay guys,Im going with 2 1/2 just because i've see his body,but you can't judge a deer by their rack where I hunt in East TN,I live up in the MTNS and we have very rock and sandy soil,pretty much no top soil at all and no ag fields..While we do produce some pretty good deer,its just not a common thing,while this is a little smaller than average they are bigger ones on average in the area,I'd say an average mature deer will go anywhere from 100-115 anything over that is considered huge in this area..

doh!!! is it too late to recant? i am guessin now that that is the 6 th toof jus barely comin in?

Testing has shown that the only way to accurately tell the age is to cross section a tooth and count the rings.

Not to be a know-it-all, but the 6th tooth is the 3rd molar, all the teeth (molars/premolars) have 2 cusps until the deer is 2 1/2, then the 3rd molar will have a well developed 3rd cusp on the 3rd molar,
So without a question this deer is 2 1/2 maybe 3 1/2, (or older) because after 3 1/2 it takes close examination to determined the age. My guess would be 2 1/2 Doc

I think some of the other pictures show the 3rd molar better

I would totaly agree!! Up to 2 1/2 pretty easy, after that it becomes more a guessing game. Doc

I would have guessed in the 2 year old area, great looking deer!

watch this, and lets talk "3 cusps" on the 3rd tooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaVjWsmkRgA

Yes, I know that, but that is on a FAWN and this is obviously not a fawn. Lets look at this deer jaw and see what it tells us!! the 3rd premolar has 2 cusps (that tells us it is over 1 1/2 years old)( if it had 3 cusps it would be 1 1/2 or younger, a fawn) It has 3 cusps on the 3rd molar (that tells us it is AT LEAST 2 1/2 years, the size of the 3rd cusp could be an indicator of 3 1/2 (but no bets). again not trying to be a smart A$$, Doc

Bush....that deer is at least 2.5 because the third cheek tooth (starting from the front) only has 2 cusps. A 1.5 yr old would have 3 cusps on the third cheek tooth. To determine if he is 3.5 you need to go to the 3rd cusp of the last cheek tooth. IF the back cusp is not flat then the deer is 2.5. If the last cusp is flat and shows any dentine (brown color) then he's at least 3.5.

By the way Bush....forgot to mention....what an awesome shot. Congrats!!!

naaaa mannn.. i dont think you are..i am eager to learn...i was thinkin you were talking bout the 3 cusps on the pre-molar before, but i see what you are saying now...by the back part (3rd cusp)of the 6th toof being slightly exposed tells us he is at least 2 1/2 , and with the 4th toof being rounded down and the 5th and 6th toof cusps are still peaking, would put it right at about 2 1/2 years old?

also...is it the same aging does?

To halfbaked and everyone else...

There's clearly a lot of methods circulating about aging deer using the wear-replacement method. I want to share with you guys a method that my boss has developed...all indications say it is very reliable. This method narrows it down to one tooth per age...

When aging it's best to start at 0 years and work your way up...saying this deer is AT LEAST 1.5, 2.5, etc.

Fawn: Anything that has less than 6 cheek teeth is a fawn.

At least 1.5: If a deer has 6 cheek teeth and a tri-cusped 3rd cheeck tooth (3rd pre-molar) than the deer is at least 1.5

At least 2.5: If the 3rd cheek tooth has 2 cusps that deer is at least 2.5.

At least 3.5: Now look at the 3rd cusp on the 6th cheek tooth (3rd molar). If the last cusp is flat and you can see dentine (brown color, enamel is white) then that deer is at least 3.5. If the 3rd cusp on the last cheek tooth is not flat, your deer is only 2.5.

Now it starts to get interesting.

At least 4.5: Look at the 4th cheek tooth. If the dentine is wider than the enamel all the was around the perimeter of the tooth then that deer is 4.5.

At least 5.5: Look at the 5th cheek tooth. If the dentine is wider than the enamel all the way around the perimeter of the tooth, then that deer is 5.5.

At least 6.5: Same deal as 4 and 5, this time look at the 6th cheek tooth.

*Note: Once you get into the 4+ age range it is usually best to start classifying them in 2-yr age groups (ex: That deer is 4.5-5.5, or that deer is 5.5-6.5). There's simply too much room for error at those ages....even experts disagree. Best thing to do at that point is remove an incisor and send it in for testing.

However, the method I just outline can be very reliable aging deer up to the 3-4 yr old age range. As you can see, you only have to look at one tooth per age.

An yes, halfbaked, the same principles apply for bucks as does.

Thanks guys for taking the time to look..Thats what a hornady fpb bullet does at 40 yds..

[QUOTE=glew22;3582740]To halfbaked and everyone else...[QUOTE]

Thanks, very interesting, I am going to save that, I really don't age deer very often and never clamed to be very good, when I was young (many moons ago) the oldtimes always had to age the deer and some of the methods were really strange, but yours is very good Thanks Doc

I think it was Mississippi State or Auburn, one of the schools that has a deer research program, took a number of deer that were tagged, no doubt about their ages, removed their jawbones, and had a number of deer biologist/specialist examine the jawbones to determine the ages. Very few of the deer were aged correctly by examining their jawbones.

I'd have to agree, there are way too many factors that can alter a deers teeth. Most people claim to be experts but unless you are a biologist that specializes in deer I think most are just educated guesses, just look at the range of ages we got off this post.

I think aging by the teeth can give a pretty good idea of the age of the animal, but it certainly isn't science, but I think it is good enough for the average hunter. I think it should also be noted that in areas that receive regular hunting pressure, finding a deer that is 4 1/2 or over is not very likely, I might be wrong but I don't think I am. Doc