Author: Hunter

The photo above and below is of a nice East Texas buck from Jasper County. Take a look and the photos and make your best guess on the age of this buck in the poll below. Both photos of this buck were taken in mid-August.  The rut will occur around early to mid-November.

What’s the Age of this East Texas buck?

This is a good looking buck for just about anywhere in Texas, especially this year. It’s been a long, dry summer in Texas with triple digits being the norm this year. The buck in the photos looks to be in good body condition and part of that can be attributed to his older age.

This whitetail buck has a darker head, indicating that he’s no spring chicken. In addition, The second photo shows that he’s got some beef to him. It’s important to take into account how early in the season the photo was taken. The submitter of the photo let me know that the rut does not occur in the area until early- to mid-November, so this guy is not quite muscled up yet.

I’m betting that this buck will look a lot like a 5 1/2 year old buck once his testosterone level increases. Then, this buck will shed that velvet, get a little pissed off, and put on some serious muscle mass. Antler wise, I think this measures up to about 123-125 inches. Thoughts?

This trail camera photo is of whitetail buck that hails from the Louisiana, the state known as the Sportsman’s Paradise. According to the hunter, this buck lives in an area in Louisiana with fair nutrition, although neighboring hunt clubs do not practice deer management of any sort.

This photo was taken during primary rut. So, take a good look at the photo, then tell us the age of this buck.

How old is this Louisiana Buck?

I suspect most of you answered that this deer is not a young buck. If so, we are in agreement. In fact, the hunter that submitted this photo said, “I feel this deer is at least 3 1/2, probably 4 1/2 (slight sag in chest, legs looking short).

I agree with the hunter as this looks to be a healthy Louisiana buck that is at least 4 1/2 years of age. The large neck comes in low on the front end. The buck has good depth across the body. In addition, the buck’s head looks short because of its depth.

The head shape alone (short, deep appearance) makes me think this deer could be another year older, and check in at 5 1/2 years old.  Deer with decent nutrition in the southern part of the range can get quite large. Without more familiarity with the area, I’ll say this buck is at least 4 1/2, but could be up to 5 1/2 years old.

This whitetail buck calls Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, home, according to the hunter that submitted the photo. The date on the photo is correct, so this deer is still sneaking around in mid-November. The hunter says that the primary rut takes place in about a month, during mid-December. Age?

Let’ Take a Stab at This Buck

Well, it almost goes without saying that this is not the best photo angle for aging deer on the hoof, but I’ll say it say it anyway. Though there are several things that we cannot tell from the photo, there are at least a couple of things that give us clues about this deer.

First, the first clue about the age of this buck starts with what appears to be a bit of a belly. Bucks don’t usually start putting on a significant belly until about 5 years of age. This second clue goes hand-in-hand with the first, as the legs on this buck look just a wee bit short.

Putting these two pieces of information together makes me think that this buck is at least 5 1/2 years old. Now, this dude could be 6 1/2 years of age, but I just can’t say for sure. Either way, he’s old enough for me. You?

Let’s take a look at this whitetail buck from Texas. The hunter tells us this buck resides in Navarro County, Texas. The photo was taken in mid-October and the primary rut is about a month away, in mid-November. How old is this good looking Texas buck?

What’s the Age of this Texas Buck?

This buck has good body size and sports a really nice set of antlers. In the first photo, we can see that the neck is heavy and connects really low into the brisket, a sign that this guy has seen a few seasons.

The second photo looks similar except that we can see a belly starting to form on this guy. The legs on this deer do not look super short yet, but they are getting there. I think those legs will definitely look short next year if this buck makes it through the hunting season.

With all this in mind, I think this Navarro County buck is 5 1/2 years old. Aging bucks on the hoof is not a perfect science, but enough evidence lines up to make me feel confident about this deer.

Got a question about a buck on your camera? Send it in!

This whitetail buck looks pretty good, but any idea on age? Learning to age bucks on the hoof is something anyone can learn to do. It does take time, and works best when tested with real-life field experience.

Aging this 8 Pointer

The very first thing I noticed about this buck, even before I took a peek at the antlers, was how deep the body on this deer looks. Using context from the photo, we can tell that it is either just before or very early into hunting season. Lots of green grass and the trees, which look to be mesquites, are still holding their leaves.

The neck on this buck comes in fairly low on the front end, but not overly. The deer is obviously in good body condition as it carries mass from the front end to the back end.

The buck also has good basal circumference on his antlers, another tell-tale sign that this deer is not a young buck. All of these physical features in combination make me feel confident this deer is at least 4 1/2 years of age. He could even be a year older, but I do not think he’s any older than that.

From a whitetail management standpoint, this is the type of buck that is often called a management buck; he’s at least 4 1/2 years old but only sports 8 points. A good buck, but for those aiming to improvement their herd he would be one to consider shooting this season. Of course, it all depends on the goals and objectives for a particular property.

This buck is best classified as “camera shy.” He’s a long ways from the camera, barely in the frame, and he’s also looking the wrong way. Here are some background details on this Ohio buck:

• Findlay, Ohio; Hancock county
• Photo actually taken October 2, 2019
• Deer numbers are good. Observed 25 deer in a 60 acre field that butts up against the woods. This pic was taken a night later. Management is minimal. Most bucks getting shot 2.5-3.5 yrs. old. Fields are rotated yearly between soybeans and corn, with cover crop in the winter months (usually rye).
• Rut is typically 1st or 2nd week in November with November 7-10 roughly the peak.

What’s the Age of this Ohio buck?

If you’re out during normal hunting hours and this is the only look this buck gives you, go ahead and take the shot! We can’t make out the details but this photo gives us enough to estimate the age of this Ohio brute.

The physical characteristics that I notice on this buck put this deer beyond the average age of buck harvest in the area, which was stated to be 2-3 years of age. I believe this Ohio buck is at least 5 1/2 years of age.

First, the front end of this buck is very deep. So deep, in fact, that the front legs look short. That’s always a  reliable sign of a mature deer. The buck still looks flat across the back so I don’t believe he is any older.

This Pennsylvania buck is referred to as “Heavyweight” by the submitter, but should this whitetail be on the hit list? The information below will help you evaluate the age of this deer:

• Area: Orbisonia, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
• Details: We have approximately 500 acres that has been managed for the past 5 years. There are multiple food plots and we also do some feeding in the winter. Deer numbers are fairly high as we are commonly getting photos of a dozen does at the larger fields. There are probably at least 3 or 4 does to 1 buck.
• The rut: Chase phase is the last few days of October and the rut continues into the first week or two of November.

Evaluating the Age of this Pennsylvania Buck

So we’ve got two different photos of this buck to look at and neither has the buck in the ideal position for estimating age on the hoof. We can tell, however, that this buck is neither very young nor very old.

The buck appears to be 3-4 years of age. The photo is taken well before the rut, so I would expect the deer to “muscle up” some more prior to the rut. This will make the deer look heavier and will add some age to his appearance.

My gut is telling me this Pennsylvania buck is 4 1/2 years old, but I may be overestimating the age of this deer by a year. To best evaluate the age of deer on a property, maintain photo records (game camera photos) and then age deer using tooth wear and replacement after harvest.

Aging deer using tooth wear is not a perfect science, but it will allow the hunter/manager to correlate the physical characteristics of local bucks with their estimated age based on tooth wear. Developing a catalog of bucks over the years will allow for improved age estimation.

Aging this Nocturnal Buck

Okay, we can say with certainty that this is not the ideal camera angle when it comes to determining the age of this buck. But, we can say with certainty that the deer is not young.

The buck’s body is just too deep from the front end to the back end. The neck does not come in at the very bottom of the brisket, but we have to keep in mind that the photo was also taken in August. This deer will muscle-up prior to the rut and that muscling could literally change the picture.

That said, this buck looks to be a solid 4 1/2 year old deer. Come hunting season, however, he may have changed enough to warrant adding on another year.

I can make a case for shooting this buck this year form a management standpoint. He’s at least 4 1/2 years of age and only has 6 points, so he fits my criteria of a management or cull buck. This may not be the case for every person or every property, but for me, this deer has lived long enough.