adams

Excellent point! I agree this along with nutrition play a big role. To take it a step further, the health of the doe could also be taken into consideration. A healthier doe will produce healthier offspring for a doe of lesser health.

Blodg

Agreed, so let's see - we have how early the buck was born, the health of his mother, nutrition, and genetics. I think genetics and also the geographic location play the biggest role in antler development. As someone pointed out above, you can see a variety of size in 1 1/2 year old bucks in your area and they all have the same nutrition available. We all know that age is the most significant factor but this post was started talking about 1 1/2 year old bucks.

Badatta2d, you may very well be correct with that buck in the first pic. He may be one of those who is borderline when guessign between ages because I agree his body looks bigger than a typical 1 1/2 yr old. Maybe the steroids I put in the biologic are working! I am more sure of the rest of my estimates and the dead deer I know the ages on. Which other do you question?

RTA47

(IMO) I have a hard time believing someone can tell a bucks exact age EVERY TIME! just buy looking at him?.Although i do agree a young 1.5 bucks for the most part is fairly easy to judge. But If you take a 2.5 yr old buck with poor or hardly any nutrition at all and bad genetics. Then look at a 1.5 yr old with good nutrion and good genetics a lot of time they can have simuler same size racks and very close to the same size body wait. Then judging this animal can be sometimes almost impossible simply buy looking at him?

GR8atta2d

Blodg, that was the only one in question. As I said I'm no expert at this aging thing. I can be fairly accurate, but honestly I need a good broadside look, or a good face profile.

I'll agree with your other estimates as I can't offer any evidence to the contrary.

CBM SC

I would say in our area that the bulk of 1.5 year olds range from 90-130 lbs and may be anything from a spike to a basket 8 pt ! Most don't have spread over about 12" and there racks are very thin !

cardeer

110 lbs with junky racks spikes to little 6er's

standorstalk

I agree with the rest that nutrition is the most important influence for full antler growth. Note that I said antler growth. A bucks antlers are only going to get as big as his genes tell it to, but nutriion will allow the antlers to reach their full potential. At the checkin station on opening day for firearms, I saw many 8 point basket racks from deer that were aged by the DNR at 2-1/2 yrs. Then a young kid brought in an absolute brute. It was a 160 class perfect 8 pointer. Everyone there was trying to guess it's age (anywhere from 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 yrs. Everyone was astonished to hear that the deer was 2-1/2yrs. I asked the kid where he got it, and he told me he got it on his farm. He also told me that he has 4 food plots set aside for the deer and that his buck was the third biggest on his farm. That just goes to show what nutrition means to deer and big antlers.

Bird Hunt Dog

The top rack I think is a 1.5 the bottom two I think are maybe 2.5

Bird Hunt Dog

I'm pretty sure this is a 3.5!

How do I get multiple pics on the same post?

JoshKeller

I use body size to determine age. A 1.5 year old buck will be the about 120 lbs- the same size as the average doe here.

a 2.5 will be 150 - 160 lb, and noticeably longer.

3.5 Will generally be at least 180 lbs.

Anything after that is unpredictable, but you can bet any buck that weighs 180 or more lbs is going to get taken!