4.5
Middle aged
Middle aged
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3 with meth mouth?
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2 beings know...God and that deer and neither will ever tell ya. That’s what I tell our biologist. LolOriginally posted by Mexico View PostComment
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When you've seen enough deer jaws you know what a deer that is at least 4 looks like.. That deer has not been 3 in a year or 2.. It makes perfect sense..Originally posted by BrokenJ View PostComment
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4.5
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I forgot I even posted here. I was grumpy about a totally unrelated situation and man it showed in my post. I'm with Taxidermy. The teeth are way to stained to be 3 in my opinion. The thing I'm sure if is that it's at least a middle aged deer. I'm not a fan of "text book" aging. Why? Because I have looked at the teeth of many known age deer in east tx. All the mature deer had teeth that text book aged them 2 to 4 years too young. I'm dead serious about seeing 7 year old deer with teeth just that good.Originally posted by BrokenJ View PostComment
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Exactly.. That is why I tell people, that want me to age their deer's jaw, that this is basically a useless gimmick and the bad that comes from this technique, in the form arguments and lease troubles, far out ways any benefit that comes from this VERY unreliable technique.... Ive aged deer that were known to be 6 or 7 that had tooth wear of a "text book" 3 year old... Man this will cause the $h!t to hit the fan on some leases.. Its a shame..Originally posted by GarGuy View PostComment
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Depending on what part of the state, I would call him 5.5. One thing is he not, is 3.5, I can say that with confidence no matter where he was killedComment
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3 years, or to be all official and scientificy about it 3.5 years
Based on the tooth wear and replacement method, widely accepted by the scientific community, the teeth indicate a three year old. Here's why - tooth number 4, which is the first molar, shows dentine, which is the dark material between the crests, is as wide or wider than the enamel, white stuff, that surrounds it. But on tooth number 5, the dentine is not as wide as the enamel that surrounds it. Thus, the teeth show 3 years old.
In general, deer's teeth wear from the front to the back. But it only appears that way, in reality tooth number 4 is just the oldest tooth in the deer's jaw it has had since being a fawn. Thus it shows the most wear. Teeth number 5 and 6 progressively erupt at years 1 and 2, respectively. Thus each shows 1 year difference in wear.
We know that tooth wear and replacement can miss a deer's actual age. However, this does not negate management applications within the limitations of the method. For example, we can say with a high degree of confidence that this buck had not reached an age to where his antler growth would be maximized.
Problems with the method are created when two things happen. 1) An individual who does not have a clear understanding of the method attempts to apply it. This is evident in comments on this thread. The method has had near all subjectivity removed, meaning everyone should arrive at the same conclusion. 2) The method is applied as a policing measure, often by an individual who is guilty of item number 1 above. As opposed to justification for removal from a hunting lease, it should be used for management and educational purposes to improve those leaseholders decision making.
The margin of error is seldom as wide as is portrayed by those who argue against its use. Very, very rarely will I approach a dead deer and, based on its body size and confirmation, be surprised when I look in its mouth. Those are extreme outliers, not the norm.
Garguy, if you have not yet, I encourage you, again, to contact Dr David Hewitt at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M Kingsville. He would love an opportunity to research the potential influences of region, soil type, fed or not fed, high fence or low fence, or any other variables that would impact the applicability of the tooth wear method. Study sites are key.Comment
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4.5Comment
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I often agree with the info you post. I even agree that it's not often as wide as I said but occasionally the error can be ridiculously wide.Originally posted by Top Of Texas View Post
Now for not being surprised when you look in his mouth... old deer with great teeth often have great conditioned bodies as well. Sunday I killed a deer that I have known for years. He was certainly 7 and probably be 8 depending on whether he was two or three when he got old enough to track. His teeth were txt book 5yr old.
As I record history on my deer I'm astounded at how long deer many live free range East Tx. Right now I have a deer that is at least 14. I have another that is 13. Both look younger this year than last year. I sent a side view of the 14 year old yo a well respected member yesterday and asked if he thought the deer was four. He leaned toward 3!!!
Without history I would have called him 4 even though there were things that bugged me. The other looks classic 5. Would be on the dont shoot list without history. Why do these deer live so long?? Because their teeth dont wear down as fast as other areas of the state.
Before I started keeping history I would have never dreamed a deer could last that long. I would pry his mouth open and pronounce him 6 with great confidence. Maybe he was 6...maybe he was 12.
Tooth aging is the best tool we have on free range no history deer. Its critical that lease managers understand your point. For me? TEETH MEAN NOTHING. I'll go with history when I have it. If I dont have it I realize my margin of error is high enough that I can hold others to it.Last edited by GarGuy; 11-25-2020, 06:16 PM.Comment
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