Aging Does

[Demoderby4]

I know there is prob. another post about this somewhere but i couldn't find one so i figured i would start this one, i know their are numerous ways to try to age bucks on here and in magazines and everything, but what are some good ways, if any, to age does? Both on stand, then after the shot. I was just juggling the idea around in my head the other day, but thanks for any info guys/gals!!

[JPH]

Well the first step is to identify fawns. Obviously they are smaller. They are square in build, without the sleekness of an adult doe. It helps to have them in a group in order to compare then to others. Also, their heads are short and boxy, with large ears.
 
Next up would be the yearling class. They tend to be fairly small as well, but have longer heads and a more athletic appearance than fawns. They tend to have tight mid-sections and are very light on their feet (if that makes sense).
 
Beyond that, I tend to guess the age of older does baised on size, length of the head, and dominance in relation to other deer.

[Goose]

I agree, it's difficult at best to age does for me beyond 1.5.
By me its very common for a yearling to have a fawn with her. It's actually rare to see a doe without a fawn.
 
I can usually tell if its a 1.5 but after that its a guesstimate.

[msbadger]

I could be wrong...... but here is what I think is an older doe...2.5+ then a younger one......1.5...older doe has longer sleeker frame all around....younger shorter nose...neck... body...legs....tail
 
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[Goose]

Ill agree with ya on that but I honestly couldn't tell ya if that first one is a 2.5,3.5,4.5, ect.....
The 1.5 I can be pretty sure about.

[Patriot]

I would not do a good job estimating exact age, but my observation is that the older does generally are darker in color....in addition to having longer faces.

[msbadger]

Your right guys and same here...with exception on the color thing IMO...see deer at home in general lighter in color than the deer we hunt at our camp...I have to wonder if it's due to the food source?...many more oak at camp and crazy amount of buckthorn...very dark berries....anyhow as far as exact age ...no impossible on the hoof but still tooth aging as with buck..wear on teeth ..# of molars ect......when shooting...I still go by length of neck.... body...nose

[JPH]

This brings us to the next question. Once you guesstimate a doe's age, what do you do with that info? Do you shoot old, young or a combination? Does it matter?

QDM types are fairly uniform on the need to protect yearling bucks, and many of us agree that protecting 2.5 and even 3.5 y.o. bucks is great when you can get away with it. But the question of how to use age when harvesting does is the subject of considerable discussion.

I am of the opinion that this is highly dependant on the herd and the habitat. All the more reason to do your homework and evaluate everything. How about the rest of you? 

[Goose]

Ill agree with you on it all depends on your local herd but if you just threw me the question and I had to answer I would say taking a doe fawn would do the least damage IMO.

[passin through]

As a hunting club my group tries to take a sampling of all the age classes....unfortunately this time of year is when the most yearlings are taken wether because they are now bigger than in October and have more meat to tthe guys that passed them then or just because the pressure is on to fill freezers.  I try to field judge based on head charecteristics and body charecteristics...longer necks...develpoed front ends ( the angle is gone) hair color and so on...after the shot I go 95+% on jawbone age with some gut thrown in