In regards to the "Deer Score" threads, Does age ever play a role in weather you pull the trigger or not? I realize it's hard to age a deer on the hoof, but there definitely are times when you know you are looking at an older buck. My question is, do you pull the trigger (bow or rifle) if you think you have a deer that is older than say seven years, and does not score as well as you would like? Knowing that he has survived so many season without anyone being able to harvest him. Do you pull the trigger?
Age
- Thread starter Ruby1
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I would, with that said the unit I hunt most years I have about 1 second to decide to shoot or not. So guessing age is impossible. This fall where I had my tag, if I seen a ancient buck it would have tripped my finger. A 7-10 year old buck is just as much of a trophy to me as a high scoring deer. Usually those old bucks have something unique about them too like crazy mass, or something.
Mntman
"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
Mntman
"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
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DesertGhillie
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I shot what I thought was a 190+" beast this year. I get up to him and it's a 4.5 year old genetic specimen that would have been a 200+? typical in a couple years if he survived. The body was small, but we couldn't tell that a first light at 250 yards with no other bucks around to compare too. Most real world situations I get on public land in a general unit are now or never!!! No time to twiddle your thumbs and judge them up perfectly like in the TV shows. He ended up being a 180 class 4 year old, as the body size skewed our judgment. So my answer is no to AGE being a factor most of the time. At least on the public land, general unit rifle hunts I've been on. Obviously there are always a few situational exceptions.
Soj51hopeful
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These type of questions always depend on what type of tag you have. If it's general tag then yes, a mature deer is a trophy, score be damned. But if you have some type of hard to draw / limited entry tag then no, pass and wait for the score you set your sights to.
I think age only factors in when you're looking at a spike/2 point, or small 3. You know its a young deer. Some don't care, and shoot any antlered buck. Founder is not gonna shoot a 1.5 or a 2.5 year old deer, on any hunt.
From 4 years on, its just hard to tell. When I 1st filmed this buck in 2010, I figured he was 4. Last year he died after shedding, and his tooth was aged at 12. That means he was 7 when I 1st saw him. Hard to tell age some times.
Yelum
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From 4 years on, its just hard to tell. When I 1st filmed this buck in 2010, I figured he was 4. Last year he died after shedding, and his tooth was aged at 12. That means he was 7 when I 1st saw him. Hard to tell age some times.
Yelum
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elks96
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LAST EDITED ON Nov-30-16 AT 10:48AM (MST)[p]I always look at deer age over antler size. Sure I want huge antlers, but if I had 2 bucks that were similar in rack size, I will try to kill the older buck.
A mature animal that is 5 or older is my main goal on the majority of my hunts.
That being said, if I have a tag that took me 15 years to draw, I will be looking for the best antlers I can find. On the tags I get every year or every couple of years the goal is a mature buck regardless of antler size.
On another side, this year early I killed a solid 180 class buck that was 5 years old. As a result my later Colorado hunt was all in for a monster until the end of the last evening when I took a meat buck.
I will admit it is hard to tell sometimes. There are times when it is now or never. But most of the time on my hunts I can usually dig up the same buck on different days.
A mature animal that is 5 or older is my main goal on the majority of my hunts.
That being said, if I have a tag that took me 15 years to draw, I will be looking for the best antlers I can find. On the tags I get every year or every couple of years the goal is a mature buck regardless of antler size.
On another side, this year early I killed a solid 180 class buck that was 5 years old. As a result my later Colorado hunt was all in for a monster until the end of the last evening when I took a meat buck.
I will admit it is hard to tell sometimes. There are times when it is now or never. But most of the time on my hunts I can usually dig up the same buck on different days.
ELKOHOLIC,
This was an island buck, that lived on the same hill, with the same group of bucks year after year. Though he looked a little different each year, in person, you could tell from his face, antler shape, etc, that it was the same one. And different friends found his sheds each year, so we had them to compare.
Yelum
YBU
This was an island buck, that lived on the same hill, with the same group of bucks year after year. Though he looked a little different each year, in person, you could tell from his face, antler shape, etc, that it was the same one. And different friends found his sheds each year, so we had them to compare.
Yelum
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Zeke
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If I saw a 200" 3.5 year old and a 7.5 180" at the same time and KNEW everything about both deer, I'd still shoot the big one every time so I guess age isn't the overriding factor for me..
Reality is that none of us (not a single freakin' one) can tell with 100% certainty what a buck's age is when we pull the trigger unless we've seen him year after year in our high fence operation.
We can tell a few things about their age based on size or physical characteristics but not exact age. I'm sure some are better than other and most are better than me but I've never heard of someone saying they can tell age...on the hoof....and backing it up with FACT, not luck.
There, I feel better.
Zeke
Reality is that none of us (not a single freakin' one) can tell with 100% certainty what a buck's age is when we pull the trigger unless we've seen him year after year in our high fence operation.
We can tell a few things about their age based on size or physical characteristics but not exact age. I'm sure some are better than other and most are better than me but I've never heard of someone saying they can tell age...on the hoof....and backing it up with FACT, not luck.
There, I feel better.
Zeke
elks96
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I guess it all depends. The areas I hunt I can usually find 20 to 30 bucks a day. With that said it is interesting because I truly feel like I can see age difference based on the body. Young if Obvious, 3, 4, 5, seem a group then it just seems like the older bucks are shaped and look different. I have watch several town deer and a handful in the winter range now and it just seems like the older bucks have potbellies, sway backs etc. I have targeted deer that I knew were mature not because of rack but because of body shape. they have been aged in WY at 6, 8 and over 12 years old.
Does it always hold true? Maybe not but I am always more concerned about maturity. Usually maturity means something cool with the rack.
Does it always hold true? Maybe not but I am always more concerned about maturity. Usually maturity means something cool with the rack.
