How Old Was that Animal?

[cgasner1]

Was she tagged in MT or ND? My guess with that growth she’s 35-45. Would have been interesting to see how many schenes of roe she had in her earlier this spring.

I thought it was a male. He said he figured at least 40 years old but would let me know when they get the lower jaw back. Was a North Dakota fish that I shot in Montana. Fwp fave hats out this year to us for turning in the jaw on the tag I had

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I wish I could. My son's buddy killed that bull but he is living out of state now. He didn't save a lower tooth at the time.

If he wants to know we can age one of the upper premolars or molars from that skull mount too (or the ivories if he still has them).

 

[golfer]

I thought it was a male. He said he figured at least 40 years old but would let me know when they get the lower jaw back. Was a North Dakota fish that I shot in Montana. Fwp fave hats out this year to us for turning in the jaw on the tag I had

How much did it weigh? It was cool learning from the researcher at intake about the lifespan of them up in our part of the world regarding the Yellowstone and Missouri River systems. If I remember right he said 40 years is pretty old in our systems compared to down south.

 

[cgasner1]

It was around mid 40# and was like 32” from the eye to the center of the fin

 

[golfer]

It was around mid 40# and was like 32” from the eye to the center of the fin

That’d be a very large male imo. Most won’t be much more than 35. That’s a conclusion I’ve come to after processing a large number of them.

 

[cgasner1]

That’d be a very large male imo. Most won’t be much more than 35. That’s a conclusion I’ve come to after processing a large number of them.

It usually happens pretty fast with the bow when I does so we don’t really try and field judge them. I was supper happy to get one this year

 

[seeth07]

I'm going to start using Matson to age a few animals I've shot. I see they have a "refer a friend" promo. First "well known member on HT" to PM me gets the referral

 

[relino99]

I've always been fascinated by the stories we can learn about the animals we take. I think that is what intrigues me most about antlers, hides, scars, etc.

For the last few years I've been taking the teeth of animals to Matson's Lab in Manhattan, Montana. They can age animals for you and it gives you an idea of what that animal has lived through.

The two Wyoming bucks I shot in 2019 and 2020 both survived the brutal winter of 2016-17. I have confirmed that via aging of the animal by dropping off the teeth at Matson's. Now I am even more fascinated that I took one on its way to the winter range and one near the summer range, both from the same herd that makes huge migrations through some very difficult conditions. Amazing that they make this trek for the risk-reward benefits of better summer forage up high and better wintering conditions down in the edges of the Red Desert.

Here is a video that goes into a lot more details.

If you are interested in learning more about the animals you take, go to this link on their website - https://matsonslab.com/age-your-game/

It’s wild how much those teeth can tell you. I always thought age guesses were mostly based on antlers or body size, so seeing them break it down by actual wear and growth patterns is pretty eye-opening. Cool that both of your bucks made those long migrations too, it really shows how tough those herds are and how much ground they cover just to hit the right seasonal conditions.