Trophies come in all shapes and sizes and yes even ages. Because most of the bucks taken each year are immature  (60% - 65% are 1 ½ years of age), finding out that the deer you’ve harvested is older and perhaps very old can be very cool.

And for those folks managing their land for quality whitetails it's the only way to learn if their efforts are truly working.

To find out all about cementum-aging click on on the menu bars on the left.

BULLSEYE - JUST COUNT THE RINGS

The method requires the two middle incisors located in the center of a whitetails lower jaw. The teeth, after simple preparation and cleaning steps (see preparation section) are mailed to the lab.

The teeth, after being processed in a number of scientific steps, are viewed under a strong microscope where the rings of growth may be viewed.

Each ring present represents a year of growth, much like the rings of a tree. The reason the rings develop is unclear to wildlife biologists, perhaps stress of the rut or physical changes in preparation for winter.

However the rings are generally easy to count. One ring equals one year of age.

LEARN MORE