Aging the Deer You Shoot
Posted By
Bill Winke
at
5/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
Filed under:
journal
If you are serious about looking for a way increase the challenge of the sport, it makes sense to start hunting bucks that are one year older than those most hunters shoot in your area. This will insure that you will always be challenged but not discouraged. If most of the bowhunters in your area shoot 1 1/2 year old bucks, it is a worthy goal to set your sights on 2 1/2 year old bucks. Don’t get caught in the trap of trying to shoot bucks with a certain antler size. Antler size is only a small part of what makes a trophy. Honestly, age has a lot more to do with it. The older a buck gets, the harder it is to shoot him and that is what truly makes him a trophy.
Assuming that you are ready to start hunting bucks that are one year older, it makes sense to get some feedback on the age of the deer you are shooting. At some point I will write a blog (or an article) about how to age bucks on the hoof here in the Midwest, but this one is dedicated to aging bucks after they are dead.
CEMENTUM ANNULI AGING
The cementum annuli method requires that you remove the two center teeth from the front of the lower jaw. Some call these the incisors. You send them to a lab that specializes in sectioning the teeth and studying them under a microscope to determine age. It is similar to the way you can judge the age of a tree by counting its rings.
Cementum annuli aging is widely considered the most accurate method. The cost is typically around $40 to $50 per deer, but the price per deer drops fast if you send in multiple samples. If you are serious about deer hunting, this is a good investment. It is even better if you can talk your buddies into doing it also. The more bucks you are able to age accurately, the better you will all become at judging them on the hoof.
The two most commonly used aging labs are Wildlife Analytical Labs and Matson’s Lab. Both offer convenient mail-in services and both of these websites have a ton of information on them about the cementum annuli aging process and how to prepare the teeth to send in.
TOOTH WEAR AGING
When you take a buck to the check station and someone looks in his mouth, you can be sure that person is trying to estimate the age of the buck. Although the amount of wear varies from region to region, deer typically have a consistent wear pattern as they grow older. The cusps on certain teeth typically wear off at a certain age. The amount of dentin that appears on the crown of each tooth increases as the tooth wears down, giving you a fairly accurate basis for estimating age.
The tooth wear method is fast, simple and inexpensive. The tools and educational materials available will help you ramp up your abilities very quickly. There is no reason not to become an expert at it. The only downside, is that tooth wear aging is not always accurate. In the Midwest where the soil is typically not sandy and food sources are lush, teeth wear slower, however, this method is a good place to start. If you are truly serious about knowing the exact age of the deer you shot, you can send in the teeth.
As a reference for aging, you can get a set of flashcards, called the Pocket Deer Aging Tool, very inexpensively from Wildlife Enterprises. Comparing the cards to the lower jaw of the buck you shoot, you can easily estimate his age. Another excellent tool for this purpose is the Deer Aging Tool. It is a cast 3-D set of jawbones showing the exact tooth wear patterns from bucks ranging from 1 1/2 to 8 1/2 years of age. You can quickly lay the tool next to a jawbone for handy reference. The Deer Aging Tool is available from the QDMA for $35.
