Far Afield
How old is that whitetail?
With Oak Duke

Oak Duke, publisher of the Wellsville Daily Reporter writes regularly on the outdoors.

As hunters we always want more knowledge of the game. And when we see a whitetail, even if it's antlerless and "just a doe" there may in its behavior an important piece of the puzzle.

But what do we see? How old is the deer? Is it a mature doe a youngster or a fawn?

And how old is that buck? Older bucks can have smaller racks and fewer points than younger bucks.

And don't laugh. It's not easy to tell the age of a deer at a glance. More than one discerning and experienced hunter has shot a "button buck" or doe fawn, thinking that it was a mature or "old" doe.

Bucks can not be aged by the number of points on their antlers. Some yearlings (oneand a-half years old) sport eight antler points while there are three-year-olds running around out there with just four points.

Bucks are individuals too and if we want to be able to age them on the hoof, we must look for keys in their behavior and certain defining physical aspects, not simply counting points and antler spread.

Both bucks and does are aged by wildlife biologists at deer check stations during the hunting season. Teeth are checked and dental wear and particular tooth eruption allow a careful examiner to ascertain age.

But the ability to age deer "on the hoof" though seemingly a lot less scientific than the forensic dental record (which is not perfect) is not as difficult as it may seem.

Whitetails have been known to live as many as 17 years in captivity, but once a deer reaches six or seven years on a wild diet in most cases, the animal's teeth are all but worn down, making feeding and the attainment of optimum health through the seasons much more difficult.

Most fawns in the Southern Tier of New York and Pennsylvania have lost their spots by the time archery season rolls around. However, once in a great while, late fawns (conceived during a late rut) will still carry a few, prior to changing to their winter coat. Once the fawns' coats match their mother's, a youngster's coloration is indistinguishable from older deer.

But behavioral characteristics help us recognize fawns for what they are.

These youngsters are almost always together and when they are seen traveling without the company of a mature doe during archery season, bow hunters should perk up. Does leave their fawns for a brief time when they are approaching estrus and run off with a buck. Soon, in a few days, after nature has its way, they hook back up with their young.

Buck fawns are a bit bigger than their sisters and are often mistaken for a doe and her fawn at this time.

Fawns of the year during the hunting season have relatively small ears, small nose or muzzle and are often quite curious. Their mothers have large ears and "look like a mule" and their sniffers get longer with age. And their bellies sag a bit (they almost look pregnant), the older they get.

When we are filling our antlerless permits, though buck fawns are legal, we should be very careful and if possible, scope or glass their heads (use binoculars) first on every deer we plan on shooting. Buck fawns have little nubs for antlers. The purpose of the antlerless permits or doe tags from a game management perspective is to cut down the population. Culling out little bucks does not do this. The harvesting of mature does is the only effective way to control the deer population.

Besides, today's little fellow is tomorrow's wall hanger.

Yearling bucks look a lot like does with horns. They are often alone during archery season, "fearing for their lives" that is, not tolerated by the more dominant breeding bucks around the does. And it is a time when nature signals for them to disperse. According to radio tracking studies yearling bucks may move great distances in their wanderings.

Most yearling bucks do not have an antler spread past their ears (17 inches from tip to tip). And their necks remain thin like a doe's.

Two-and-a-half year old bucks develop heavier racks, and their bodies begin to "bulk up" too. Their necks swell a bit with repeated workouts on trees, saplings and each other in sparring matches.

Three-and-a-half year old bucks have the "bull necks" during the rut and often "run their weight off " from their peaking testosterone levels during the breeding season, giving their hind quarters a lean, light almost scrawny appearance by the time the gun season rolls around.

And once in a while we have the pleasure of seeing a fourand a-half year old buck. They are very rare, probably one percent or less of bucks in our area. They are truly the stuff dreams are made of. Their bodies are heavy and they've lost that "tucked up" appearance with almost "short" legs.

But they have a presence all their own that gives even the most experienced hunter "the shakes" and a peak upland experience when we know what we are looking at.