Buddy has a place for several years now. They have watched some of their top end bucks for 3 or 4 years just waiting for them to blow up assuming they were 3-4 yeas old originally. They finally shot some of them and sent the teeth in to have them aged and several deer were in the 7-10 year old range. Its HF with water stations and protein. These deer did not resemble a bag of bones either.

I had a deer that lived to be 10. If it wasn't for a camera I wouldn't had known he even existed and finally got to see him from 75 yards away when he was 8 and should have got him when he was 10 but didn't and he never showed up this year! At 10 he looked like he was 6 I will find a pic

THAT ONE HURT

Not sure which side of the argument you're on, but the article seems to confirm the 'Bag of Bones' theory on deer with extreme age. That deer went from 260lbs at age 6.5 down to 130lbs at 12.5, losing weight every year from the 6.5yo mark. Although the article follows the life of one deer and not all deer age the same, I find it hard to believe the two deer pictured in the original post are the same deer. Looks like the original deer passed his genetics, though, so there's something to be happy about!

I believe it can be and if you say you have the pictures of him is the same deer. I am a skeptic of him being 5, or even 4 in that first pic in 2007. Y'all probably have better genetics and a far better feed program than we do, and depending on what your deer weigh are bigger bodied than ours also, but this deer is max 4 and we believe him to be 3.

I think many are forgetting that the south Texas tropical weather is much easier on them than their northern cousins. Also much easier on the browse they rely on compared to northern deer.

I have no doubts that a deer can live to be that old. I think people looking at deer from the same genetic pool year after with no special distinguishing characteristics and thinking they can tell which deer is which, is bullsht. I think many times you can be reasonably sure it may be the same buck but ive seen people try to tell me they know, like it’s gospel.

In all honesty I can look at pictures of my two sons when they were younger and can’t tell you exactly which one it is because they looked so much alike.

Antler configuration, body coloration, movement patterns, eating behavior, and overall behavior around other animals tells a lot about an animal when you have multiple years of data.

You just know when you see them year in and year out.

In the great white north our deer can make it to 10 years old. That's with no high fence, no supplemental feeding, lots of predators and brutal winters. Give a deer high fence, warm climate, minimal predation and optimal feeding and I have no doubt they could live to that age and look good doing it.

Like I stated earlier I am not arguing just stating what I have seen. I raise Ibex Goats. They have about the same lifespan as a deer. I just last month had to put down a female Ibex that was 15.5 year old. She has for her entire life been in a 10 acre trap. Gets protein and alfalfa hay every morning and evening. The last 3 years she has not raised a Kid. The last two years she has had trouble getting around. This year it has gotten where she sometimes could not make it to where I feed the others. They still respected her and if she made it to where the feed was she could eat without them running her off. I finally put her down which was hard as she was bottle raised by my when she was a baby. But I could not stand to see her suffer any more. She and old deer I have seen do not look like the 14 year old WT Buck does. They may still have large bases but the rest of the antlers do not look like that. I am not trashing anyone and am just stating an opinion. And to get it all out the picture of the old deer is a little confusing. The left front leg is missing as well as the lower part of the shoulder which should be visible in the picture.

Opposite argument could be made about south Texas summers. In a 14-15 year span that deer would have been through 2 of the worst droughts on records as well.

No, not this deer. Highly managed ranch. Plenty of water troughs and protein throughout the drought.

You're probably right. I'm just playing Devil's advocate because I've personally never seen a deer that old look that young. Not saying it can't happen.

comparing lf to hf deer is like hamburger to steak, the proof of 14yr old deer would be pic's & teeth

Goats have a lot of characteristics of deer also and lots of problems with nourishment after their prime years with teeth issues. I have a Boer nanny that is 13.5 years old. She is fed alfalfa and goat feed, which is comparable in consistency with deer protein and she gets it down and is healthy right now, but has lost muscle and looks like an older lady. Her tongue hangs out a bit, so she may have suffered a stroke at some time. She knows where she doesn't rank in the herd and avoids confrontation with other goats at all cost to avoid getting butted or picked on. She has always been an easy keeper and I think some deer are the same way and this could make it easier for some to make it to a ripe old age.

Great deer thanks for sharing

It is definitely possible to have a deer live 14-15 years especially living in an environment with ample food/water/protein available. My friend has a high fence place and last year they shot a buck that was 11.5. The deer in pictures was definitely mature and in great health but we were all shocked when we got the results back from aTm. We all assumed the deer was 5-7yo. We take the front two bottom teeth out of every buck and send them to Texas A&M. They shave down the teeth and count the rings (kinda like a tree). Most of our aging has been spot on but there is always a deer or two each year is 2-4 years older than we thought.

False. I know of a deer on one of the ranches we use that is documented 13 or 14, (can't remember exactly) and still looks great for his age. He's off limits to anyone and has the easy life these days. Still a 200" buck!!

Are they the same maybe, are they different maybe. If they have consecutive pictures i'd be inclined to believe it could happen.

One of our neighbors has hunted the same property for generations. In the mid 80's they shot a really nice buck, wide lots of points lots of kickers, pretty distinctive unique buck. A year or so ago they shot another buck that was dang near a dead ringer for the one from the 80's. Of course they were not the same deer because they were both shot, but had you showed the antlers to me as sheds I would have easily believed they were from the same deer 1 year apart.

If tlk says the deer is 14-15 years old, I'll guarantee you that's how old the deer was.

My thoughts as well. He's not weekend warrior that only runs cams sept thru January. The guy knows his stuff and his deer. WT have been documented living to almost 20 yrs of age.

I once knew a doe named "Jill" on a San Saba County Ranch that lived to be 21. Of course, she was a yard doe that hung around the house and protein feeder 24/7. Her daughter "Sue" lived to be 20.

Lots of story like that around. STX had pics of a yard buck that was 18-20 if I remember right.

I've seen old deer and I've killed old deer. They look old, just like old people look old, just like an old dog looks old. That 2017 pic, doesn't look like an old deer in any way.