Does this look like a medal Roebuck?

[baguio]

Ok, well add your knowledge to this discussion then and we’ll see where it goes.

I would be surprised if the reply is a long one!

 

[teyhan1]

I would be surprised if the reply is a long one!

Given the buck is approx. 4 yrs old (give or take a year or two) then maybe in Scotland this is classed as an ‘old’ buck.

 

[baguio]

Given the buck is approx. 4 yrs old (give or take a year or two) then maybe in Scotland this is classed as an ‘old’ buck.

That would be my guess too!

 

[willie_gunn]

Sadly deer don’t carry their ID round with them. Aging animals on the hoof is either a Wild-Ass Guess or a Scientific Wild-Ass Guess. Regardless, it is still a guess. Reading this thread you could be mistaken for believing that being able to accurately age deer on the hoof is somehow akin to proving one’s virility!

To the OP; if the landowner is pressuring you for results, and you haven’t made your buck cull numbers some other way, by all means shoot it. If not, I’d be inclined to leave it for a year or two.

We sometimes forget that medal heads have everything to do with the deer, and very little to do with the stalker. If you shoot one it’s likely that you just happen to be in the right place at the right time, rather than there being any particular skill involved. If you shoot it because you think it’s a medal, and it turns out not to be, no amount of personal disappointment is going to breathe life back into it or make its antlers grow a bit more!

Just as venison tastes much the same whether it’s from a Gold medal buck or a yearling, so one set of antlers ends up looking much like any other too. Eventually you get to the point where you pretty much stop paying attention to what’s on top of a bucks head - if it’s a buck and it’s in the cull plan, it gets shot. End of.

 

[sako751sg]

Ok, well add your knowledge to this discussion then and we’ll see where it goes.

Apologies for the coat issue,mis-read the age concerned.

Do stick with the velvet though,to say ALL older animals will have started to clean by now is totally untrue.

 

[sako751sg]

Ok, well add your knowledge to this discussion then and we’ll see where it goes.

Apologies for the coat issue,mis-read the age concerned.However,not all young beasts will have started to shed either,never seen one anywhere near shedding this morning.

Do stick with the velvet though,to say ALL older animals will have started to clean by now is totally untrue.

Which magazine did you read that in? I have never read anywhere that mature/old bucks would have started changing in to summer coats in March. Younger animals change coats first, older animals much later. Mature bucks start cleaning before youngsters because they cast their antlers sooner and therefore began growing a new set sooner. Sure it's regional so you need to compare with the other buck in your herd. Ageing is a case of putting all of the things together. Some may be slower than others or not quite conform in all regards but when put together you should be able to come up with the correct age bracket! Dee are deer, wherever they liv

Pleased to say i don't have to post pics to show not ALL old bucks will have started to clean by now.Anyone with a modicum of knowledge and common sense will know not all old beasts will have started cleaning by now.

 

[baguio]

Pleased to say i don't have to post pics to show not ALL old bucks will have started to clean by now.Anyone with a modicum of knowledge and common sense will know not all old beasts will have started cleaning by now.

Correct, I'm not your mum so you certainly don't have to do what I ask you. However, it might be helpful for us to learn from.
I didn't say that all old beasts would have started cleaning yet so I assume that that wasn't aimed at me. I said that it was regional so compare with the rest of your herd.

 

[Freeforester]

Earliest I’ve personally seen a clean old buck in West Aberdeenshire was 24 February, with first to second week in March being also fairly typical for known older animals, as distinct from middle aged animals, which generally clean into the second half of April hereabouts.

District variations apply!

 

[teyhan1]

Apologies for the coat issue,mis-read the age concerned.However,not all young beasts will have started to shed either,never seen one anywhere near shedding this morning.

Do stick with the velvet though,to say ALL older animals will have started to clean by now is totally untrue.



Pleased to say i don't have to post pics to show not ALL old bucks will have started to clean by now.Anyone with a modicum of knowledge and common sense will know not all old beasts will have started cleaning by now.

Keep digging. The holes getting deeper.