Methods on aging bucks: Roman nose?

As we all know there really isn't a fool proof way to age bucks without "getting it aged" through it's lower jaw. I however only recently noticed a phenomena known as the "roman nose". Essentially a hump on the buck's snout vs the concave snout you see on does and young bucks. I always thought it as nothing short of face genetics that has nothing to do with age until I heard about it.

I always considered weight as the most accurate way to measure buck age off appearance.
I always considered bucks mature bucks to be 210+lbs, 3rd year bucks to be 180-200lbs, and 2nd year bucks being around 140-170lbs. However this can only really be used for bucks that are in a very specific geographical area. Here are a few examples and I'd like your observations and your guesses on these bucks
Attachment 41269
The one on the top left is the best example I have of an exaggerated roman nose. The top right has a broad snout but not a full roman nose.
Is there a set age that bucks get this roman nose? Could this be a more reliable way to age deer? What methods do you use to age deer? Also post pictures of deer that you've had aged!

Here's a better angle on the top right buck.
Attachment 41270

Not sure I'd trust that too much. I don't think I've seen too many big bucks with the "roman nose".
Aging them is more at looking at a bunch of things - each guy has his own criteria - you could add nose structure to yours:
- body size
- potbellied / sway backed
- thickness through shoulders
- antler main beam diameter - don't get swayed by lots of long slender structure
- whiteness on face
- if you know how to read teeth - that works up to about 5 years

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

Not sure I'd trust that too much. I don't think I've seen too many big bucks with the "roman nose".
Aging them is more at looking at a bunch of things - each guy has his own criteria - you could add nose structure to yours:
- body size
- potbellied / sway backed
- thickness through shoulders
- antler main beam diameter - don't get swayed by lots of long slender structure
- whiteness on face
- if you know how to read teeth - that works up to about 5 years

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I agree. Get it aged with the teeth otherwise its just a guess. Like weight, lots of deer are claimed to be a certain weight but few were actually weighed with a scale.

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Originally Posted by cricket

I agree. Get it aged with the teeth otherwise its just a guess. Like weight, lots of deer are claimed to be a certain weight but few were actually weighed with a scale.

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I strongly agree with the above. I have heard all kinds of claims of 300lb deer from guys. Many “huge” deer I have seen in person actually weigh around 175bs field dressed. We once got a physically large deer in a shotgun hunt in Huron County. We took it to the CoOp to have it weighed and it was 245lbs field dressed on a certified scale. Biggest deer I have ever seen. It didn’t seem that old either.

I’ve heard of the Roman nose and the body looking like a rectangle as quick field methods for determining age on deer. Teeth tell the tale, but that’s probably postmortem...

Back in the 80’s. The MNR had check stations during the deer hunt. They would take a tooth and weigh your deer. Our camp would take guesses/wagers at the age and field dressed weight. The first few times most were guessing older and heavier. The old boys talked about the raised snout being 4+ years. Never confirmed. I learned in wmu47 ...... if it was 3.5 years and over 200 field dressed, you had a nice deer.

It's like the stories of the 300 yd kill shot on a running deer that we haven't had since they invented Range Finders HaHa..

Same with hanging weights...lots of 200+lb deer until a guy bought a livestock hanging scale to camp. We used to wager the weight and it took a while for the 'guestimates' of the older guys to drop from 180lb to 120lbs HaHa...

Belly sag, Roman nose, graying face, heavy mass antlers are all signs of 5+ year old buck when trying to determine age on the hoof.


I believe tooth wear to be best factor for aging..... BUT they say farm country deer have more tooth wear from eating high sugar foods like corn and all the grit they pick up from it and beans etc...

Have had 2 different taxidermist say this is a 6-7yr old deer and a 10+ year old at least. Who knowshttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5729ab4b9b.jpg

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Originally Posted by MikePal

It's like the stories of the 300 yd kill shot on a running deer that we haven't had since they invented Range Finders HaHa..

Same with hanging weights...lots of 200+lb deer until a guy bought a livestock hanging scale to camp. We used to wager the weight and it took a while for the 'guestimates' of the older guys to drop from 180lb to 120lbs HaHa...

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LOL yeah I find way too many people guesstimate a deer's weight, whenever someone says it "Had to be 300lbs" it usually means it was closer to 230lbs. Bucks are amazingly decieving when it comes to weight. I once was absolutely sure a typical 10-point was 240lbs live weight, when we weighed him he was 190lbs! It takes years of practice and those antlers will always inflate your guess. At least in my case we weigh all our deer live weight on a game scale.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

It's like the stories of the 300 yd kill shot on a running deer that we haven't had since they invented Range Finders HaHa..

Same with hanging weights...lots of 200+lb deer until a guy bought a livestock hanging scale to camp. We used to wager the weight and it took a while for the 'guestimates' of the older guys to drop from 180lb to 120lbs HaHa...

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There's a joke along the line of "What's the difference between a 240 lb buck and a 300lb buck?"
..
..
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A scale.

Seriously though. The article was in D&DH about 10 years ago about the heaviest whitetail field dressed weight recorded. The 5th heaviest was 295 lbs. So if you've got a 300 pounder on a verified scale, that would put you in 5th place for all-time, all of North America (actually the world I guess).

I dont think the "Roman Nose" has anything to do with age. I as you can see by the spike below, he's got a bulge, I have pictures of him the following year and the nose is the same.

Weight is also minimally useful when looking at a deers age. My father took a large 9 point 12 years ago that was 5 1/2 years old and an absolute monster, nose to tail filled an eight foot truck bed and it came in at 312 lbs dressed and was verified by a scale. My buck from this year that barely stretched across a 5 1/2 foot box was guessed at 5 1/2 by a taxidermist and although never saw a scale "might" have been 200 lbs dressed. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2c039ce91a.jpg

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Originally Posted by oaknut

I dont think the "Roman Nose" has anything to do with age. I as you can see by the spike below, he's got a bulge, I have pictures of him the following year and the nose is the same.

Weight is also minimally useful when looking at a deers age. My father took a large 9 point 12 years ago that was 5 1/2 years old and an absolute monster, nose to tail filled an eight foot truck bed and it came in at 312 lbs dressed and was verified by a scale. My buck from this year that barely stretched across a 5 1/2 foot box was guessed at 5 1/2 by a taxidermist and although never saw a scale "might" have been 200 lbs dressed.

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That's a very interesting assessment. I've never seen a spike that looked like that. Also 312lbs dressed?! That's gotta be a record holder and I don't mean that sarcastically. Saying that's a once in a lifetime buck would be the understatement of the century. Any pictures of him hanging or his mount?

I hunt with a buddy in 68 and we have weighed deer(about 20 altogether) for maybe 20 years. The largest we have had on the scale was just over 170lb field dressed, an 8point with only the guts out and still with the hide. The largest doe went 135lb dressed. Haven't tested the scales in a few years but when we did I used 50lb of weight and it was close to bang on, so I feel confidant they are within a few lbs. I do have pics on cam of deer that are bigger then the ones we killed so I know the 200lb are there, just not when I am armed.
I usually look at the teeth for wear to try to guess the age, but I aint no pro, just to see if it is old or not.
John

I dont know how to age deer at least not professionally....... but IMO this deer is past his prime and big. It has to be one of the biggest deer that I have ever seen..... Maybe its the camera adding extra lbs, but this dude seems big, real big to me...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e37e0212_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a2e53bcd_c.jpg

Leonard Lee Rue III one of top deer expert in North America stated the only reasonably reliable method of aging a deer is a measurement of the teeth height ,measured from the gumline to the crown. One of the morals-do not remember buy now ,which one.
I tried few times to measure my deer, but figured -why care?

Every deer is a "trophy" ,regardless of age, sex ,size of the body,weight on hoof , field dressed,or antler size.

The harder the conditions the deer was harvested in(while conditions were ethical)the bigger the "trophy".

I’ve been fortunate to have shot a handful of old bucks and I can attest that they all had large/fuller muzzles. The deer also had 200 pound + dressed weights. These characteristics don’t reveal a deer’s specific age but are just indications of physical maturity.

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Originally Posted by fratri

I dont know how to age deer at least not professionally....... but IMO this deer is past his prime and big. It has to be one of the biggest deer that I have ever seen..... Maybe its the camera adding extra lbs, but this dude seems big, real big to me...
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e37e0212_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a2e53bcd_c.jpg

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That's a big buck in real poor shape. Look at the depth of his chest back to brisket. They do get poor antlers there last year.

Largest doe i have ever taken:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4910/4...afd55091_k.jpg

That toboggan is exactly 5 feet long. That doe weighed 138 lbs field dressed (gutted only) at the butcher.

3rd Heaviest buck i have ever taken (don't have pics of the 2 heaviest):

https://live.staticflickr.com/4727/3...dc6fa723_k.jpg

He field dressed 189 lbs at the butcher. Heaviest i have ever taken dressed 199 lbs at the butcher and was taken late December after he already shed - so with his antlers he would have just made 200 lbs dressed.

My local game butcher ran a big deer contest for many years. I won 2 years for a doe at 142 lbs and a buck at 202 lbs.
Both were field dressed with hides still attached. Just to put things in perspective. He butchers at least a hundred each season.

Not saying there are not bigger out there but just a sample over the years.

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Originally Posted by SongDog

Belly sag, Roman nose, graying face, heavy mass antlers are all signs of 5+ year old buck when trying to determine age on the hoof.


I believe tooth wear to be best factor for aging..... BUT they say farm country deer have more tooth wear from eating high sugar foods like corn and all the grit they pick up from it and beans etc...

Have had 2 different taxidermist say this is a 6-7yr old deer and a 10+ year old at least. Who knowshttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5729ab4b9b.jpg

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that is a dream buck. wow. just wow