Aging Whitetail Deer At Various Stages

Aging a Yearling DeerYearling deer can be easily aged by examining third tooth back on either side of jaw. This tooth is called third premolar. If this tooth has three cusps, deer is 1 1/2 years old. If third premolar has only two cusps, deer is 1 year and seven months old or older. 75% of deer harvested in U.S. are yearling deer. Telling Age of a Whitetail Buck In December of 1998, Field and Stream magazine had an article that I found interesting about a method for aging deer in field. Here is my short version; The twisting and turning of a deer's ears results in permanent creases in hair and skin around base of ears. Deer 2 1/2 years or younger seldom have ear creases. But by 3 1/2 years hair has thickened and taken on at least one crease. A two crease deer is a mature animal and is usually between 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 years old. If a deer has three creases at base of ears, it is likely about 7 1/2 years old give or take a year. If a deer has 4 ear creases, it is likely more than 8 years old. 

Learn to Ride Faster and Safer With Bike Handling Drills

In my experience most cyclists take handling skills and their bicycles’ in general for granted. Most mechanical break downs can be prevented by properly adjusting, maintaining, and inspecting your bicycle. And a lot of crashes can be avoided by being aware of your surroundings and having skills necessary to react instinctively to emergency situations.

By practicing these skills in a controlled environment you will become a faster and safer cyclist. The first thing you need to do is find an open area where there is no traffic such as a parking lot. You will need some orange cones (water bottles can be substituted), and a partner.

•Braking: Begin circling your course. Have your partner randomly call out “stop.” You should immediately bring you bike to a quick, safe controlled stop. Have your partner stop quickly as well and look at distance between your bicycles. If you have good reflexes and reaction time distance between your bicycles will be close. Practice braking in a variety of situations such as cornering and braking with your partner in front of you (be careful). If you are a beginner cyclist apply both brakes with even pressure. As you get more experienced apply slightly more pressure to your front brake. •Cornering: Choose your line through each corner. If you corner correctly you should clip apex of turn. Make sure your inside crank arm is in vertical position so that your pedal does not touch ground. Practice cornering inside and outside in both directions and try to pick up your speed each time. Start to sprint out of corners. Set up a slalom course and also practice 180 degree turns.