Harvested back in 2022, this buck had been seen and documented as far back as 2019. Possibly even earlier.
This northern IL buck sports a solid body and good set of antlers in 2022. Based off of all the video and pictures you see below what is your best guess for the age of this whitetail?
I’m going to say 5.5, but looking at him in 2019, I could believe he’s 6.5 also. But my pick is 5.5. And if that’s correct, this CERTAINLY is not a Pennsylvania deer!
Based on the 2022 photos my first thought was that his buck is obviously mature - he's thick bodied and rectangular. But I didn't see the extra saggy belly/back or floppy neck rolls that indicate an overly mature animal. All that made me think 4.5 years old. But then I saw the video of him in 2019, in which he clearly looked 3.5. With that being the case, I have to assume this deer is 6.5 despite the pictures not quite looking like that.
This large-bodied buck has a large neck, but the juncture between the base of the neck and the chest cavity remains distinguishable. Also, it does not exhibit a substantial amount of loose hair at the brisket. Although some drop is observed in the lower jaw, the back of this animal remains flat with no noticeable drop. I estimate its age to be 5.5.
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