How old was that deer you shot last season ? Was it a year and a half old or was it 10 years old ? A big fawn, or average size doe ? Most of us can differentiate between a young buck and and older one with no trouble, but only by examining a whitetails teeth can we get a clearer picture of its age.

Knowing how old the deer you are harvesting in your area are, can give you a good idea of your herd's health, and genetic potential. For instance, is that 14 inch eight pointer a real good 1 1/2 year old buck, or a small 2 1/2 year old ? Is that gnarly horned six pointer an old timer, going down hill, or a mature buck with a poor rack ? In the following pages, I will describe how you can tell for yourself how old your deer is.



History of the Tooth Wear Aging Technique


Knowing the age structure of a deer herd is crucial to deer biologists. When it became apparent that antler growth was not a good indicator of a deers age, biologists went to work looking for a more reliable method for aging deer. Taking a cue from the old horse traders, who would look inside a horses mouth to see how worn the animals teeth were, they went to work developing a system that would work for whiteTail deer.

Using the idea of tooth wear and replacement, C.W. Severinghaus and Jack Tanck of the New York State Game Dept., came up with the system that would soon become the standard for aging deer in 1949. The method was refined further by biologists Burton L. Dahlberg and Ralph C. Guettinger of Wisconsin, in 1956. Since then, two other more accurate aging methods have been developed, one involving weighing the lens of a whitetails eye, and the other, counting the layers of cementum that have built up on an incisor. However, this page will only deal with the tooth wear method.



Myths and Misconceptions


1.) A gray muzzle does NOT always mean an old deer. Although many older bucks may have grayer muzzles, the coloring of a deer is strictly geneticly predisposed . Many yearling bucks will have noses as gray as their grand-daddy's !

2.) Have you ever seen anybody stick their finger in a 90 pound spike horn's mouth and proclaim "This buck is going downhill !! He's so old his teeth are nothin' but gums !"? Many people don't realize there is a significant gap between the incisors (front teeth), and the molars (back teeth). This gumline is often misinterpreted as a loss of teeth due to age. Not True !!!



Before you can jump in and start aging your buck, you have to have a basic knowledge of the terms and traits of a whitetails tooth. When aging a deer with the tooth wear method, you will be looking only at the three molars, and the three pre-molars. It is IMPERATIVE that you know the difference between the two, and the parts that make up each one before you start ! So.... if your ready... click on the icon below, and we'll learn a little about deer dentistry !!





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