It is becoming increasingly common to age bucks when hunting. This is a common management strategy to let the younger deer grow. To do this you must know how to accurately age bucks. Many people may think that a deer looks the same year after year but they don’t. Deer are just like humans and they develop certain characteristics as they age.
- 1 1/2 Years
Bucks at this age is the easiest to age. Not just because their antlers are relativity small but by their body structure. Bucks at this age have long legs, thin neck, slim body, and a overall lanky body structure. Their antler spread is also always less than the width of their ears. At this young age their face also looks very young. Their nose extends out and looks very long. They essentially look like a doe with antlers.
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- 2 1/2 Years
At this age you will start to see some muscular definition in their shoulders and necks. They still have very long thin legs at this age still. Bucks at this age have antler spread to about the their ears or maybe more. Their face will also look very similar to a 1 1/2 year old deer and still seem to have a long nose. Think of bucks at this age to have the body structure of a mature doe.
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- 3 1/2 Years
This is the time you really start seeing differences in a bucks body structure. The buck isn’t necessarily at its full potential yet but its close. The main differences between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 is the swelling of the neck and their body starting to look more muscular. At the earlier ages their belly is pretty much perfectly straight from the front legs to the back. At this age though the belly starts to sag just a little. The first thing I look at when I see a deer is the belly and the neck. If I see the belly sagging just a little then I know it’s at least a 3 1/2 year old deer.
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- 4 1/2 Years
This is the age when most people to consider a buck to be at it’s prime and they’re mature. There are sometimes huge growth between a 4 1/2 year old and a 5 1/2, but most people harvest a buck at this age. When a deer hit this age they can be pretty much invisible. The big thing about this age is that the legs will start to look shorter because of how muscular the deer’s body starts to look. Their face also looks very shorter at this age compared to younger years. Their nose is also not long anymore but relatively short and rounded.
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