Deer's Age

[aero331]

Can some one please explain to me why one needs to know the age of the deer after the kill?

[BruceBruce1959]

There's really no need for anyone to know the deer's age except maybe by state biologists that use the info for studying the states harvest's or to create statistics within that state. That's the only reason I can see why age would be important.

[gfdeputy2]

I agree w/ Bruce that is the only thing I could come up with other then maybe some hunters just like to know?

[aero331]

What is the definition of harvesting a deer?

[gfdeputy2]

I posted on your other Link
No need to post twice your questions will be answered
Just give people some time

[tnrebelguitarist]

It is actually very important to know a deer's age. If you are a landowner who is trying to boost your genetics for big bucks, you can look at the deer you kill and see what age they are. You might find that you have small built 3-4 yr old bucks with small or deformed racks. This means that you have bad genetics being passed on. This would lead you to take out a few of the smaller bucks so the bigger, more dominant ones will pass on the better genetics.

Also, if you get a general concensus on the age to size (body and rack) of a deer, you can be more informed about the deer you do shoot. If you have 2 yr old deer normally being 8-10 points, you might want to start holding off on shooting those and give them that extra year to grow into something only a few of us have gotten a chance at. If you are seeing that your deer are underweight for their age or have small rack growth it could lead you to plant different food for them.

Finally, if you know what 1 1/2 to 2 yr old deer in your area look like, you can also judge the strength of your deer herd before season (scouting while they are in velvet)

Shooting the first/small bucks that you see often is what makes public land so bad to hunt. Just because something is a nice 8-10, it doesn't mean that you should shoot it to get another deer under your belt. If that is a 1 1/2 old deer....you just shot what would've been a monster in two more years.

If you are shooting just to get some meat, take out a few does....that always helps the herd and makes hunting around the rut more fun because the bucks have to work harder for the fewer does...this also means that the better genetics will be passed on too.

[BruceBruce1959]

Originally Posted by aero331

What is the definition of harvesting a deer?

Harvesting a deer means to remove some from the herd.
Deer breed at a high rate almost as bad as rabbits, so harvesting becomes essential at some point to keep the herd balanced and healthy.

Harvesting deer is society's more acceptable description, nobody enjoys hearing it described as"Killing deer off"...

I hope I've explained it in a more understandable way.

It's like foresters harvesting tree's, the forest becomes overgrown and at some point it needs thinning out but the foresters make sure to leave some young healthy trees to maintain the natural environment and make room for new growth.

[BruceBruce1959]

There is only one way of aging a deer and that's by measuring their Teeth, it is not possible for a hunter to tell a deers age by any other means., which bringe me to the Rules at some of the hunting clubs and some outfitters guidelines.

I've read quite a few times about some poor hunter being fined big bucks for shooting a deer that he thought was 4-1/2 years old or older only to find out it was younger than 4-1/2 and that's against the club rules.
I do not agree with such fines and it's sickening to hear that some outfitters charge higher rates to kill older bigger bucks when even the outfitter doesn't know the deers ages until they are dead. UNLESS it's the caged in deer that the outfitters keep in seperate enclosed fenced in sections on their lands which then it isn't any longer a hunt it's just a shopping zone for TV hunting.

[Hunting Man]

Good post there bb, most hunters wouldn't know what they're looking at anyway regarding the tooth/jaw ageing. There are picture charts to guide hunters in ageing their deer if they want to. I might be concerned if I was managing a herd for profit, but most hunters are wanting to shoot a buck or fill a doe tag. Judging a deer in the field and making a decision on whether it meets your personal goal is much more important than trying to age the standing deer. I wouldn't pay to hunt when a extra cost is involved in a mistake.

[Buckshot]

In addition to the posts above, besides the state biologist some QDM clubs will keep very accurate records of all deer harvested. The age of the deer harvested is just one statistic that a professional manager will look at to set the goals of the club for a season. Age, body weight, antler size, hunter sighting logs, camera census all come into play to determine what is the best harvest plan for the health of the herd.

True QDM (Quality Deer Management) is more than growing big bucks it is managing the herd in a way that provides for a healthy deer herd that will have a good balance of the number of bucks to does. The age structure is also important, in a well managed herd there will be a good mix of older age class deer, bucks and does. While this will produce bigger bucks that is not primary goal, which is to have a healthy and well balanced herd.

This is where I would agree to disagree with Hunting Man, to achieve the balance that a QDM club is looking for there has to be rules as to what deer can be harvested. One very common rule is to not shoot any 1-1/2 year old bucks and sometimes not even 2-1/2 year old bucks. While it would be nice to think every time a mistake was made it was just that (a mistake) it is not always the case. It is hard to let an eight point walk and some hunters won't follow the rules. For this reason there has to be a penalty. Mistake or not if you have agreed in advance to the goals of the club and you should have to pony up the dough for the mistake.