Elk Tooth Aging?

antlerrick · Feb 27, 2004

Hey, just got my letter back from the Utah DWR showing the age of my bull I took last fall. It showed my bull at 10 years old! Just wondering if anyone else got any results back yet?
Would be fun to hear what everyone was taking!
a*r

Longun · Feb 28, 2004

This year I was fortunate to draw a resident Moose tag and harvested a 40 incher 10 x 9. Wyoming sent me a box to mail the teeth back in for aging so I decided to save the teeth off my Elk, Antelope, Mule Buck along with the Moose. The results I've received so far is for the Moose and Elk. The Moose was 4.4 years old and the cow Elk was 7.4 yrs old. I killed an 84 BxC Antelope and the Mule buck was a young 21 inch 4 x 4 still waiting on the results of those.

orion23 · Feb 28, 2004

never have aged an elk tooth, but last year did get a black bear in the spring and the tooth results showed the bear being 32 to 35 years old likely being 33 years old. i was floored. had no idea the lived that long.

hunt4elk · Mar 1, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Mar-01-04 AT 09:55PM (MST)[p]I also recieved my letter. The age of my bull was seven years.

Lv2hnt · Mar 2, 2004

Ariz. G&F has a publication available for purchase ($4.00) that will show you how to age all sorts of big game via tooth wear. Very much worth getting!

Although I didn't tag the herd bull I was after last Fall, I did manage to arrow a 5x6 bull that we aged at about 12 and 1/2 years old. I know it's possible here in Arizona to have cow elk live to 18 or 19, but it really surprised me at the bull's age! It got me to thinking about all he'd been through during his lifetime ...

Lv2hnt

ELKMASTER101 · Mar 2, 2004

HECK YOU GUYES WENT TO A LOT OF TRUBLE.
my bull was so old that he had dencures.
I just went down to the local dental office and he looked it up on the computor,
gave date of birth, April 16, weight 27lbs 11 ozs, given name, "OH MONSTER ELK"
mothers name "SHES A BIGGY" nick name "YUM YUM" bY the other local bulls.

father name, "HUGE FRICKEN BULL"
nick name "A** HOLE" by the other bulls.
his age read "should have shot him last year"
you'll have that seam to be 1 minute late and a buck short,

RLH · Mar 2, 2004

lv2hunt, how old was your bull? 12 1/2? dang, i don't wanna question your method, but i've never even heard of a bull that old. i've seen a couple that were probably 10 or 11, maybe. 8 or 9 is ancient. what kinda info did you use? i'm just thinking that a 12 1/2 year old bull would be the king o' the woods. should be a heck of a lot bigger than a 5x6. when i was in college they taught us how to age deer, and after 4 or 5 years, you were just guessing. it was an educated guess, but there were no more indicators after i think 4. after that it was all just judgement on tooth wear. that was a long time ago, but the last info i saw on aging by teeth was about the same as then. on bears they file the tooth down, etch it and put it under a microscope and look at the rings. just like on a tree. they get a new ring every winter when they hibernate. once again, i aint' sayin' he wasn't 12 1/2, but that is one old bull. i now about the 1/2 year deal too. an animal that was killed in the fall should between birthdays. anyway, enlighten me. the one big one we got this year might o' been 20!

MartinHunter · Mar 2, 2004

I do not know if this is universal, but on gots you can judge age by the amoutn of front teeth up to for years or something and then after they have a grown the wear is the only indication I know of.
Michael

Cowkiller · Mar 2, 2004

RLH, The method for ageing elk is similar to that used for bears. A primary incisor is sliced in a cross section and then stained. Under a microscope the annual rings can be counted. I have had several of my better bulls aged this way. Two of my best bulls were each eight years old. These were 330 class bulls. A couple of other good six points were five and six years old. My oldest bull was 12 years old and his advanced age was obvious just from looking at the wear on his teeth. He had a nice heavy 6x6 rack but far from huge at only about 290. I'm pretty sure he carried a bigger rack when he was a little younger. I've been told it is not uncommon for cow elk to live to this age and beyond but very few bulls make it that long.

antlerrick · Mar 2, 2004

I should have also asked what units each animal was taken in and score and points. My 10 yr old bull was a 6X7 from the Monroe Mountain and grossed at 355 7/8. If a bull's prime is in the 7 to 8 year old range, it makes you wonder what the bull would have been like at that age? Do you think that a 10 year old bull would be on his "down-side"?
a*r

Cowkiller · Mar 5, 2004

I think the age a bull is in his prime is usually 8-10. I think your 10 year old bull probably had at least close to the biggest rack he would ever have. A harsh climate could occasionally start the decline by age 10. Good conditions could keep some bulls prime a year or two past 10.

Skeet · Mar 5, 2004

My father and I both received our letters today, 8 & 10 years of age, both 330 class bulls off of the Manti unit.

antlerrick · Mar 11, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Mar-11-04 AT 09:51PM (MST)[p]Hey Cowkiller,
Thanks for the info. The reason I wondered if maybe he was on his "down-side" was because of some of the funky things he had going on with his antlers. He had 3 smaller points starting to come of in various places and he had what I think they call an acorn after his 5th on one side and another wierd shape..
a*r

BigChuck · Mar 12, 2004

I harvested a bull on the southwest desert unit in Utah that was a nontypical 8x7 with a 12" inch cheater on his left side. He gross scored 360. The DWR aged him at only 4 years old. He was just a baby. Makes you wonder what he would have been like around 7 or 8 years old.