I see threads on here every day with bucks that are not mature with many many opinions on them being mature. My question is this.... What do you call mature? Secondly let all share pictures of "Mature" and " OLD" bucks for others to see.
First lets define what mature means for a White-tailed deer..... a buck is mature when he reaches "skeletal" maturity.
Whitetail bucks generally reach skeletal maturity at 4½. Most biologists refer to bucks 1½ to 2½ as young or immature, 3½ to 4½ as middle-aged, and 5½ or older as mature. I feel there is a BIG diference between a "mature" buck and a "OLD" buck. Mature doesnt always mean they have reached there antler growing potential. Actually quite the opposite, once they reach skeletal maturity they put forth much more effort in growing anlters each year. In some exteme cases bucks have grown their largest set of antlers at 10 years old. That is actually more of the extreme example with 8 years old being more of a actual age to target. Today's 8 year old is what the 6 year old used to be, due to the fact that so many more places are feeding protein. Nowadays toothware is showing bucks are living longer and growing bigger at ages never thought possible.
I recently had an indepth discusion with many of my peers in the hunting/ranching/deer circle. We all agreed that the majority of the hunting population have rarely seen a true mature buck. Much less seen bucks that reach 7,8,9 and even 10 years old.
I am very blessed to work in an enviroment that allows me to see, study, view, hold and discuss deer on a daily basis. I probably look at over 100,000 pictures each year, hours and hours of video and visually see bucks on a daily basis. I'm no expert by any stretch and in fact I make humbling mistakes each year. I am a student of deer and the day I stop learning about them is the day I'll have to hang it up. I can say without a doudt that of the 3 key factors(age, nutrition and genetics) in managing whitetails " AGE " is paramount. When you get age on bucks you can truly see maximum potential. Building a mature age class in your herd is a strategy that has proven results. Below are examples of bucks that are beyond mature and some would be considered old. There are so many things to look at on a mature/old buck. There is NEVER just one identifier in determing age. IMO the most important thing is history and knowing your herd. Bucks are like humans in that some age better than others. But I will say this..... A old bucks will look OLD no matter what angle or situation your in. I hear guys say all time that he looks old in some pictures and not old in others. If thats the case he probably isnt as old as you think.
Keeping your age classes in check allows a nutritionally and socially healthy herd, and it is only achieved when mature bucks are present.
Start determining what mature is to you and your management plan.
Some examples and identifiers when determining age of bucks.
Classic 5 year old...
3 year old multi pointed buck. Still slighty skinny, no barreled chest. He also runs with a large group of 2 and 3 year olds. Most young bucks run in big bachelor groups. The older they get the less friends they have. Also I notice certain bucks have the same friends each summer. They can be real cliquish....haha
A long legged 3 year old.... DOn't make the mistake and kill him.
Look at the Callouses on this 7 year old.
6 year old on the left and a 8 year old on the right. one on the right shows some age with his low hanging ******.... seriously I look at how they hang to help in aging. The older they are the lower they hang down.... Also notice both of these bucks are showing good calouses on their knees. These callouses really start to show at 5 years old. Its a good indicator for a lot of bucks in determing maturity.
7 year old. triangle nose, long body, full chest. He looks mature but not old. Also notice his hair is not as slick as younger bucks. Older bucks get scarred more and their hair can be more mangy looking.
Another healthy 4 year old.... Bucks like this are what make or break you. Shoot him this year and you just shot your 180+ buck in 2-3 years.
This is a perfect example of a "Mature" Buck he's a 6 year old.
Big Burly 4 year old with antler damage
PRIME 4 year old... he looks like a "RACEHORSE" this coming season he will be all over the place rutting and pushing other bucks around. He's a huge body buck that will show all the others he excited about being alive. LoL
Classic 5 year old...
Triangle shaped nose, deep barrel chest. This is a 7 year old buck.
Look at the callouses on this 7 year old bucks knees.
OLD OLD OLD..... way past his prime. We've hunted him for the past 2 seasons. Believe me or not he jumped the high fence last year while we were hunting him pretty hard. He jumped back over later in the season. Too bad he had broken some points when he did. Old bucks are something else, I would love to see what he looked like 5 years ago.
7 year old buck... Lots of identifiers on this one... other views show scars which I look at as well. Not many young bucks have scaring due to fighting.
Triangle nose on this 7-8 year old buck. We've hunted him for 3 seasons. He also has a busted right eye. Ussally a good identifier for mature bucks from being in some serious fights.
3 "MATURE" bucks None are OLD but all are 5-6 year olds
Another OLD one... probably an 8 year old typical buck. He has a torn ear on the other side. Torn ears are a good identifier for older bucks. Ive seen young bucks with torn ears but it is a rarity.
First lets define what mature means for a White-tailed deer..... a buck is mature when he reaches "skeletal" maturity.
Whitetail bucks generally reach skeletal maturity at 4½. Most biologists refer to bucks 1½ to 2½ as young or immature, 3½ to 4½ as middle-aged, and 5½ or older as mature. I feel there is a BIG diference between a "mature" buck and a "OLD" buck. Mature doesnt always mean they have reached there antler growing potential. Actually quite the opposite, once they reach skeletal maturity they put forth much more effort in growing anlters each year. In some exteme cases bucks have grown their largest set of antlers at 10 years old. That is actually more of the extreme example with 8 years old being more of a actual age to target. Today's 8 year old is what the 6 year old used to be, due to the fact that so many more places are feeding protein. Nowadays toothware is showing bucks are living longer and growing bigger at ages never thought possible.
I recently had an indepth discusion with many of my peers in the hunting/ranching/deer circle. We all agreed that the majority of the hunting population have rarely seen a true mature buck. Much less seen bucks that reach 7,8,9 and even 10 years old.
I am very blessed to work in an enviroment that allows me to see, study, view, hold and discuss deer on a daily basis. I probably look at over 100,000 pictures each year, hours and hours of video and visually see bucks on a daily basis. I'm no expert by any stretch and in fact I make humbling mistakes each year. I am a student of deer and the day I stop learning about them is the day I'll have to hang it up. I can say without a doudt that of the 3 key factors(age, nutrition and genetics) in managing whitetails " AGE " is paramount. When you get age on bucks you can truly see maximum potential. Building a mature age class in your herd is a strategy that has proven results. Below are examples of bucks that are beyond mature and some would be considered old. There are so many things to look at on a mature/old buck. There is NEVER just one identifier in determing age. IMO the most important thing is history and knowing your herd. Bucks are like humans in that some age better than others. But I will say this..... A old bucks will look OLD no matter what angle or situation your in. I hear guys say all time that he looks old in some pictures and not old in others. If thats the case he probably isnt as old as you think.
Keeping your age classes in check allows a nutritionally and socially healthy herd, and it is only achieved when mature bucks are present.
Start determining what mature is to you and your management plan.
Some examples and identifiers when determining age of bucks.
Classic 5 year old...
3 year old multi pointed buck. Still slighty skinny, no barreled chest. He also runs with a large group of 2 and 3 year olds. Most young bucks run in big bachelor groups. The older they get the less friends they have. Also I notice certain bucks have the same friends each summer. They can be real cliquish....haha
A long legged 3 year old.... DOn't make the mistake and kill him.
Look at the Callouses on this 7 year old.
6 year old on the left and a 8 year old on the right. one on the right shows some age with his low hanging ******.... seriously I look at how they hang to help in aging. The older they are the lower they hang down.... Also notice both of these bucks are showing good calouses on their knees. These callouses really start to show at 5 years old. Its a good indicator for a lot of bucks in determing maturity.
7 year old. triangle nose, long body, full chest. He looks mature but not old. Also notice his hair is not as slick as younger bucks. Older bucks get scarred more and their hair can be more mangy looking.
Another healthy 4 year old.... Bucks like this are what make or break you. Shoot him this year and you just shot your 180+ buck in 2-3 years.
This is a perfect example of a "Mature" Buck he's a 6 year old.
Big Burly 4 year old with antler damage
PRIME 4 year old... he looks like a "RACEHORSE" this coming season he will be all over the place rutting and pushing other bucks around. He's a huge body buck that will show all the others he excited about being alive. LoL
Classic 5 year old...
Triangle shaped nose, deep barrel chest. This is a 7 year old buck.
Look at the callouses on this 7 year old bucks knees.
OLD OLD OLD..... way past his prime. We've hunted him for the past 2 seasons. Believe me or not he jumped the high fence last year while we were hunting him pretty hard. He jumped back over later in the season. Too bad he had broken some points when he did. Old bucks are something else, I would love to see what he looked like 5 years ago.
7 year old buck... Lots of identifiers on this one... other views show scars which I look at as well. Not many young bucks have scaring due to fighting.
Triangle nose on this 7-8 year old buck. We've hunted him for 3 seasons. He also has a busted right eye. Ussally a good identifier for mature bucks from being in some serious fights.
3 "MATURE" bucks None are OLD but all are 5-6 year olds
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