How to tell a big deer

L

LilRebel

New member
In the south, we have small deer. I have 80lb dogs and deer that height aren't but about 50. Or so I've recently (and unfortunately) discovered. I've shot a bunch of deer, sure, but I have a handicap: can't tell how big they are. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif We're allowed to shoot does and we do. We have at least one deer per acre, adn most of them are does. Tell me how yall tell how big a deer is. Is it the size of the head to the body, or can you just 'tell?' Maybe I'm just not doin something right. THanks for any help you can gimme!

LR
 
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Look for body size, neck size etc. Spend sometime watching hunting shows, you'll be surprised how different a 3 year old buck vs. a 5 yr old looks in the body etc. Also spend some time in the off season, looking over animals in the fields, openings etc. Youy can use that to get a feel for what a mature deer in your area may look like. Antler size is an indication, but not always reliable (as is apparrent when you watch the videos). I shot a big bodied, mature buck this year, but his antlers were not much bigger then some small bodied bucks I shot years past.

Hope this helps a little.
 
another way to tell a mature deer is look at it's gut, seriously, if it looks like he or she has a pot belly, it is an older deer. some even have a slight sway back.
 
Since size is often directly proportional to age, try to avoid shooting those with wide, round faces and short noses (think Bambi in his youth as drawn by Disney & Co.).
 
Ears tell a lot too.

Learn the "average" ear tip to ear tip measurement of the species you hunt.

By knowing what a mature animals ear spread is you should be able to judge age and body size.

I use this example on Mule Deer bucks-the average spread between ear tips on a mature buck is about 22". Any antlers you see sticking out past that helps you gauge the size of both the rack and the animal.

Just my two-cents-worth
 
If you really have a deer per acre, you are overstocked since no habitat in the country can handle that many deer. That has a lot to do with the body weight of the deer.

Too many deer on the range = poor body weights.

What state are you in?
 
Thanks, yall, for the tips. I think this'll help a lot. Yellowhammer, I live in the lowcountry in SC. We have a gazillion deer, but this weekend they all eluded me, my other half, and a friend of ours. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
Elks-I'm going to have to sit and watch some shows, it looks like, just get out of the woods and sit. Thanks for that tip.
Howler, I guess it'd be like a horse, getting swaybacked and low in the belly as it gets older, especially does after they have fawns. That'll prolly be the first thing I look for.
B.H.A.- Soooooo, no Bambi's, huh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
22- The ears all look the same to me, but since they are lighter I'm thinking it might help if I can see the head.

Do yall know anything about head to body ratio and size? Is the head on a larger deer 'smaller' than it looks on a yearling? Thanks again for the help.

LR
 
Excellent article, Yellowhammer. I think that'll do it!! This article helped me age the two 8-points I shot last year. One is about a 3 year old and one is maybe a 4 year old. Now I can go forth and kill'm right!

If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it!!

Again, thanks everybody!

LR
 
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look at the forehead, from the ears to the eyes, its flat on a mature deer, and rounded on a youngster. also the nose will appear to be turned up slightly on a young deer, straight on a mature one and slightly downturned (roman nosed) on an old one
RR
 
Thanks RR. I sure appreciate it. So, don't go for the Bambi look, like BHA was talking about. I've been watching DVDs of deer hunting looking for the differences in the little and bigguns. I've found that the camera men don't film the little ones!!

Yellowhammer, I was wrong about the 1 per acre. Where I got that from, I have no idea. It's more like 30 per square mile. Sound better? I can't quite believe that, but I guess it depends on the area.

LR
 
That is about a deer per 21 acres which more reasonable, at least from a habitat stand point.

I have seen places that had a deer per 6 or 7 acres with no fence, and a deer to 2 acres with a fence.

The ones with a deer per 6 or 7 have browsing issues. The ones with any more than that look like goat pens, and the the deer are dependant on sack feed.
 
YH: Well, then we shot our two deer last month. No more deer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif We're pretty much surrounded by 10000 acres of Westvaco paper mill land, all pines, gums and oaks, good cutovers, pnut and cotton farmers on the other side. A club that leases 6000 of it runs dogs through there every Saturday. Not a problem. Only like 10 members. So, we don't have a lot of pressure out there. Lots of browse, lots of cover. Maybe we'll get that .75 deer that's left.

LR
 
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Quote:
Tell me how yall tell how big a deer is. Is it the size of the head to the body, or can you just 'tell?'

LR


For me it's just looking at the body, if it's big then it's big.....that's all there is to it.
 
Up here in the Canadian Prairies we have lots of large deer. Most of the fellows are after the trophy bucks. The best way to tell the men from the boys is the width of the antlers in relationship to the ears.

By this I mean if the buck is looking at you take note on how far his antlers are out past his ears. A good wide spread will be about an ear length of antler wider than his ears. once you have the width then look for height. Lots of the old boys have the width but after their prime the start to loose the height.

If the buck is running away from you, which is often the view you get then take note of his antlers in relationship to his rump. I large buck will have antlers as wide or wider than his rump.

These only pertain to trophy hunting, if you are a meat hunter then the only thing that matters is body size.
 
I'm after meat, so I just shoot it, and then if it hurts my back loading it into the truck, I'll put it on the scales.

LilRebel, where are you located? My wife and I have a lot of friends up in the Charleston, Summerville area. We spent our anniversary this year in Edisto Beach.
 
I usually look at the middle of the deer, if it appears to be heavy, i look at the neck, young deer will have long skinny necks generally, and older deer will have shorter thicker necks, really big deer will occasionally have ripples in their neck from the muscle. Antlers past teh ears are generally bigger deer, shorter muzzles are usually bigger deer, flat heads on top are mature. thats all i can think of for now.
Justin
 
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