Hunters can estimate the age of deer they take by evaluating replacement and wear of teeth on the lower jaw. Most importantly, the ability to estimate a deer’s age based on the wear of its teeth is something most … Lingual crest on tooth 5 is almost worn away and rounded in tooth 6. To implement this practice, hunters must have the ability to accurately age bucks on the hoof based on their body characteristics, an ability that most hunters considered impossible a decade ago. How Long Do Mule Deer Live. Magic is in the air, and big mule deer bucks on our minds. The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule.Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.. However, the age of the oldest female blacktail wild deer on the record was 20 years. At 3 weeks of age, these consistent meetings will cease, as the fawn wanders around foraging for food. The mom and fawn pair will continue to meet in the same spot until the baby is ready to independently seek out vegetation. Mule Deer. The Mule Deer carries its thin, black-tipped tail drooped, unlike the uplifted, bushy white tail of its cousin.. .. Mule Deer have no canine teeth and, .. Elk, both male and female, posses canine teeth . Harvesting white-tailed bucks based on age is becoming an increasingly common management strategy. After the innards are removed, you’ll cut out the tenderloins. I usually put a large wheel barrel under the deer so it can catch everything that falls out. Both mule deer and whitetails can be aged by this method. Post a picture or video of a buck, ask the score, and you’ll have people telling you the score within 1/8″ – it’s kinda’ laughable. Fluctuations in mule deer populations are normal but to manage mule deer well, we must understand the factors causing the fluctuations. To find a big, mature mule deer buck you must either draw a limited tag in a superb area, spend lots of money on a good private-land guided hunt or work very hard and hunt very smart on public land. At this point, you have three metrics that you can solely use to determine if a buck is a mature, 160″+ deer… They have a sense of smell that is 1000 times the accuracy of the human sense of smell. We also conduct Ranching for Wildlife Hunts in units 12, 13, 131 and 231 located in the northwest corner of Colorado. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus), Columbia blacktail (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), and Sitka blacktail deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) are subspecies of the same species that are separated by geographically defined boundary (Chapter 2) lines for records-keeping purposes. Males grow forked antlers that have 8 to 10 points and spread as much as 4 feet (1.2 m). This guide is designed to block deer into these age … Once a deer hits 6 years of age, tooth 4 is worn completely smooth — no enamel ridge should be visible in the center of tooth 4. Age is one of the three most important factors in predicting how big a … Robby with a Colorado mule deer lab aged at seven years. To check replacement and wear, you will need to slit the check bone to expose the teeth on the lower jaw. Mule deer bucks, especially in the rut, love to lay up in tiny folds between hills, timber pockets, and little creek drainages you didn’t know were there. The autumn air is crisp in the high country, and mule deer seasons across the west are about to open. Therefore, its difficult to determine the age of a deer that’s older than 10 1/2 years. Mule deer … The second, larger buck has symmetric 2-3″ brow tines. When it comes to their native habitat, man can do a lot to enhance a whitetails’ native environment. 0 10 55.7 K. Previous post Curing Winter Deer Hunting Blues With An Over-The-Counter Hunt. Every year during opening weekend of firearms season, biologists with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources show up at check stations around the state to compile information regarding the age and sex structure of that weekend's deer harvest. Whitetail deer are primarily born in late May and early June. Hiking hard from Point A to Point B with your head down and legs swinging is the best way I know to run every good buck out of your zone. Accurately knowing the age of a big mule deer buck has taught me a bookful about big mule deer behavior. Keep in mind that there are mule deer areas where, genetically, it is common for no browtines or weak browtines, even for big mature deer. Two Enormous Sample Sizes Dr. Mickey Hellickson of Orion Wildlife Management Services, and formerly the chief wildlife biologist on the King Ranch, sent 800 to 1,500 buck incisors annually to Matson’s Lab in Milltown, Montana for CAA. While rare, it happens. Hunters can estimate the age of deer they take by evaluating replacement and wear of teeth on the lower jaw. Physical and behavioral characteristics determine the age of a white-tailed deer fawn. But with mule deer, their native habitat seems to be best if it’s just left alone by humans…that is unless thoughtful foresight is used to enhance habitat for mule deer. Mule deer and black-tailed deer (collectively called mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus) are icons of the American West. Mule deer can eat everything a whitetail can and then some. By freezing a tooth, a biologist can slice off a thin layer and determine the exact age of the deer. It’s not reliable enough on its own. Today however, hunters across the whitetail’s range are estimating the age … Read More Therefore, when most deer are harvested in November they are either six months, 1-1/2; years, 2-1/2; years, 3-1/2; years, etc., in age. Include Brow Tines for Whitetail Deer If you count points on a whitetail buck’s antlers, you should consider adding brow tines in your points count. Mule deer usually live about 10 years in the wild, but can live to be much older in captivity. Some exceptional antlers can be found on deer in the “middle-age” age structure (3.5 to 4.5 years). apply for a lower-point unit or purchase an over ... Retrieve Doc. A deer of this age is plenty mature. Mule deer are bulkier, have larger ears, a black-tipped tail, a whiter face, are a third larger, and have bigger antlers that fork out instead of branch from a single shaft. Scoring a few mule deer racks can also help you when field judging deer because it gives you a better understanding of what measurements make a 160″ class buck versus a 190″ class buck. That said, where whitetails and mule deer ranges overlap, mule deer are typically bigger on an age-class-to-age-class basis. In fact, you can age them based on their canine tooth wear.. Related Posts: .. so the warden wanted to age the deer .. Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists have been using this deer aging technique to manage deer on ranches, wildlife management areas and by county since 1965. Older bucks (5 1/2+ years) will have more pronounced back sag, deep bellies, and their neck and brisket during the rut appear as one giant muscle. https://bit.ly/2kzeYl6 Please visit the Bearded Butcher Store!! Both mule deer and whitetails can be aged by this method. Mule Deer vs White-tailed Deer – Doe Front View. Although this method is not perfect, it has been The blacktails are frequently involved in highway-related accidents. Then it also makes it easier to move the deer’s innards in order to dispose of it. HIGH DESERT MULEY'S TX0900 Facility # 1136B VAN HORN, TEXAS LOMETA, TEXAS The Mule Deer is a deer indigenous to Western North America, it is named for its ears which are large like those of of the Mule. The major predator of this deer is humans … I say this because in many parts of the country up to 75% of all bucks harvested are only 1 1/2 years old. The Behavior. Tooth eruption also signals fawn age. If you forget how to age deer, I might suggest you tell your hunting buddies that the deer you harvested was 1 1/2 years old. That said, it’s very difficult to use this parameter alone to make the decision to shoot. For deer that are 4 ½ years of age or greater I look for swayed backs, pot-bellies, a full neck, deep chest and well rounded rump. Mule deer have very good night vision and can detect the movement of predators as far away as 600 meters. Mule deer … If you see a female deer return at night to tend to a fawn, then it is likely that the baby is less than 3 weeks old. It’s mid-October. Older fawns grow more social, lose their spots and venture further away from their mothers. As a general rule, though, large antlers come with big bodies and old age. Mule deer lack front teeth; they just have a hard palate. Generally, the lifetime of mule deer is 10 years in the wild, as compared to other species of deer. Mule deer are slightly larger, have bigger ears, smaller tails, and have a forked antler structure rather than having points that grow from a central branch. Fawn. The same is true for mule deer. Whitetails also have a higher birth rate, their does can often breed their first fall at 6 months of age. It takes a deer about 10 1/2 years to wear its teeth down to the gum line. The importance of deer age . Age Determination of White-tailed Deer Tooth wear and replacement is one of several methods for aging white-tailed deer. Mule deer inhabits the western part of the US and Canada. Accurately field judging a mule deer buck’s trophy status starts with knowing the basics of scoring a mule deer. How to Age a Deer. Newborns are spotted and do not graze until they reach two weeks of age. For mule deer and whitetails, that generally means an antler growth peak occurring at 5.5 years of age or older. From 1978 through 2001 the Trans Pecos mule deer population has fluctuated from lows of fewer than 100,000 to a high of 221,220. Mule deer may not have as much going on above their heads as other members of the deer family, like elk and moose, but judging them in the field can be just as tricky. We’ve all heard it, mule deer scores thrown around like everyone has a tape measure embedded in their eyeballs. Only the underside of the white-tailed deer’s tail is white, while the mule deer… Mule deer does weigh in between 100 and 220 pounds, whereas white-tailed does come in anywhere from 90-200 lbs. The easiest way to differentiate the species is to look at the tail. Amazingly these deer approached the upper age limits despite severe upper Midwestern winters and heavy hunting pressure. However, if you are dealing with a mule or any other type of deer buck, it may not be necessary to include brow tines in your count. With only 50 deer tags available and a very generous season during the first three weeks of November, this hunt is pretty hard to deny as a great option for a big buck. A small enamel ridge will be present in the center of tooth 5 and tooth 6.