AGE OF THIS BUCK ??

[willowbank]

Would anyone like to age this animal, obviously keyboard stalkers need not get involved, he’s a big boy (balls) with good palmation and the usual thickened neck.
Not seen him before, he’s been doing the rounds of the feeders upending two with his antlers by just heaving them out of the ground pegs and all.
A YouTube Stalker acquaintance has proclaimed him to be a youngster and won’t hear of him being older, so settle the difference of opinion for me

Willowbank

 

[deerstalker.308]

Mature, but still more to come I’d say.

 

[shakey jake]

@stalkerboydy be a good bet on this.
i cant see him being that young

 

[VSS]

Thin beams and narrow palms. He could be fairly young.

 

[LarryLightFoot]

Between 6-8 years old ?

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Keyboard warrior when it comes to fallow, but I would guess 5 years from my limited experience,

 

[potshotpat]

Just count the candles on it's birthday cake, simple really.

 

[Pete6.5]

Middle aged he's not overly old I would say

 

[Pete6.5]

I find it's not a good idea to age them from their palms but I find they get thicker/heavier in the beams and brow points as they get older.

 

[SussexSteve]

Half decent but nothing special and hard to tell in the dark with the IR. Be good to see in daylight

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

I would say five or six but it would all depend on the quality of food and animals in the area.

 

[SussexSteve]

Middle aged he's not overly old I would say

That’s the way I like to age them

 

[willowbank]

Just count the candles on it's birthday cake, simple really.

He won’t be getting anymore candles on his cake if he trashes another feeder

WB

 

[Mungo]

Thin beams and narrow palms. He could be fairly young.

Agree.

Neck isn’t terribly chunky and he looks quite ‘graceful’. The older ones start to look a bit more hefty.

 

[Tim.243]

He won’t be getting anymore candles on his cake if he trashes another feeder

WB

That is how one farm I shoot work out the fallow are around, his top hat feeders are getting tipped over.
Just knock him over as his off spring are growing but as you point out "come in number 6" your time is up.
I say 5 & a 1/2

 

[willowbank]

Agree.

Neck isn’t terribly chunky and he looks quite ‘graceful’. The older ones start to look a bit more hefty.

I’ve a few images of him showing a good thick neck and a fair old pair of balls. Couldn’t post any more pics.

WB

 

[Fowler1990]

He won’t be getting anymore candles on his cake if he trashes another feeder

WB

Was going to say must be on the younger side of middle aged, maybe deer teens given the vandalising of feeders.
Won't be seeing old age if he continues....

 

[T.eddie]

Coronets would be a good indicator, hard to make out but they don't look huge on him so would air on the younger side I.e middle age as some others have called out

 

[VSS]

Antlers don't look dissimilar in development to this one, which is off a sorrel:

 

[AlexD]

Shoot it and look at the teeth.

The answer has hints of the researcher in California, Donal Rusk Currey, who in 1964 cut down a tree to find its age with the help of a park ranger, only to discover when he counted its rings they had cut down and killed the oldest tree in the world (really). So why do you need to know? It is obviously younger than its prime so let it live some more years then cut it down.