Cementum results, Oklahoma deer...
Whitetail Deer
Thought you whitetail guys would like to see some age results and the variance in antlers/age between several deer. The first deer is one my wife shot in SE Oklahoma in 2017. The second deer is the buck I shot in 2018. The third is a buck Michael Arnette shot in North Central Oklahoma in 2018. Hopefully Michael will come on and speak about his buck too because it shows again how much genetics are as important to antler growth/amount.
The most glaring thing I noticed was how much genetics make up the growth of antlers. Not that it was any secret, but the two bucks my wife and I shot are a prime exampe that even at similar age, they don't always grow the same amount of bone.
The first is my wife's buck from 2017 and was aged at 4.5
This is my buck from 18' and was also aged at 4.5...
Great post! Very insightful info. Cool!
Should of given him another year Rick. He would of been a monster this year. That being said I could not sure I could let him walk on by. Nice bucks by the way.
We really don't have any history with either of these bucks. Cameras aren't really a staple on our place simply because we like to keep it low impact. We do run a few during summer and a little after the season.
The two deer were a year off of each other but both killed at 4.5 year old. Her deer taped around 118" and mine around 162" of total antler. While discussing the age of our deer last night, my wife says... "I got robbed!". I replied... nah, we both accomplished something very similar, we killed a 4.5 year old deer. Mine just had more antlers. :)
Anyways, thought this might provoke conversation. Enjoy!
Way to go! I have 5 sets of teeth at DeerAge right now. There is something very neat about knowing their age. Genetics is king once they have time and food.
I like those gnarly looking heavy racks. Both are beauties. The buck I shot last Fall was aged at 4.5 as well. The previous year's hard winter stunted growth somewhat imo :).
@charlie Rehor: Agreed. After submitting 10 teeth from "Mature" bucks in the last few years it seems that 7/10 i thought the deer was a year younger than it actually was; the other 3 i was right on. I always used to think that if i let bucks get to 5-6 that they would blow up or potentially hit that 170" mark but i think television even had me fooled. I do enjoy the aging aspect far more than the true score but it also shows how important genetics and nutrition is and that few deer will reach boone and crocket simply by letting them age to 5-6 years old.
Congrats on two true trophies.
Yessir. I like knowing the age as well. I send in teeth for every buck I kill. Some are surprising. Some not so much.
Even on the same farms, you can have such different sizes. In 2014 I killed two bucks. One was a 4 1/2 year old that grossed 148, and one was a 5 1/2 year old that grossed about 116. Shot on the same farm. Heck, shot out of the same treestand, 10 days apart. Both were residents of the farm with multi years of pictures.
I have several other examples of that. But you get the point.
Neat stuff
Lana's buck doesn't have droopy ears and is smiling in her picture. I'm going with that! :-) Awesome info Rick, very interesting. I need to start sending in some teeth!
My 6.5 year old Osage county buck
I bet he won’t break 100”
Thanks Rick for sharing...…..it's humbling sometimes and I've underestimated and overestimated for sure. I'll share my report for 3 of my 2018 animals I submitted. I really thought my Idaho bear was older but turned out to be 4 1/2.
My Kansas buck was ancient at 9 1/2 and I shot one other buck that same age years ago. I had no idea he was that old and it was curious he was fully engaged chasing does etc...
The Montana buck was just in his prime (6 1/2) but his jaw wasn't particularly worn and I thought maybe 4 1/2.
Goodness, Mike, that Kansas buck was ancient! I thoroughly enjoy knowing the exact age too. Thanks for sharing!
Cool thread and it makes me wish I was sending in teeth to age the bucks I have killed. I am notorious for harvesting tomorrows trophies today so I'd love to know how many of the "2.5 year old" bucks I have shot were actually older than 2.5. Also...it would have been nice to know the age during the times when I actually shot a good mature buck.
Awesome. Love that kind of data. Feel like every hunter should own a big game scale as well.
Great deer fellas, and thanks for starting the thread Rick...interesting topic.
In Kansas if you kill a Pronghorn you are required to send the teeth in for this testing. This is the buck I shot in 2013, and I had chased him on the same large ranch for 5yrs. I had killed other bucks in those 5yrs but he was always my target buck. When I got the report back from the KDWP he was aged at 5yrs? I corresponded with the Pronghorn biologist for our state and explained that he couldn't possibly be 5yrs. I had hunted him that many years, and I certainly wasn't chasing a fawn or even a one or two year old buck at any point. He sent the teeth back in to be re-tested, and again they came back at 5yrs?
I'm sure some of the animals are correctly aged, but I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences? Attached is a link to a story on "Wired to Hunt" revealing challenges with the results as well.
Wow Rick! Would have guessed that buck a lot older!
Mike, that Kansas buck is amazing! What an old-timer at 9! How was he on the table? Great Montana buck as well!
APauls,
Weight info would be great for all critters.
Wish I could get decent weights on critters because that is usually one of the first questions asked when non-hunters see a picture of a critter that I shot. Most places I hunt it would be damn tough to get one out whole or gutted. Pretty much always packing meat.
There is probably a million dollar market for a decent, lightweight scale system that could be put in a backpack...
Kind of regret not ever getting age data either. Kind of along the same lines, usually the vast majority of the bone stays at the kill site, including the head on a cow or doe or everything but the skull cap on a bull. Would be way cool to have the true age of the animals for reference - especially when comparing the meat quality.
Remember sitting in on a Wi. St. Deer management meeting at Black River Falls and the age of a 4 yr old that was killed was 0%, the 18mo-2 yr old were the in the 70-80% killed age group, this was in a high public ground area. Private the bucks can age not so much on heavy hunted public.
Treeline: On the lower jaw make 3 scalpel cuts on each side of the center two teeth and pull them out. Stick the 2 teeth in your pocket and your done. Easy peasy.
Kyle, were the teeth cementum annuli aged when the biologist sent them for testing? I didn't realize you could re-test a tooth sample. Maybe someone more familiar with the process can chime in on this?
Tavis, I had him pegged at 4.5 yrs old, by antler base diameter and by body appearance/size.
Yes Rick, I sent in two teeth, he had each tested separately...both with "A" classifications.
That's crazy! You were probably just hunting different antelope and didn't realize it. Lol
Interesting link, sitO. Kind of makes you wonder how accurate the results are.
I remember going to the sale barn with my dad to buy feeder calves. They sold sheep before the cattle. The sheep guys would be down in the ring, and they would run ewes into the ring. Those guys would grab them and open their mouths to look at their teeth to see how old they were.
Good thread. I find any info I can on deer I kill. I had both of these New Jersey bucks aged by Wildlife Analytical Labs in Texas. They both came out at 5 1/2 years old. The 8 point dressed out at 186 lbs the 6 point dressed out at 218 lbs.
I used DeerAge.com for my 2017 Iowa buck. He came back at 5.5 years old.
Lousy picture, but this was a fat-free northern MN buck that weighed 205 pounds after 2 days hanging. The rack scored about 95. I sent the teeth in and it was 6.5 years old. Lived in a spruce/poplar swamp.
