Managing Deer By Age
Posted By
Bill Winke
at
7/12/2010 12:00:00 AM
We always emphasize the importance of providing optimum nutrition throughout the year so the deer can reach their genetic potential, but there is also another side to deer management. You make a number of important decisions with your trigger finger – whether by squeezing it keeping it still. What you shoot and what you pass up has a big affect on future hunting and once you start experimenting in this regard, you will face a big dilemma: which bucks do I shoot and which ones do I let go? Most hunters make that decision based on antler size. I suggest that there is a better way.
Most serious deer managers tell us that a buck isn’t mature until after his fourth birthday. During his fifth fall, he is 4 1/2 years
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Letting bucks walk until they reach their full maturity is an important |
When you start making management decisions based on age rather than rack size, you open up the possibility for an interesting dilemma. What if you have a chance to shoot a dandy buck that is genetically superior but obviously still young? Sounds simple enough on paper – you pass him up. But, in the real world it can be a whole lot tougher. A trophy buck is still a trophy buck even if he is only 3 1/2 years old. Many hunters will mash the trigger before they even consider how old the buck is. Believe me, I know from experience. I’ve done it.
THE TOUGHEST DECISION
There is one area I hunt where the neighboring landowners have all decided to work together to let young bucks walk. In this setting, it is not only encouraged that you pass up small bucks, it is expected. The properties are not high fenced so there is always a real possibility that when you pass up a nice buck he will jump the fence and test someone else’s willpower and judgment. Also, your idea of “young” might not match that of your neighbor and “boom” he’s dead.
Two occasions stand out in my memory. Both bucks were 3 1/2 years old and both were already exceptional deer. The first was a 6 X 5 that would gross score 160ish. That’s a shooter everywhere I hunt, but because he was young I decided to grudgingly let him go to see just how big he might become. As I watched him walk under my stand at 8 yards and cross a small clover field behind me, I knew that he would someday be a true monster. My hope was that I might see him again someday.
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A 3 1/2 year old buck may carry a large set of antlers but a thin waistline |
The other young stud that I passed up was equally difficult but that episode had a much happier conclusion. This buck has become my poster child for managing by age.
THE BIG JUMP
In a recent interview I conducted with renowned deer researcher Dr. Grant Woods, he confirmed my theory. Bucks make a significant change in two categories from age 3 1/2 to age 4 1/2. Most bucks make their biggest jump in antler size during this year. Unfortunately, this growth spurt also coincides with a personality change that is just as dramatic. In human terms, they go from sexually charged, wild-eyed 18-year-olds to very isolated and cautious 45 year-olds in only one year. Both transitions can be shocking in their magnitude and frustrating in their outcomes.
After letting some 3 1/2 year-old bucks go during the season, you expect to come back the next year and find them again as 4 1/2 year-olds, but it doesn’t always work that way. Whitetail bucks are not the same animal after they make this transition.
In a typical fall hunting season, you might encounter several 3 1/2 year old bucks within range but only one or two (or none) that are 4 1/2 and older. This makes it very tempting to pull the trigger on a genetically superior younger buck. I remember a conversation I had with Mark Drury a few years back. We were both singing the blues about how difficult it is to shoot a 4 1/2 year old buck. We finally came full circle to the offbeat conclusion that the only way to shoot a 4 1/2 year old buck on purpose was to shoot him when he is 3 1/2. Of course, that doesn’t make any sense, but it shows the level of frustration that goes with hunting fully mature bucks.
This reality only adds to the dilemma. Should you pass up trophy class 3 1/2 year old bucks in the hopes of seeing them again as truly exceptional mature bucks with much more impressive antlers? My first illustration in this regard would echo a resounding “NO!” But my second such experience, the buck Larry killed four years later, produced a much better result. You will have to face this question as your management program gains momentum.
MANAGING FOR 4 ½ YEAR OLD BUCKS
My real point in telling about the two toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make in a tree stand is to bring attention to an
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A mature buck will often times have a blocky appearance to both its body |
Superior 3 1/2 year old bucks are much more valuable than the average 3 1/2 year old. And because 3 1/2 year old bucks are definitely much easier to kill (where they exist) than 4 ½ and older bucks, the very deer (genetically gifted 3 1/2 year olds) that should get another year older are the ones most hunters target. Like I said, it is a dilemma.
Unfortunately, most of the world in which we hunt is not ideal, and passing up a great 3 1/2 year old buck in the hopes of seeing him a year later and a year bigger is often tough and sometimes even foolish. That’s a decision that only you and your hunting buddies can make. But, if you are in the right setting where most of the hunters are committed to growing whoppers, passing up these super young bucks is the most important single step you can take toward some day shooting a monster.
HOW TO AGE DEER ON THE HOOF
Just as you can guess a person’s age very closely by looking at his or her body and face, you can do the same with a deer. Of course, it is tougher with deer than with people because we interact with people a lot more. Our visual cues are sharper and better defined. However, that shouldn’t stop you from getting good enough to tell a 3 1/2 year old buck from one that’s older. Here are the things to look for.
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A young, 2 1/2 year old deer such as this will have a longer, thinner face |
Body profile: A buck of 3 1/2 years or younger typically has a wasp-shaped body that features a narrow waist. In other words, the animal’s girth at a point just forward of the rear legs is noticeably less than his chest girth. Their legs look long compared to their bodies. As deer get older, their bodies become much more blocky or square in appearance because their bellies have the same (or larger) girths than their chests. As they get really old they may also exhibit a sway back – a dip in the line of the back bone right over the center of their body.
Antler appearance: Antler appearance is the least effective way to age deer. Antler mass can help you a little. Most of the time, older bucks have more massive antlers than young bucks (but not always). Though mass is more closely related to genetics than age, it does tend to increase somewhat as deer get older. Just keep in the mind the fact that mass is only a very rough, and marginally trustworthy, guideline.
Antlers also tend to “trash up” as the buck gets older than 3 1/2 years. Sticker points begin to appear around the bases and sometimes off the primary typical points. Again, this is only a rough gauge but is worth observing.
