Age thatBuck!
How old is he? Learn the clues wildlife biologists use, then test your eye.
- Strong clueLegs look too long for the body
- Strong clueSkinny neck that joins high on the chest
- Weak clueTight belly, thin waist
Three clues that work
Forget the antlers for a minute. A buck's body changes shape as he grows up, the same way a kid's does.
Legs
A young buck looks leggy. His legs do not shrink later. His body gets deeper, so the legs look shorter.
Neck
Follow the neck down. On a young buck it joins high on the chest. On a mature buck it runs straight into the brisket.
Chest and belly
Young bucks have a thin waist. Mature bucks are deep all the way back. Old bucks sag in the belly and dip in the back.
One clue that fools everybody
This buck has 12 points. He is one and a half years old.
Antlers depend on food and family as much as age. Biologists at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area in Texas raised this one. Look at his skinny neck and long legs instead of his rack.
Even the pros miss
Biologists picked the exact age from a photo 36 times out of 100.
That is from a study of 70 wild bucks whose real ages were known. Yearlings were easy. Older bucks were hard. So this game scores what works: young, middle or mature.
Read the science