Age this jaw

[Chance Love]

Thanks! Not really arguing. Just harvested a deer based on physical characteristics of what a mature deer appears to look like and once we pulled the jaw we suspect that it was much younger based on teeth wear so thought we would try the option of using the cementum annuli aging to determine age method if it was worth it just to see how old he might have really been.

This is really the whole problem (not with you, but with the "system"). Jaw bones are notorious for showing a younger age than what the deer really was. I'm gonna guess you thought the deer was pretty old on the hoof. Teeth probably showed 5 to you, much younger than you thought the deer was. The cementum annuli test probably showed the same thing. BUT, that test is based off the same old aging charts we all grew up with. Here's a couple examples for you...this year on my lease we killed a couple bucks that we knew were 9-10 years old based on history. We have watched each buck for 5-6 years. They were 4-5 years old when we started watching them (based off physical characteristics). Both jaw bones showed 5, per the chart. Now, if we did not KNOW these bucks and they just showed up one day, we would have likely called them 5 or 6 year olds because that is what they looked like on the hoof. And the teeth would have supported that. History is SO important. My point being...the aging charts and that test just do not show the true age. Period. Don't beat yourself up over what the results were. Keep shooting old, mature looking deer and have fun!

[Aggiehunter08]

Ageing by teeth is a waste of time. Aging by trail cam pics is the way to go

[Daddy D]

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread... but, I’ve been wondering what the green screen thinks about this jaw. How old??

[GarGuy]

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread... but, I’ve been wondering what the green screen thinks about this jaw. How old??

I think he had a great dentist. All dished out but every tooth there and healthy.

[Daddy D]

I think he had a great dentist. All dished out but every tooth there and healthy.

From what I can see, no cavities either.

[GarGuy]

From what I can see, no cavities either.

That's what I meant by healthy. On my place that deer would be ten plus.

[Daddy D]

I’m interested in what the book says on the jaw though.

*looks over at ToT for an opinion*

[panhandlehunter]

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread... but, I’ve been wondering what the green screen thinks about this jaw. How old??

6.5

[Greenheadless]

Cementum annuli was found to be 60% accurate lol. So if I just call all 8pts 4 because they have 4 points on a side, I guarantee that would be 60% accurate. I'm back to point aging for sure.

[Greenheadless]

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread... but, I’ve been wondering what the green screen thinks about this jaw. How old??

Only slightly missed the extension of the dinosaurs.

[Red_RaiderHTC]

Dentine vs enamel Wear shows 3.5 but pretty flat tops. Possibly 4.5!

[Top Of Texas]

I’m interested in what the book says on the jaw though.

*looks over at ToT for an opinion*

I intend to start several threads on the subject in the coming months. Check back after February.

In the mean time, I continue to be surprised by those who attempt to discredit the applicability of tooth wear while demonstrating a lack of understanding of the methodology. As well as placing faith in aging based on trail cams despite research that shows it to be less "accurate" than tooth wear.

The photo shows that only tooth #4 is fully dished, although the center ridge is thin on #5, this would make the deer 6 years. Whether 6 years is exactly right or not, we know for a fact that bucks peak when they have #4 or #4 and #5 fully dished. We also know that physical characteristics of body conformation coincide with this tooth wear. So, regardless of the deer's actual years, this deer was killed at an age where we could expect it to have peaked in antler size. Point being, good job!

[Chance Love]

Apologies to OP for hijacking the thread... but, I’ve been wondering what the green screen thinks about this jaw. How old??

Just going by the "book", those teeth show a 6 year old. He was likely 8+.

[Daddy D]

This deer was 15 years old when it died. I know this because we bought the deer as a 1.5 year old and released it onto our ranch where it lived for 14 more years with a tag in its ear.

[RMW]

https://c.tenor.com/Lf0AI9L4jqEAAAAM/throw-book-what-the-hell.gif