“One of the most important skills for any deer manager involved in a Quality Deer Management (QDM) program is the ability to age deer after harvest,” Adams said.

“Without knowing the deer’s age it is unfair to compare deer by body weight, antler size or reproductive output. It is also important to know the age structure of your deer herd to set realistic goals and expectations, and to have some measure of fawn survival (or predation). The most commonly used technique to age deer after harvest is the tooth-replacement-and-wear technique. As the name implies, this technique involves two processes: tooth replacement (simply the replacement of teeth over time as with humans) and tooth wear (the erosion of teeth over time).

“Aging by the tooth wear and replacement method is not an exact science,” Adams continued. “However, with a little training, anyone can very accurately place deer into one of three age classes: fawn, yearling (1.5 years), and adult (2.5 years and older). This is literally accomplished by being able to verify whether a deer’s six adult teeth have fully erupted. Being able to differentiate these age classes is extremely accurate (greater than 95 percent). Once a deer is at least 2.5 years old, then you use the amount of wear to estimate whether the deer is actually 2.5, 3.5 or older. This is where the subjectivity comes in. Your age estimate will be a minimum age for the deer and it is very accurate to within a year. For example, if you estimate a deer to be 4.5 years old, there is a high likelihood the deer is actually 4.5 or within a year of that age.”

This is a good method to use. However, there is another option that’s (sometimes) more effective. And it’s called the cementum annuli analysis.

“That’s where a special lab uses a deer’s incisor to estimate age,” Adams said. “Tooth wear and replacement is more accurate for deer up to 2.5 years old, while cementum annuli analysis is more accurate for deer 4.5 years and older. These techniques have similar accuracy for 3.5-year-old deer.” continue reading source

out hiking the other day i found a nice jaw bone whitetail

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Author: mkmcst

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