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Field
Judging Bucks
©
By
Othmar Vohringer
Here is a quick and easy guide on how to field judge a
whitetail deer buck’s age. There are some basic body "shapes"
that
help identify a buck's age, but you kind of have to "read between the
body
size." In essence, you have to ignore the over-all body size and look
for
specific characteristics.
Just
remember that body shape is going to change
dramatically from the late summer and opening of bow season to November
(rut).
Even older bucks look more "meek" in late summer. There is also a
difference in a buck’s body shape and size in different
regions of North
America. For example a southern United States buck compared to a
Canadian buck
of the same age looks much smaller and dainty. For comparison see the
two pictures
below side-by-side of a Saskatchewan buck (below right)
and a
Alabama buck
(below
left)
of about the same age.
 
 Yearling
Buck
For
yearling bucks, even in Canada where their body weight
can be high, yearlings still have the look of a large doe with antlers.
 2
1/2 Year old Buck
2
1/2-year-old bucks are more muscular in chest, but not
as much more in hams than a yearling, but they will have a large neck
near the
rut. In fact, the easiest way to identify a yearling from a 2 1/2 is
the neck.
If it has a big thick neck, it is not a yearling.
 3
1/2 Year old Buck
3 1/2-year-old bucks look very much like thoroughbred race-horses. Very
trim
waist, but shoulders and hams are very muscular.
4
1/2 Year old Buck
4 1/2-year-old bucks are really at the peak of their game. Muscular in
hams and
shoulders, but belly is starting to get big, with some sag. The neck of
a 4 1/2
is so large it kind of blends straight into the chest with little
definition
between the two, as in no distinct line between the end of the neck and
the
beginning of
the chest.
 5
1/2 Years and older Bucks
5
1/2+ year-old bucks have a lot of belly sag and the back
starts to become swayed. Neck is huge with no definition between neck
and
chest.
----------------------------------
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