Text by C.J. Winand
With only two weeks remaining until opening day of deer season my nerves were
on full alert, in fact my hormones were going ballistic. After months of scouting
a particular area, I had come to know the travels of a certain immense buck
so intimately that I nicknamed him "the Creature". This buck was
what dreams and tales are made of and on opening day he would be mine. Then
it happened, disaster struck. I was informed by my supervisor that I had to
work at the deer check station on opening day and would not be able to hunt.
Needless to say I wasn't having a good hair day. Little did I know, however,
opening day would be a day to remember.
Opening day began like any other
day. I got out of bed, showered, shaved, kissed my lovely wife and went to
work. While driving to the deer check station I thought about hunting and
my missed opportunity at the Creature. Since it was still dark and the hunters
would not be coming out of the woods to check in their deer for the next few
hours I decided to drive by the area I had planned to hunt. Upon arriving
I was pleased to see only one parked truck. May be, just may be "my"
buck would make it through opening day.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a large
animal ran onto the roadway into the path of my truck, then another. A sudden
smack filled the early morning air as my truck came to an abrupt stop. It
happened so quickly I didn't have time to react. I got out of the truck to
investigate and there lying on the side of the road was a buck, not just any
buck, it was the Creature. The animal I had come to know and respect was
barely alive. Although I was crushed about what had happened I dispatched
the 20 inch, eight pointer and said my customarily hunter's prayer for this
magnificent animal. I remember feeling saddened by the loss and wished this
magnificent animal had met a better fate.
I laid the buck on the bed of
my injured pick-up truck and we drove to the check station. At the check
station the enormity of the buck drew the attention of several hunters who
asked how old the buck was? We recorded all our biological information and
pulled his jaw bone. The Creature was 4 1/2 years old with perfectly matching
antlers. Someone asked how we knew for sure? I told him it was simple, we
lied! Even though some hunters at the check station might have believed this
previous statement, biologist use a tooth replacement/wear method developed
by deer researcher C. W. Severinghaus in 1949 to determine the age of deer.
For example, a fawn born during the spring (May-June) that survived the winter
season would be 1 1/2 years old by the fall (November-December) hunting season.
At 1 year and 6 months old, deer start loosing their first three bottom, side
teeth or pre-molars. During the following month, three new permanent teeth
will appear and replace these three baby teeth. The key to aging deer at this
age is to look at the third tooth on the bottom. If this tooth has three cusps
its a baby tooth and its age is 1 year and 6 months old. If the third tooth
has two cusps its 1 year and 7 months old. For the rest of its life the third
tooth will have two cusps.
How do you age deer older than 1 1/2 years old if all the permanent teeth
are fully erupted by 1 year and 7 months? Biologists look at the wear on the
teeth. In other words, how much wear is present on the dentine (dark), enamel
(white), infundibulum (center of tooth), or lingual crests.
Although this might seem difficult at first, it's just like anything else,
the more experience you have the better you become. If you forget how to age
deer, I might suggest you tell your hunting buddies that the deer you harvested
was 1 1/2 years old. I say this because in many parts of the country up to
75% of all bucks harvested are only 1 1/2 years old. Besides, your hunting
buddies don't know you read this article and your already "smarter"
then them any way.
Before you go and get cocky aging
deer, I must warn you that areas that have sandy soils wear down a deer's
teeth faster than one with a silty loam soil. This is definitely true if
you hunt along the coastal plain. To assist you in aging deer you might want
to create a jaw board chart for all the age classes in your area. If you
still feel insecure about aging deer, just ask your local wildlife biologist.
It always tickles me how many hunters state how they can age deer by the amount
of gray on the face or how heavy the deer may weigh. Another misconception
is that you can tell the age of a buck by the size of its antlers. This simply
is not true. The only real indicator of age is the calcium deposits located
in a deer's mouth, called the teeth.
Several years ago a hunter approached
me at a check station and told me that his big buck was very old because his
deer hardly had any teeth. We aged his deer at 2 1/2 years old. He didn't
believe us and became belligerent and showed us where the deer had worn down
its teeth to the gum line. We politely informed him that deer do not, nor
do they ever have any upper front teeth. Needless to say, in some cases public
relations at check stations is a pre-requisite.
Although the tooth replacement/wear
method is the standard in the field, other techniques have been developed
to age deer. One method is called the cementum annuli technigue. This technique
involves extracting the bottom front tooth or incisor and emerging it in formic
or nitric acid. The acid actually decalcifies the tooth so the examiner can
literally cut the tooth in half with a sharp knife. A very thin cross-section
is cut out of the tooth and stained with a colored dye. The stained tooth
section is mounted on a microscopic slide and the number of annual rings are
counted. Just like rings on a tree, a growth ring is added every year of
life. Thus, if the tooth has 3 rings, it's 3 1/2 years old.
Another method involves the eye
lens weight. Throughout the deer's life their eye lens increases in weight.
Biologists extract the lens from a harvested deer and weigh the lens. The
heavier the eye lens weigh the older the animal, whereas the lighter lens'
are younger deer.
The cementum annuli and eye lens
weight methods are more technical and precise, but are expensive and time
consuming. The tooth replacement/wear method serves as a quick and accurate
method that anyone can use. Hunters should learn to use this method if they're
interested or involved in any kind of quality deer management program. Knowing
how to age deer is a key ingredient to determine the age structure of your
deer herd. Thus, knowing how to age deer is not only important it's crucial.
AGING DEER JAWBONES Quick Chart
Look only at lower jaw premolar and molar teeth to age a deer. Keep in
- A cusp is a point or projection on the chewing
surface of a tooth.
- The 1st 3 teeth are premolars.
- The last 3 teeth are molars.
Fawn: 6 Mos.
Count the teeth. If there are only 4 to 5 teeth, STOP! You have
1 1/2 yr old deer and older have a full set of 6 teeth.
Yearling: 1 Yr. 5 Mos.
Look at the 1st 3 teeth. If the 3rd tooth is 3 cusped, (Third milk premolar),
STOP! You have a 1 1/2 year old deer.
Yearling: 1 Yr. 6 Mos.
Look at the 1st 3 teeth. If the 3rd tooth is partially erupted, STOP!
You have a 1 1/2 year old deer. ( notice that the new tooth will be 2
cusped and is now a permanent premolar)
Yearling: 1 Yr. 7 Mos.
Look at the 1st 3 teeth. If the 3rd tooth is fully erupted and 2 cusped
and pearly white, (no dentine line) STOP! You have a 1 1/2 year old deer.
(NOTE: 17, 18, and 19 month old deer are all considered
1 1/2 Yr.
Look at the 1st 4 teeth. If the 3rd and 4th teeth (3rd premolar and 1st
molar) have a dentine line in the crest of the teeth that is narrower
than the enamel, STOP! You have a 2 1/2 year old deer.
3 1/2 Years
Look at the 1st 5 teeth. If the 3rd and 4th teeth (3rd premolar and 1st
molar) have a dentine line in the crests of the teeth that are wider or
as wide as the enamel and the 5th tooth has a dentine line in the crest
that is narrower than the enamel, STOP! You have a 3 1/2 year old deer.
3 1/2 + Years
Look at the 1st 5 teeth. If the 3rd, 4th and 5th teeth (3 premolar, 1st
and 2nd molars) have a dentine line in the crests of the teeth that are
wider than the enamel, STOP! You have a 3 1/2+ year old deer.