Lab tooth aging

[Kurt]

Have always been curious about what age deer we were shooting. Instead of guessing in 2024 I pulled the front teeth per directions off two bucks and sent them in. Cost was $75 total but I could have done 4 sets of teeth for that price. Wish I had pulled the teeth off my son's elk. The results were interesting to me.

Son's buck was a mature looking 6 point that we felt needed to be culled. That one was 4.5 years old. Daughter's buck was what I felt was low end to shoot and had 11 points. Good mass though on bases. That one was 3.5 years old.

Going to start doing this each year to see how we are doing field judging and wanting to get to 4.5 year minimum age harvest if possible. It was Matson's that I used for last year. Anyway, if you have 4 sets of teeth, its not too bad per set.

 

[George]

cementum annuli results are +/- 1 year 50% of the time.

G

 

[weekender21]

I’ve had the bucks on our place and a few neighbors bucks aged with this method over the past four years. So far only one differed from my tooth ware estimate. Both methods have a level of error but it’s fun to do.


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[Mennoniteman]

I've been examining quality photos of the lower jaw of our older deer on a big screen right beside good example pictures for years already, and I'm convinced that with some practice, a good visual examination of a magnified high resolution picture has about as good a degree of accuracy as the mail in test.

 

[George]

I've been examining quality photos of the lower jaw of our older deer on a big screen right beside good example pictures for years already, and I'm convinced that with some practice, a good visual examination of a magnified high resolution picture has about as good a degree of accuracy as the mail in test.

+ or - 1, 50% of the time?

My taxidermist in Michigan did all of my Iowa deer. I asked, so every year my taxidermist would tell me that the buck was 3 1/2 years old. In reality, those deer were all 5 1/2 + or - 1 year. Why such a discrepancy? My taxidermist was comparing tooth wear of Michigan's glacial till soil to my loess silt loam bucks, or versa visa.

G

 

[Mennoniteman]

+ or - 1, 50% of the time?

My taxidermist in Michigan did all of my Iowa deer. I asked, so every year my taxidermist would tell me that the buck was 3 1/2 years old. In reality, those deer were all 5 1/2 + or - 1 year. Why such a discrepancy? My taxidermist was comparing tooth wear of Michigan's glacial till soil to my loess silt loam bucks, or versa visa.

G

You also have your game cam pics. Someone like you who has several good camera sites on their property, and invests the adequate time in analyzing their game camera pictures, identifying, labeling, and sorting pics into yearly folders has solid aging data on most of their resident bucks.

 

[swat1018]

I'll never waste my money again. They told me 4.5 and I had 5 years of pics, and he was already probably 2 in the first pic.

 

[Buckly]

I sent in front teeth to the lab for 6 years. They always asked on the form how old do you think the deer is. I always put in the age to my best estimate based on experience and camera data. Every year the results came back exact to the age I guessed. So I quit the practice and saved my money

 

[Kurt]

Buckly, which lab were you using? That is disappointing to me. Maybe its just a scam deal.

 

[Buckly]

You know I really can’t remember. It’s been a while and I’m sure I don’t have any paperwork around anymore. I would hate to throw out a name and be wrong. There are only a couple that do it I think. I don’t know about a scam but, its relevance just wasn’t worth it for me. I really don’t hear much about it being discussed much anymore.

 

[yoderjac]

For those who shoot a deer and really want to know the age, it is probably the most accurate tool we have. For management purposes, it is probably not really needed. Most shoot/don't shoot decisions are made by field judgement. Young bucks are obvious for any seasoned hunter. As bucks mature, it becomes harder to field judge. In our area, it takes some practice, but one can usually tell a 3 1/2 buck from a 2 1/2 buck from the rack alone. Once you get beyond 3 1/2, body characteristic help. In my location, when you get to 4 1/2 and beyond, you are talking about a very small percentage of our bucks.

One more thought. Unless you control a very large tract of land in the multiple thousands of acres, during the rut, bucks are generally going to make excursions looking for hot does. It becomes hard to "save" a mature buck for next season. Often, folks on nearby parcels will have different harvest thresholds than you.

For folks who manage somewhat intensely and keep an inventory of game camera pictures, probably benefit little from accurate aging as @Buckly describes. On the other hand. If one harvests a nice buck say with a bow, and they view the ability to get within bow range and harvest a mature buck and the real accomplishment above the size of the rack, the most accurate aging technique we have may be an even better trophy than a mount.

I had my best buck so far mounted, but I also had the Taxidermist pull the jawbone. I only had our local biologist use jawbone aging, but I preserved the jawbone to include as a separate mount next to the deer mount. I hold that jawbone in higher esteem than the rack as indicating my sense of accomplishment.

 

[George]

I sent in front teeth to the lab for 6 years. They always asked on the form how old do you think the deer is. I always put in the age to my best estimate based on experience and camera data. Every year the results came back exact to the age I guessed. So I quit the practice and saved my money

Buckly, which lab were you using? That is disappointing to me. Maybe its just a scam deal.

I took it to mean that Buckly was good at aging, not that the lab was scamming.

G

 

[Kurt]

George, rereading it that makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying. On the fence about doing it again but we'll see. Good discussion anyway for a late winter distraction. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[weekender21]

$33 seems worth it to me just as an extra data point. I only send in bucks though, I couldn’t justify every doe we kill.


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