Another old goat

[DeerCamp]

Congratulations on the doe I believe your boat was the second she was in the first being the ark.

Ahh, the great Catman flood of 2021.

 

[Andy S.]

Now we are talking old, she's definitely worthy of the discussion. I've only seen a few here in TN over the years that were worn to the gum line like hers.

 

[double browtine]

Wow! Never seen anything like that! She is definitely over 10 years old

 

[catman529]

Hey Catman, won't even wage a guess on age but will you let us know if there is a difference in meat flavor/quality vs a typical doe?

Yes I'm going to do a video on it. The meat smelled clean and fresh like any good deer meat, haven't cooked any yet. I had to be extra careful skinning her out because her tarsals stunk, they were soaked in piss. Didn't want to get any of that on the meat, got her cleaned up nicely and trimmed all the bloody meat out of the wound holes.

 

[ZachMarkus]

I'm surprised to hear someone in Tn. mention deer drives. My family in La. use them in cut overs and around the swampland's. They are also used in Germany for Game management. Very effective and efficient management tool that is under utilized here in Tn. Brings back some good memories of past hunts.

We've done them for years, never fails people get excited and shoot young bucks they wouldn't normally shoot.

 

[catman529]

We've done them for years, never fails people get excited and shoot young bucks they wouldn't normally shoot.

And button bucks. It's a fun time though. I kinda suck at it but we are gonna try to kill a few.

 

[megalomaniac]

We've done them for years, never fails people get excited and shoot young bucks they wouldn't normally shoot.

Yup, that sums up deer drives in a nutshell.

 

[catman529]

Here's a comparison between yesterday's doe (left) and the doe aged at 14.5 by cementum annuli (right). They were killed in different counties but very similar habitat.

 

[megalomaniac]

Here's a comparison between yesterday's doe (left) and the doe aged at 14.5 by cementum annuli (right). They were killed in different counties but very similar habitat.

View attachment 124144
View attachment 124143

A little different wear pattern, but I still think the one you killed a couple days ago looks older.

As light as she was, even considering she was dry, did she have any fat over her backstraps? (I suspect not much ) she was not long for this world even if you hadn't caused her untimely demise!

 

[jaybird62]

The oldest recorded deer in TN were 17 1/2 and 19 1/2. They were tagged does that were transplanted in an original stocking. Curious to learn how old this old doe was.

 

[Duck dogn]

Hey Catman, won't even wage a guess on age but will you let us know if there is a difference in meat flavor/quality vs a typical doe?

I was wondering the same! my grandaddy wouldn't kill a big old doe for meat because he said they was tough wonder what this one would be like

 

[Wolverine72]

Yes I'm going to do a video on it. The meat smelled clean and fresh like any good deer meat, haven't cooked any yet. I had to be extra careful skinning her out because her tarsals stunk, they were soaked in piss. Didn't want to get any of that on the meat, got her cleaned up nicely and trimmed all the bloody meat out of the wound holes.

You have probably shared this before, but woukd you share the name of the lab you use?
Sorry if it's a duicate question. Just curious if you have one you prefer. Should I ever be fortunate to harvest an old deer.
Thanks and wow is she old. Like a dinosaur!

 

[catman529]

A little different wear pattern, but I still think the one you killed a couple days ago looks older.

As light as she was, even considering she was dry, did she have any fat over her backstraps? (I suspect not much ) she was not long for this world even if you hadn't caused her untimely demise!

Not much fat on the backstraps, just the usual tallow around the hips, front of shoulders, and above the tail. Most of the deer I've killed this year were like that. She was healthy but small, even the skeleton was small. I saved the ribs too, haven't cooked deer ribs in a while.

 

[catman529]

You have probably shared this before, but woukd you share the name of the lab you use?
Sorry if it's a duicate question. Just curious if you have one you prefer. Should I ever be fortunate to harvest an old deer.
Thanks and wow is she old. Like a dinosaur!

Wildlife analytical laboratories, DeerAge.com.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Curious if she was still able to bear fawns?

 

[catman529]

Curious if she was still able to bear fawns?

She was carrying one

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

She was carrying one

Awesome, I may have missed that somewhere. I bet she's raised a slew of them in her life

 

[catman529]

Awesome, I may have missed that somewhere. I bet she's raised a slew of them in her life

I bet she did. She was alone, either lost this years fawns or maybe it was a BB that she ran off.

 

[Knothead]

Wow!
Cranky old lady!! Congrats on the harvest, Catman.
Following. Interested in knowing her age.

 

[catman529]

That's wild. I was just thinking about the focus on aging deer these days and it occurred to me, I've been deer hunting 35 years, and of all the deer I've killed, I've never looked in a one's mouth. I've just never thought about it.

I've always found it interesting, maybe something to do with BSK posting the aging info here years ago when I first got into hunting.

This year has been interesting. I've shot deer ranging from a 4-5 month old fawn during bow season, to however old this doe is. And my oldest buck to date that I let walk last year thinking he was younger.

The younger deer I don't bother pulling the jawbones, I just take a quick look to confirm it's a younger deer, usually in the 1.5-3.5 range. I find it really interesting seeing how long a deer lived in the woods before it finally fell to a hunter.