Quick age guessing

I'm gonna post 3 bucks and see if the aldeer crew can get their ages correct. Please just look at each for 3-5 seconds then guess, like a field situation.
Buck 1 walking to the left

Buck 2 slightly quarter away

Buck 3

I'll try....

3.5
4.5
3.5

I also say 3.5,4.5, and 3.5. But may change my mind after looking closer. After looking closer, the first buck may be 4.5, his neck joins his body pretty low and he has a full belly. #2 buck may actuallly be 5.5, he shows a sway back, but it could be the way he is standing.

1. 5
2. 4
3. 3

Just my .02 from the photos.

4.5
3.5
2.5

Man, 117 views and 4 guesses. I thought we had a bunch of guys on here that only shot mature bucks!

2.5, 2.5, and 3.5 Bang, bang, bang, flop, flop, flop. How old were they?

I will do the big reveal tomorrow but the ages are known. Thanks for playing

Based on angles and not knowing where these deer are from...

4.5

5.5

4.5

Just at a quick glance, theyre are all mature. At least if I saw that body walk out in alabama, they would be.

edit, after looking close. I think 4.5, 5.5, older

3.5
2.5
4.5

Bang, bang, bang...now what was the question?

Where are the pictures from? State, vicinity?

Not sure but think north Mississippi. I didn't think area mattered. I thought that a 4 yr old looked the same all over the country and some bodies just larger than others. And since antlers are supposed to have zero to do with aging a deer, the size of them shouldn't matter either. Am I correct on that or not? I have no idea about aging and now not sure anyone else does either unless he is in a pen and been tagged to keep up with.

4.5 (had to revise this one)
3.5
2.5

Maybe 3.5
2.5
2.5

Buck #1 and #2 look 5
Buck #3 i would say 3.5 to 4

2.5
3.5
4.5

Dead, Dead and Dead.............that's how old they are.

3
2
1

3.5
3.5
4.5+

4

2

3

That last one is tricky. Angle is tough. He "quarters" down from back to front and appears to have short legs but he's sleek and doesn't have a deep chest. I believe he could be anywhere from 2.5-5.5. He's got me stumped.

Would it affect your answer if I changed antler size only, bodies shape has not been manipulated?

3.5
4.5
2.5

4,4,3

Yes, typically the characteristics you would look for in a deer for maturity shouldn't change based on region. However, a 4yr old in Kansas looks a lot different than a 4yr old in Alabama. From what I've seen of midwest deer, the mature characteristics are almost exaggerated at each age vs a southern deer if that makes since. For that reason is why I was wondering where the pictures came from. As you mentioned, antler size is not a for sure indicator of age but in my opinion, you could use mass as an general indicator of maturity. Typically a deer is going to put on more mass each year up until a certain point but body characteristics will be the better way to put an educated guess on an age.

My guess on the pics.

#1. 4 yr old
#2. Bad pic to age from but I say 3.
#3. 3 yr old

All 3.5+ and get a bullet/arrow from me

Beat me to it... ditto

Must admit, I shoot deer. I find them tasty. And most I see are transient/migrational/seasonal/roam through thru my small 70 acre plot. If I want a buck for the season (and not a big deal) any one of these would help fill the freezer.

5
5
3

Are they different deer or the same deer?

Now...

3.5
4.5-5.5
2.5/young

That I don't know. A professor from State sent them to me.

3.5,4,4,5

4.5 possibly 5.5,3.5 possibly 4.5,2.5

4,3,2

Well a few got it right: 4.5,3.5 then 2.5. I find it interesting that in a related thread about what makes you shoot bucks that only 4 of the 13 that said maturity is the only way they shoot, dared to even guess. After only 3 responses on this thread getting it correct, I'm gonna conclude that it is just a guessing game. Had these pics not been in rut and necks not swollen, I feel confident that they all would have been aged at 2.5 by most. What I'm getting at, if you want to shoot, let it rip and don't let anyone try to tell you that you should have let him grow another year because there are deer in every thicket in the south and the chances of shooting a Midwest sized rack are slim to none!

WAM!!!

Close enough for me.

I figured you were trying to trick us, guess I was the one that got tricked. Like I said in the other thread, I shoot based on rack, or if it's borderline on the rack and I have plenty of time, I'll shoot if I think he is old.

Did the antler size have any influence on the guesses before I posted the true antler size?

No.

Me too! I love a blood trail with good friends then hanging out at the skinning shed. If I waited till I had enough time to size one up down here, I would never shoot. Heck, there are so many deer here that they eat at the loading ramp at the coop where they sweep the seed off, no joke!

No, I didn't even look at the antlers. I did, however, think that the 2nd deer was a year older than I guessed, but wouldn't go back and change it. Cause you wanted the split second decision.

Where I hunt, you see a body like #1 or #2 he is 5+.

Where were the pics taken and how did they know their age?

I feel very good. While I will READILY admit I do NOT shoot bucks/deer based on age, I am happy that I can age them if asked/required.

While I am a pure meat/woods time hunter in the states/on my land, I have hunted in Germany. VERY DIFFERENT requirements/rules. Season runs from ~May-~Nov. Profi guides/forest managers have to submit shoot (kill) plans to the state annually, which include bucks, does AND fawns! AND as a hunter, I have to be able to id a doe that is dry or has milk - which means she prob has a hidden fawn. I have watched a deer for over 30 min in a green field and not shot because I could not guarantee exactly what category she was. Also on 2400 acres, so most deer were local. And if you hosed it, you probably weren't coming back or getting future hunts. They also gave out medals (and free hunts to GIs!) for taking inferior deer out of the herd in lieu of shooting the "trophy buck." A scrub single point/"Murderer Buck" could get you a state award as high as a big (for EU) 6 pnt Roe Deer (they ony get six pnts).

We really have it good here in the US. I appreciate the opportunities, and the freedom to make our own choices. And while I am NOT in any way a trophy hunter, I do feel we do a very poor job in most cases here in ID'ing deer w/r/t age, etc. Wish we did better in that category.

In Germany, I had to go thru a 6 week training/shooting/certification course and pass a test, buy hunting insurance annually, get scheduled for each hunt (and pay a small fee!), get ONLY the rack and vitals as trophy, AND BUY the meat (they sell it on the open market there) if I wanted venison/pork. We would all be appalled if we had to do that in the US!

I appreciate the guys/leases/hunters who go after trophies. But I am also glad I can spend a lot of quality time for myself and my sons (5!) and DIL's'GF's and hopefully, soon, grandkids, doing it "OUR" way. Hope you do too!

PS: falling down now stepping off my soap box. Hope I didn't upset anyone.

I assume in the whitetail study area at Ms State but not sure. I reached out to the deer program up there and that is what they sent me.

I got it right. Now here is my view/opinion/technique on quick aging before a shot: 95% of the time you are going to look at the rack first. That is a major determining factor in what we shoot. I try to be familiar, through camera surveys, with the bucks on our property and share aging with our members. I realize that you can't take inventory on your entire population and that OPD (other people's deer) will wander onto your property from time to time. If they are on that list I hope I, or our members, will be able to identify them. If not, I hope we can make an educated guess when he walks out. There isn't a lot of time to judge in a lot of circumstances so the rack is our focal point and determining factor in that split second. Now, if he walks into a greenfield and starts browsing, anyone that has done their homework should be able to tell if the deer is mature or not. Our goal is to kill mature bucks. We slip up from time to time but most of our bucks (harvested) are mature. You will never see their potential if you kill them at 2-3 years old. I don't judge others if they want to kill these 2-3 year old bucks.....unless you are in our club. Then I will rub it in because everyone has read and agreed upon our rules/goals.

Only difference I see in no. 1 and 2 is 1 has a little larger neck , what else says 1 is 4 YO and 2 is 3 YO?