This is my backyard buck, an A zone blacktail about 50 miles east of the San Francisco Bay. I generally see him in the morning stealing black berrys but he will not hang around long enough to get a good photo. Im guessing him to be about 150-175pounds and he has as 3x4 rack that goes about 20-24" wide. Based on the white patches around his eyes, nose and throat would you say he is a 7-8year old buck?

I don't know much about blacktails, but I would doubt that he is that old. Can't see his belly, but I would guess 4 years old or so. Nice buck, I know you enjoy watching him.

I would think its hard for a deer to live that long anywhere in the wild, but he has a swayed back, but kind of a small neck.

I'd guess 3-4yrs, but that is just a guess.

He's old enough to know not to hagng around in daylight.

BCR

He's mature, notice the sway back and neck size in relation to the head. His neck also looks like it runs down to his brisket.

All signs of a Mature Buck, Not to mention the size of his antlers. There is not enough clarity in the pic to see if his muzzle is graying up or not.

Not an expert by any means on Blacktail, but I don't think they carry the mass that Whitetails do, so you can't use the rack as an indicator of age by whitetail standards.

If this were a Whitey, I would say 3-4 yrs old. Being he is a Blacktail, I would think he may be older than that.

From the few Blacktail I've seen, He would be considered a trophy for sure.

Absolutely, he's better than any blacktail I've taken in the last 25 years or so...

He is a good buck for sure but I would need to see the whole body before I could make a guess.

Good looking deer. Not familiar with blacktails, but assume I could a reasonable guess with a full body photo and clearer detail.

In my 45 years of hunting, in our camps we have only killed a couple of bucks 7.5 or older. That is in heavily hunted country. Mine was last year!

I suspect this deer is in his prime of 4 - 6.

stumpy

My biologist friends tell me that the only way to reliably age a buck over 4 yrs. old is to section a front tooth and count the annual rings.
While it's pretty rare for any wild deer to live past 8 yrs., I know of several desert bucks that have lived past 10 yrs. with one making 20.5 yrs.
BTW, the average age of bucks in heavily hunted areas is 1.5 years. Makes it really tough to ever see any thing like that. E

I'd question that, as their teeth are all pretty well at the gum line by about 7 to 8. They simply aren't designed to last that long.

Thanks guys, I have taken a few bucks in the 4-5 year old range based on teeth and this dude just looks a little rougher around the edges. I have not seen such pronounced white markings on any deer I have taken which I why I was leaning towards the older age.

This is a better shot of him, he is the only buck completely stripped of velvet. This morning he was next to some bucks that I know are in the 2-3 year old range and he just carries alot more mass through the body. The second photo is a buck from the batchelor herd that hangs out at the Chabot gun club about 20 miles away so you can get a better idea of the areas genetics, I would guess him at 3 years old and about 125 pounds. Overall the second buck is a very typical blacktail that I would not even hesitate to punch a tag on for the coastal region. Going up into the B zones of northern California I would give the second buck a chance to add some more weight.

The thick heavy neck this time of year is a dead give away of a mature buck. Notice the stovepipe neck of the younger deer in the bottom picture. However he, the top buck, hasn't really developed that saggy beer gut that the really old bucks (like myself) have.

I'd guess him to be in his prime at 5 or 6 years old.

He does look fully mature in your second photo. Heavy body.

Does that second buck have a breast growing out of his chest?
Something doesn't look normal there.

stumpy

Yeah I posted that before asking about it. Someone ID it as a growth that falls off, kind of nasty but he does not have it this year.

The 2nd photo helps. Short legs, body width with paunch, neck thickness that extends to the lower body.

He's in his glory days.

He looks to be a fully mature buck to Me at least 5 1/2 years old but he could be older it's hard to say. Enjoy watching him...................547.

I'd rather see the entire deer to call his age. His nose appears short compared to his neck but that might be the angle of the photo. His neck appears to be a little long still. I don't think he is that old but I'd shoot him to find out.

Oh yes, the second photo is much better. That's a prime buck, 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 years old. He is filled out well, short legs, short head and neck. He does not have the sag and loose skin of 6 - 7 year old. He is at his peak or not far from it.

You are thinking of the molars. I'm refering to the front teeth. E

Now, where EXACTLY is this buck located? Just kidding! Those are some nice blacktail deer. What IS that growing from that 2nd bucks chest?[anti bullet radar-dome maybe?] Never seen anything like that before. Nice pics. Tom

You will really cry when I tell you the second buck lives in a herd of 12-14 bucks on the range. Just saw them all again a couple hours ago and they had to shut down a match becuase they were on the berm between the IDPA match and the trap range...

I would guess 3ish.. They age like whitetails... after growing up with whitetails and coming here to Cali.. I have stopped hunting them like Mulies and hunt them like whitetails.. He hasn't enough roman nose nor does he have much white in his face.. His back appears to be beginning to sway but that is all I got from that shot..

He doesn't have the look of an "old" blacktail from these parts. But then the blacktails from Kali are a bit different than their brothers to the north. If I saw that buck in these parts I would guess it at 3, 4 at the oldest. I'm use to seeing much more white on the nose and a thicker body. What I have seen, generally the Kali blacktails tend to be wide, moderate mass, and with big main forks and often poor or no secondary forks. As you head north the width declines, the mass increases, and the forks are more developed. And then there is the whole thing about animals having heavier body weights as you move north. I hope you get to take that buck and then you can let us know how old he truely is!