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Cementum annuli Aging
- Thread starter Panhandlin Pat
- Start date
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I used to do it back when I was guiding in the King ranch back in '03-'06. We used to skin the lower jaw back and with some tree loppers, cut the front incisors off, tag them and ship them to the lab. I don't remember the lab we would send them to. This is the most accurate way to determine the age of the deer.
The state (Texas) sends us envelopes to send in pronghorn teeth with every tag. I've yet to get data back on it and they didn't tell me what lab it goes to or if it was publicly available.
Were yall happy with the results?
That's what I was hoping to hear!
Here are two labs that my friend said he has used.
deerage.com
matsonslab.com
Whitetail Deer Aging • Experts in Cementum Annuli Forensic Aging
Experts in Whitetail Deer Aging and other game! We offer premium aging packages to ensure you get the most accurate age for your whitetail.
deerage.com
Matson's Laboratory - The Deer Aging Authority
How old is your deer? We specialize in aging deer, and other game, using cementum age analysis. Age your deer teeth with the experts!
matsonslab.com
mark slavinski
Well-Known Member
I use deerage.com and have no complaints. Started in 2018 when I shot a 163 inch buck. Everyone was looking at the jaw and telling me it was a 31/2 yr old by the teeth wear. I sent it in and it came back 51/2 yrs old. I have done it for every buck since, it is fun to take a guess then see what they really are! This years buck was a 125" ten point and I'm really curious what he will come back…. I'm thinking 31/2 buy now I'll know in about a month…
Thanks for the input! I plan to get these teeth sent to them soon. Life keeps getting in the way.
Prairie Sasquatch
Well-Known Member
I've used deer age the last 5 years. Very interesting to know how old they are. Waiting on two right now. My in laws farm and ranch so we send in the bigger bucks we shoot on their farm. People think they can age deer. I'm skeptical unless they have lots of history.
All the bucks we've aged (about 10 now) have been between the ages of 3.5 to 6.5 and I've been wrong in age more times than I've been right. Once they get 3.5 or older around here you can't really go off body and antler size. 1.5 and 2.5 year old no problem. After that who knows. These bucks have all ranged in antler scores of between 128 and 150 inches. The oldest have not been the biggest either. Most of the deer seem to max out around 140-150 inches from what I can tell.
This is one of my favorite pictures this last year. 1.5 year old vs a buck I know is around 7.5 years old. Lots of trail camera pics of this guy. He's very smart. He's all over the farm but no one has seen him in daylight while hunting. Old deer big body small rack.
All the bucks we've aged (about 10 now) have been between the ages of 3.5 to 6.5 and I've been wrong in age more times than I've been right. Once they get 3.5 or older around here you can't really go off body and antler size. 1.5 and 2.5 year old no problem. After that who knows. These bucks have all ranged in antler scores of between 128 and 150 inches. The oldest have not been the biggest either. Most of the deer seem to max out around 140-150 inches from what I can tell.
This is one of my favorite pictures this last year. 1.5 year old vs a buck I know is around 7.5 years old. Lots of trail camera pics of this guy. He's very smart. He's all over the farm but no one has seen him in daylight while hunting. Old deer big body small rack.
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FrogFire7
Well-Known Member
THIS!
I hear people ALL THE TIME say how old the deer is that they got or saw on trail cam (heck even just saw the rack on the cape). I always asked how they know... It's never by tooth wear. It's always body shape, face length, whatever mumbo jumbo they have used. And, essentially nobody can argue it since nobody ever knows
I put about as much stock in that as I do with people guessing bear weight... They're usually within a couple hundred pounds
Cementum annuli looks at the rings of the tooth, similar to aging and tree, not the wear. They have to grind the tooth down or something.. not exact sure of the process.THIS!
I hear people ALL THE TIME say how old the deer is that they got or saw on trail cam (heck even just saw the rack on the cape). I always asked how they know... It's never by tooth wear. It's always body shape, face length, whatever mumbo jumbo they have used. And, essentially nobody can argue it since nobody ever knows
I put about as much stock in that as I do with people guessing bear weight... They're usually within a couple hundred pounds
In Minnesota you have to send a tooth in for black bear kills. They send you the info back. Buddy got one that was 15.5 years old.
Gotta say it really changed our perspective of the animal compared to a deer that rarely makes 4.5 old.
FrogFire7
Well-Known Member
I was looking at that a little bit, I'm sure that's the most scientific way to age them. Pretty cool stuff!
Yeah we have to do that for bears in PA as well. The game commission published harvest data... The numbers are interesting. It's been a little while since I looked but the biggest band are young bears (1-3), then there seems like there is a gap in age until like 8-10 (kind of pulling numbers out of the air here, but it's fairly representative from my recollection) and then there are some really old bear outliers in the late teens to early twenties. Obviously there are other ages scattered through as well. Just kind of interesting how the numbers come out
