From your perch in a deer blind, you see a buck come into the open. As you excitedly line up your shot, finger on the trigger, you take a moment to watch him. You don't want to take an immature buck. But you have only seconds to guess his age. Do you shoot?

Hunters face similar scenarios all the time. As landowners more carefully manage their herds, and give quality young bucks time to mature, the ability to age deer on the hoof becomes more valuable.

“Today's hunters know a lot more about aging a deer than they used to,” says Slade Priest, wildlife manager at Tatum Plantation in southwest Mississippi and owner of Country Boy Outfitting. “I attribute it to the outdoor TV channels. You can watch mature bucks being hunted all day, every day, if you want.”

Judging a Buck's Age

“Definitely any hunter can learn to do this,” says Dr. Mickey Hellickson, wildlife biologist and principal of Orion Wildlife Management Services. “There are some key characteristics that hunters can focus on.”

Developing the skill takes practice. “I tell hunters to age a lot of bucks on the hoof, and then after they've put them on the ground, age them by the teeth,” Hellickson says. “You will start to realize how close your visual estimate was. There will always be mistakes no matter how skilled you become, but you can increase your odds of accurately aging a buck and harvesting a buck at the right age.”

Priest, a Southern AgCredit customer, agrees: “I train people to be guides every year, and I tell them that the only real way to get good at aging deer is to do it often.”

Vernon Mosley, owner of Mosley Ranch near Crockett, Texas, and a customer of Capital Farm Credit, says that the skill becomes second nature after a while. “When you're around deer enough, you can glance at them and know about how old they are,” Mosley says.

Are Antlers a Good Clue?

When it comes to aging bucks, experts disagree most about using antlers as a criterion. As bucks age, their antlers get larger, and antler growth doesn't peak until somewhere between five and seven years.

“When judging white-tailed deer, most people tend to look at antlers first, but you need to focus all of your attention on the body,” Mosley says. With improved genetics, some deer will grow large racks fairly quickly, which can be deceptive when aging a deer. Plus, antler sizing will vary based on region, but other body characteristics are more universal across the entire whitetails range.

Other experts contend that antlers can be a valuable tool — but that they should never be the only characteristic you consider.

“I advise hunters that overall antler size is a good first characteristic to look at,” Hellickson says. “I will never use only antler size, though. You have to look at additional characteristics to verify your initial impression.”

Hellickson says he looks at the antler's overall mass, circumference at the base and the presence of abnormal or atypical points. Nontypical or abnormal points are usually found on older bucks, he says.

“People are starting to look at the horns less and at the body more,” says Priest. “For the most part, the older the deer is, the better his horns are. I think you can look at them as a tool. If you see a deer that's 200 inches, that''s probably not a 2-year-old.”

Body Characteristics

Priest, who hunts in different states annually, has noticed that antler size, hair and body size might vary regionally, but body conformation generally stays the same. “Deer demeanor is generally the same, too. You learn what a mature deer acts like.”

When you are aging a deer, one characteristic to use before the peak of rut is stomach girth — provided that you get a good, broad, side view of the animal. “The older a buck gets, the bigger his belly gets. If the bottom line of the stomach sags noticeably lower than the bottom line of the brisket, the buck is likely mature,” Hellickson says.

This characteristic does not work well after the peak of rut, however, because bucks can lose 25 to 30 percent of their body weight during this time. After rut, Hellickson prefers to look at how darkly stained a buck's tarsal glands are. As a buck matures, his tarsal glands appear darker.

Another helpful feature is the juncture between the neck and chest. As a buck ages, this area becomes broader, and his brisket becomes more obvious.

“Mature deer, 5½ years and older, will be much heavier in their bodies,” Mosley explains. “Their chests become very deep, and their stomachs become larger.”

Split-Second Decisions

With practice, aging a deer on the hoof can be done almost instantaneously. “I have an idea in my head of how old the buck is as soon as I see him. Then I spend the rest of the time refining that estimate,” Hellickson says. “You can make an educated guess about a buck's age in 5 to 10 seconds.”

However, he also advises not rushing a shot faster than you must. “If you can watch him interact with other deer, that will give you clues to his age, too. I'll take all the time I think that buck's going to give me,” Hellickson says.

Priest adds that motion cameras are playing an increasingly important role for managers, because they provide an opportunity to assess a particular buck's age ahead of time. “If you've watched a deer and have already made the decision that he's a shooter, then if you see him come out, you don't have to hesitate. You can take the shot.”

If you use all the tools available to you, Priest says, you can be right a lot of the time. “The more you can know about a deer, the more likely you are to make a good decision,” he says.

– Staff