How old do you think this buck is?

[blindluck]

4.5

[OutHouse]

That head just keeps looking bigger and the face older the more I look at it. I'm gonna up my prediction to at least 5.5, but again, no expert etc.

[bigmacc]

That head just keeps looking bigger and the face older the more I look at it. I'm gonna up my prediction to at least 5.5, but again, no expert etc.

I think you and blindluck are right in the wheelhouse, I'm sticking with my 3-5 prediction, fun to guess but like I said in my story of mine and my dads bucks, looks alone can be deceiving, either way. I told bone during one of our conversations of a buck my dad and I seen over 45 years ago or so, I think bone's question was something about deer that haunt us or something to that effect. I told him of a buck my dad and I watched and filmed for a good 5-10 minutes during some post season scouting in late November. The buck was by himself even though the rut was in full swing. When we spotted him he was less than 100 yards away, standing in knee deep snow, looking directly at us, could care less. He was a specimen to say the least, a rack that was easily over 30 wide and fairly heavy but just looking at him you could tell his prime was behind him, his body was broke down and you could tell his best fighting days to collect the gals were over. We watched him go up a small draw heading for a big bowl, he every once in awhile would look back at us but never panicked or ran, just slowly walked away, head down, swaying side to side, very eerie, almost ghost like, I remember my dad saying, "Im glad we are filming him, take a good look, he won't make it through the winter". I must have watched the old 8mm movie of that trip 100 times, to this day I've often wondered how old that buck may have been.

[OutHouse]

That head just keeps looking bigger and the face older the more I look at it. I'm gonna up my prediction to at least 5.5, but again, no expert etc.

I think you and blindluck are right in the wheelhouse, I'm sticking with my 3-5 prediction, fun to guess but like I said in my story of mine and my dads bucks, looks alone can be deceiving, either way. I told bone during one of our conversations of a buck my dad and I seen over 45 years ago or so, I think bone's question was something about deer that haunt us or something to that effect. I told him of a buck my dad and I watched and filmed for a good 5-10 minutes during some post season scouting in late November. The buck was by himself even though the rut was in full swing. When we spotted him he was less than 100 yards away, standing in knee deep snow, looking directly at us, could care less. He was a specimen to say the least, a rack that was easily over 30 wide and fairly heavy but just looking at him you could tell his prime was behind him, his body was broke down and you could tell his best fighting days to collect the gals were over. We watched him go up a small draw heading for a big bowl, he every once in awhile would look back at us but never panicked or ran, just slowly walked away, head down, swaying side to side, very eerie, almost ghost like, I remember my dad saying, "Im glad we are filming him, take a good look, he won't make it through the winter". I must have watched the old 8mm movie of that trip 100 times, to this day I've often wondered how old that buck may have been.

That's really cool. Sounds like a wise old deer that knew it didn't need to be afraid. I really don't know much about aging bucks just some of the basics. I believe I saw a regressing whitetail once. His face looked really old and sort of grayish, his antlers were smaller but his bone structure still looked huge. But it was as if a lot of the muscle was going away and he didn't have a very steady gate. Its almost like you have to see the darn teeth to get a good idea.

[ridgefire]

That's probably the biggest bodied Blacktail I have ever seen. Nice buck. 

[bigmacc]

That head just keeps looking bigger and the face older the more I look at it. I'm gonna up my prediction to at least 5.5, but again, no expert etc.

I think you and blindluck are right in the wheelhouse, I'm sticking with my 3-5 prediction, fun to guess but like I said in my story of mine and my dads bucks, looks alone can be deceiving, either way. I told bone during one of our conversations of a buck my dad and I seen over 45 years ago or so, I think bone's question was something about deer that haunt us or something to that effect. I told him of a buck my dad and I watched and filmed for a good 5-10 minutes during some post season scouting in late November. The buck was by himself even though the rut was in full swing. When we spotted him he was less than 100 yards away, standing in knee deep snow, looking directly at us, could care less. He was a specimen to say the least, a rack that was easily over 30 wide and fairly heavy but just looking at him you could tell his prime was behind him, his body was broke down and you could tell his best fighting days to collect the gals were over. We watched him go up a small draw heading for a big bowl, he every once in awhile would look back at us but never panicked or ran, just slowly walked away, head down, swaying side to side, very eerie, almost ghost like, I remember my dad saying, "Im glad we are filming him, take a good look, he won't make it through the winter". I must have watched the old 8mm movie of that trip 100 times, to this day I've often wondered how old that buck may have been.

That's really cool. Sounds like a wise old deer that knew it didn't need to be afraid. I really don't know much about aging bucks just some of the basics. I believe I saw a regressing whitetail once. His face looked really old and sort of grayish, his antlers were smaller but his bone structure still looked huge. But it was as if a lot of the muscle was going away and he didn't have a very steady gate. Its almost like you have to see the darn teeth to get a good idea.

Yes sir, like some have said and I agree, its a crap shoot trying to get an age of a buck by just looking at it, I've had enough aged through the years that have surprised me in both directions, some have looked much older than they actually were and vis-versa. One thing I have found though is that most bucks under 5 1/2 don't have the sway back/drop belly going on and the hind quarters are still "blocky", I have found gravity starts taking effect on the back and belly going farther past that age. Some guys look at heads, faces, antler regression etc, all of which can indicate a ball park age for sure but those "looks" can also be heavily skewed by genetics and diet, kind of like the buck I figured was older than the 13 1/2 year old my dad had killed, turns out he was much, much younger, he "just hadn't led a very charmed life". I killed another buck back in the early 60,s, in the same route I killed that big fella this past season as a matter of fact. That buck I killed back in the 60,s was traveling with 11 other bucks and around 60-70 does, I watched this herd for over 20 minutes or so as they slithered down a ridge. He was trailing the whole bunch by 50 or so yards, I got a good look at him, he had a big body but looked old in the head area, a very palmated thick 5 by 5, almost moose like(to this day, my favorite set of antlers), not real wide but heavily palmated. He got to about 70 yards or so from me and I got a good look at his head and face, big, wide roman nose, white face, big head, numerous notches out of each ear, scars galore but no sway back, I still figured him to be old. My cousin who was working for IFG at the time was hunting with us, yep, worked in Idaho but hunted the Methow every year, he said that he would have put it up against any state as far as quality mule deer went, that was when the Methow was good, another topic   Just by looking at him he figured him at 7 1/2- 9 1/2. Turned out he was 4 1/2. I would have bet money by looking at his head, face and antlers he was an old bugger, he was another that apparently "hadn't led a charmed life" I guess. Bottom line, IMHO, antlers, head and face can be deceiving but the old sway back/drop belly/ saggy rear quarters can be a pretty good giveaway...

[HntnFsh]

bigmacc, I love hearing your stories and experiences with those big old bucks. Makes me a little envious!

[bigmacc]

bigmacc, I love hearing your stories and experiences with those big old bucks. Makes me a little envious!

Thank you, it certainly was a different time, glad we have albums full of pictures and a few of the older folks still left from the old camp that can still remember Pre North Cascade Pass was a very special time in the Methow, I'm blessed to have been in my prime during those times, I seen a lot of country one step at a time and have been fortunate enough to have seen 10,s upon 10,s of thousands of deer in my life, I can still remember the days where seeing a thousand deer over a 2 week season was the norm, some years you'd see twice that, I remember days when Id see 200 deer and not a horn, then 3-4 days later seeing 20-30 bucks of all sizes moving down a ridge. Between my familys history going back to 1917 in the Methow and me being around to not only witness some of it but to also be able to sit and listen to the stories of my great grandparents who lived well into their 90,s who were the originators of the camp and the stories my dad told me when he was a boy hunting the valley back in the 30,s, you bet I've had some experiences and have heard a few stories of some experiences. I will admit I have a hard time remembering them all but my younger brother and his clan and my son and his bunch are now the ones with the better memories and it will be up to them, I guarantee, I myself have forgotten more than I remember, certain memories stand out more than others these days . Thank you for the kind words.

[OutHouse]

bigmacc, I love hearing your stories and experiences with those big old bucks. Makes me a little envious!

Thank you, it certainly was a different time, glad we have albums full of pictures and a few of the older folks still left from the old camp that can still remember Pre North Cascade Pass was a very special time in the Methow, I'm blessed to have been in my prime during those times, I seen a lot of country one step at a time and have been fortunate enough to have seen 10,s upon 10,s of thousands of deer in my life, I can still remember the days where seeing a thousand deer over a 2 week season was the norm, some years you'd see twice that, I remember days when Id see 200 deer and not a horn, then 3-4 days later seeing 20-30 bucks of all sizes moving down a ridge. Between my familys history going back to 1917 in the Methow and me being around to not only witness some of it but to also be able to sit and listen to the stories of my great grandparents who lived well into their 90,s who were the originators of the camp and the stories my dad told me when he was a boy hunting the valley back in the 30,s, you bet I've had some experiences and have heard a few stories of some experiences. I will admit I have a hard time remembering them all but my younger brother and his clan and my son and his bunch are now the ones with the better memories and it will be up to them, I guarantee, I myself have forgotten more than I remember, certain memories stand out more than others these days . Thank you for the kind words.

Haa haaaa! The conclusion from this piece:

Bigmacc has forgotten more about mule deer than most of us will ever know!      Based on my reading of the entire deer thread, the same could be said about Bone 

[bigmacc]

bigmacc, I love hearing your stories and experiences with those big old bucks. Makes me a little envious!

Thank you, it certainly was a different time, glad we have albums full of pictures and a few of the older folks still left from the old camp that can still remember Pre North Cascade Pass was a very special time in the Methow, I'm blessed to have been in my prime during those times, I seen a lot of country one step at a time and have been fortunate enough to have seen 10,s upon 10,s of thousands of deer in my life, I can still remember the days where seeing a thousand deer over a 2 week season was the norm, some years you'd see twice that, I remember days when Id see 200 deer and not a horn, then 3-4 days later seeing 20-30 bucks of all sizes moving down a ridge. Between my familys history going back to 1917 in the Methow and me being around to not only witness some of it but to also be able to sit and listen to the stories of my great grandparents who lived well into their 90,s who were the originators of the camp and the stories my dad told me when he was a boy hunting the valley back in the 30,s, you bet I've had some experiences and have heard a few stories of some experiences. I will admit I have a hard time remembering them all but my younger brother and his clan and my son and his bunch are now the ones with the better memories and it will be up to them, I guarantee, I myself have forgotten more than I remember, certain memories stand out more than others these days . Thank you for the kind words.

Haa haaaa! The conclusion from this piece:

Bigmacc has forgotten more about mule deer than most of us will ever know!      Based on my reading of the entire deer thread, the same could be said about Bone

Well thank you   I feel honored that you even put me in the same sentence as bone, I have much respect for him


Still sticking with my 3-5 guess, hope you get a crack at him one day Elkfun12

[blindluck]

I have to agree with the above stated, I’ve been stupid lucky in my mule deer hunting career, nothing to do with knowing what I’m doing just luck unlike those two mule deer veterans. I too love reading all of their stories.

[fishnfur]

By his face , blocky squared chest and tapered hind quarters I’m guessing 9+ but as anything it’s a guess

  looks old to me also 7-10 

I'm with these guys - That roman nose doesn't happen on 5 year old bucks.  It takes years and years to get their skull looking like that.

[Twispriver]

Out of curiosity how many people and how long did it take to drag a 400 pound field dressed buck back to camp. My son and I tried dragging a rag horn bull one time, over snow, and we decided right off that carrying pieces was waaaaaay easier than dragging it whole.

[bigmacc]

Out of curiosity how many people and how long did it take to drag a 400 pound field dressed buck back to camp. My son and I tried dragging a rag horn bull one time, over snow, and we decided right off that carrying pieces was waaaaaay easier than dragging it whole.

Oh boy I should have learned , the one I killed this past season, took 4 of us about 3 hours I think, all down hill, in fact it was so steep we rolled him down the hill the majority of the way. The one my dad killed in 67 that they came up to weigh was the same, all down hill in about a foot of slick crusty snow, my dad, myself, a cousin and my great grandpa were in on that one( those on here that know the story of this buck and where it was killed know it was one of the easiest drags on earth). As far as the other two or 3 that I know of that were over 400lbs, I know a couple were cut in half(I posted pics of them on here) and another was brought in in quarters(pictures were posted on here also). Sorry I will not post anymore pictures, I posted 30 or 40 on here and was tipped off they were being copied. Hope that satisfies your curiosity. I will say this we've packed some out in pieces, but a couple of those big fellas were easier drags because of where we killed them than it would have been trying to pack them out, once again those on here that know where we've killed these deer know exactly what I'm talking about. Its, official, I have learned my lesson ...Good luck on connecting with that buck Elkfun12

[jkononen]

I'm gonna say since Im pretty sure this is a blacktail. 6+ years old.