Age this guy…

Pics taken this morning 8/22/24

Maybe 3.5.

3 1/2 or older is all I can guess.

I'm going 3.5

I hate guessing deer this time of year. I won't "guess" since I already know.

Hillbilly Hunter said:

I hate guessing deer this time of year. I won't "guess" since I already know.

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Yep. I will let a few more guesses come in before giving insight

Mature

I think he's 4.5 plus but hard to tell this time of year.

Easily 3 1/2, but I'm actually leaning towards 4 1/2.

For the record, i would have guessed 3.5 as well. We named him Ruge…

Heres the story. My first pic of Ruge came on 9/16/21. He crossed a disced up field on a warm morning. I had him at 3.5 ion that day. Here is the pic….

In 2021 had lots of sightings of him. My son could have shot him in Dec 2021 but it was warm and we didnt have time to mess with him due to his basketball game. He was very run down by end of season.


In 2022 he resurfaced in October and had really bulked up. Very confident he was a sturdy 4.5. Still a big 6, he ran with Wesley the mature buck i killed in 2022. I actually shot at him ithe 2nd week of muzzleoader behind my house but my muzzlleloader blew up . Well sort of - easy shot, good rest but gun (savage smokeless) had unusual rexoli and muzzle jump and the action wouldnt open. Pretty sure i double charged the gun. He ran out of field so i assumed he was dead and nothing. No blood , no slip marks, nothing. Looked for hours. Zip. Muzzleloader action wouldnt open after that . Actually bought a cva wolf and used it to kill Wesley 3 days later. No other pictures, no sightings or Ruge.

Here he is in 2022

The 2023 season came and almost went with zero sightings or pics of Ruge. He was far from my mind as he was never a high target priority anyway. But right before new years we moved a cam to a new area and bingo, there he is as a rutted out 5.5 . I was shocked he was alive and he came home. No mistakern that massive neck and that 6 pt rack with symmetrical deep forks. Ruge would survive another yr.

Then today in the heart of his range, i got him with a group of 3.5s. He didnt stay long, but i couldnt confuse though deep forks and the angle of his tips. He has to be 6.5 min. But could possibly be 7.5. Id lean 6.5. Im torn on whether to pursue him or not. Obviously he wont score anything but that matters little to me. Part of me believes it would be doolish to pass a deer that obviously has topped out on a property so crowded with older age class deer. But the other part would kind of like to see how he progresses to the next yr. Either way, its good to have Ruge back in town and if i do catch up with him (or more likely my son) i definitely will be sending those teeth in.

Based on the summer pics, I'm in the 4.5 but no older camp. IF he is the same 6 you have had in years past, he would have to be 5.5 minimum. But the summer pics don't look like a typical 5.5yo

I cant wait to see him rutted out

megalomaniac said:

Based on the summer pics, I'm in the 4.5 but no older camp. IF he is the same 6 you have had in years past, he would have to be 5.5 minimum. But the summer pics don't look like a typical 5.5yo

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That has been my issue with aging summer deer. Like the long high rumped deer you posted- bucks always look younger in the summer. I have zero doubts its the same deer, but the only way to know the age is to send the teeth in for cementum testing.

Which goes to show just how inaccurate summer-time aging can be

TheLBLman said:

Which goes to show just how inaccurate summer-time aging can be

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Yep. And i woukd have done the same. Id say 3.5. It doesnt matter how old tbey are, the neck looks so skinny in summer. Deer , like people, also lose muscle as they age.

3.5-4.5 in summer pics alone

Aging bucks in summer is a crap shoot. I'm constantly changing my mind when looking at multiple pictures of the same buck. And I've learned to lean to the older side, in that if a buck is a toss-up between two ages, go with older age.