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    #16
    5-6

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      #17
      We had some pics from last yr and pretty sure this deer is 4.5 and will get a pass the next 2yr

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        #18
        Shows what I know. I have been fooled many times.
        One of the smallest bodied deer I ever killed was a mature 5.5 yr old.
        One of the heaviest mass deer I ever killed was only 4.5.
        Y'all have some great deer. Good luck this year

        BP

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          #19
          Originally posted by KactusKiller View Post
          We had some pics from last yr and pretty sure this deer is 4.5 and will get a pass the next 2yr
          Post up last years pics if you have time.

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            #20
            These won't help much on age but all I have on my phone,

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              #21
              Originally posted by KactusKiller View Post
              These won't help much on age but all I have on my phone,
              The color daytime pics show his head and face much better in these pics. He has the face of a 3 yr old in the first pic. He still has a lot of width in the brisket area between his shoulders though. I wavered when I first looked at the pics of him when I opened the post and my first instinct was to say he was a 5 yr old. I almost went back to a 4 yr old, but stuck with my first instinct. I have had a few bucks fool me from night time TC pics only to look much older laying on the ground. This is one that will get some different ages and from more pics.

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                #22
                ^i agree, on a deer with his potential I don't mind erroring on the low side tho

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                  #23
                  I agree with 4.5. He hasn't beefed up yet and still has that young look. Straight back and underdeveloped brisket. His pot belly tells me he is a healthy 4.5


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                    #24
                    Just looking at this years pics I would argue all day he's 5.5, after looking at last years pics I see I would have been wrong...

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by KactusKiller View Post
                      ^i agree, on a deer with his potential I don't mind erroring on the low side tho
                      Good looking deer. What's the verdict on the droptine deer?

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                        #26
                        Originally posted by KactusKiller View Post
                        ^i agree, on a deer with his potential I don't mind erroring on the low side tho
                        I agree. I would not shoot him for at least 2 more years since he is a 6x6. I like to protect 6x6 frames and like to keep them around.
                        I started aging deer in 1990. It was in the Hill Country and I learned over the years that those deer had some characteristics that showed their age. There was also two distinct body shapes-short & squatty and then long & lanky. Those long bodied and lanky deer never showed their age like the short bodied ones. I would always under age them at first. I learned that there were two distinct body characteristics/markings that were almost a 100% correct age guess on those deer on that ranch. It took me about 4 yrs to recognize them and they were accurate. They might or might not work on other ranches I managed. I made a list about 20 yrs ago of what I used as a guide and I had over 20 different body characteristics or markings I could use to age a buck when he walked out.
                        I never quit learning things about deer and deer in different areas. I like these aging threads to see different bucks from different areas. I learned many years ago that some people will look at the antlers then try guess the age of a deer to what they want him to be, not what they think he really is. Aging on the hoof is still a guessing game, but there are some people that a dang good at it. It is still fun to get feedback on what others see in a deer.

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                          #27
                          Texashunter56 what where the two characteristics that you found to be most useful in aging the deer on your ranch? I'm looking for advice to become better at field aging. Thanks.

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                            #28
                            Originally posted by Arrow Slinger View Post
                            Texashunter56 what where the two characteristics that you found to be most useful in aging the deer on your ranch? I'm looking for advice to become better at field aging. Thanks.
                            For that deer herd it was the ears and hooves. The ears had a ring of black hair around them till they hit 5 yr old. It was then all white hair. It was almost 100% correct on aging that particular deer herd. It was a good aging characterstic on some other places but not 100%. The older a buck got the less black hair around the outer edge of the ear was showing when they looked at you. To me it was more of like the aging in people, darker hair when they are younger to grey hair as they age. The second thing was the older bucks 5+ would get a more distinct line of white hair in-between their hooves and around the top of the hoof it self. Those same bucks also got more of a more pronounced "white sock" on their feet as they age. Again this was mainly with that herd. The one other thing that was pretty accurate was the size of the white throat patch. At younger ages they patch was small and tight to the bottom jaw. With age on the buck it was larger in size and went down the throat more. Harder to see that unless you had history with the buck. There are a lot of other things I looked at also.
                            Here are pics of two bucks to show the black hair around the edge of the ear and then less of it as he aged. The first buck was in 2007 and the second pic of him is from 2010. The second buck is from 2008 then 2010. These are bucks off of a different ranch and not from the Hill Country ranch I spoke about above. Just to show how the black hair around the ear edge is less they age. That aging technique would not work for the most part on this ranch. It was good on a lot of deer but not enough to use it 100% of the time.
                            Last edited by texashunter56; 01-10-2018, 09:01 PM.

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by texashunter56 View Post
                              I agree. I would not shoot him for at least 2 more years since he is a 6x6. I like to protect 6x6 frames and like to keep them around.
                              I started aging deer in 1990. It was in the Hill Country and I learned over the years that those deer had some characteristics that showed their age. There was also two distinct body shapes-short & squatty and then long & lanky. Those long bodied and lanky deer never showed their age like the short bodied ones. I would always under age them at first. I learned that there were two distinct body characteristics/markings that were almost a 100% correct age guess on those deer on that ranch. It took me about 4 yrs to recognize them and they were accurate. They might or might not work on other ranches I managed. I made a list about 20 yrs ago of what I used as a guide and I had over 20 different body characteristics or markings I could use to age a buck when he walked out.
                              I never quit learning things about deer and deer in different areas. I like these aging threads to see different bucks from different areas. I learned many years ago that some people will look at the antlers then try guess the age of a deer to what they want him to be, not what they think he really is. Aging on the hoof is still a guessing game, but there are some people that a dang good at it. It is still fun to get feedback on what others see in a deer.
                              I ageee on the discussion, there isn't too many tines when I post a deer that I don't have a pretty good handle on their age. I just like the discussion more than anything. In the case of the drop tine I posted I am 95% confident in his age being 6.5+ but sometimes you just want feedback from a variety of others. That's why I also usually ask for feedback on why a deer is believed to be a certain age. That way my self and others can learn what characteristics to look for. It's def not an exact science and every deer ages different and you have to use a lot of different features on the deer to determine age. One of the best is watching a deer in person And how he reacts with other deer. I use almost a checklist, if enough of the features qualify them I put him in that category. If you only look at neck, back, gut, brisket it can sku your decision. Those factors can vary greatly with time of yr, health and just skeletal frame. As Brandon"BoneThug" says, some deer just has that look!

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