deerhunter1224

I had what believe was a yearling deer pass right by my stand. I have heard that when a deer is alone like that its a yearling. Its hard to tell when you are up 16' up in the stand weather or not its a deer that was born this past spring. I just have a thing about killing a deer that young. It looked pretty small so I decided to to shoot it.

jrbsr

One way to know is look at its legs.

If the legs look to long for the body size it means that it is very young.

A older deer will have short looking legs

Because like people after they get older there bellys get big lol

And there backs will look saggy.

A young deer will have a strong looking back thats straight and not saggy.

I hope this helps.

Good Luck Hunting

jrbsr

EASTXHUNTER

Muscle tone, big gut, eyes not on the side of his face, big top notch, if you see an old deer you know its old, if you see a young deer, and your not sure if hes old, then hes young (does that make sense)

beulahboy

the biggest thing that helps me to not pull the trigger is to look at the deer's forehead and nose. If the forehead is round rather than sloping, it is a very young deer. That has always kept me from putting a baby on the ground.....

cardeer

Everyone answered you so the only other way is CARD IT

Timbawolf98

if the nose looks really short, you are looking at a young deer for sure

GaDeerHuntr

Also check the rear end, as mature doe will have a rounded rear end while a young deer will have a squarish rear end. Also if the ears look to big for its head(sorta like mule ears) than usually its a young deer. If you are hunting with a scope checks it head and look for buttons.

Coastie

There is actually no such thing as a yearling at this time of year, they will be 5 months old, 17 months old, 29 months old etc. Most fawns are born in June to insure that they will be large enough to survive a winter. There are exceptions to the rule as there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part all fawns will be born within 7-10 days of each other during June. A small deer by itself at this time of year could be a 5 month old seperated from its mother due to any number of circumstances or could be a 17 month old likewise seperated from its normal running mates. Does will chase this years fawn away for a short time during estrus, but will normally get back together with them afterward. Bucks at this time of year,especially those in the 17 month old category, will be with bachelor groups of 2-5 animals as a general rule. Again, all rules have exceptions. The bachelor bucks will begin to break up into singles in the next week or so depending on the area of the country you live in for the rut. The advice in the other posts is excellent information on aging deer on the hoof and experience will help. There is an issue of the American Whitetail (I believe) that has a good pictorial layout of deer, bucks in particular, at various ages which could be helpful to you.

beulahboy

Coastie, here in NW FLORIDA, the rut doesn't come in till late January into early Febuary- so your theory on when fawns are born may be a little suspect for our region. I have seen plenty of mighty little fellas in late September while getting food plots prepared.......

Coastie

Re-read my post, I said there are exceptions. Alabama and Arkansas also are noted for having late ruts, but in general, the rule holds.
deerhunter1224 is from Indiana, if they have a late or second rut it will likely occur in December which still allows the Does' body to allow the embryo to be implanted (depending on her physical condition) in the uterus in January which results in a birth in June.