Thread: how old is this guy?

found this guy the other day . how old would he be? not interested in shooting him as im fairly sure ive got a bigger one already

12 1/2 inches, 10 yrs old. Nice skin, a trophy of its own.

6-7yr old, 11.5”


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about what i thought then , was thinking 11-12. there were 2-3 nannies in the scrub being harassed by a young bull, with old mate just watching till my youngest helpfully told the whole world there was a thar over there.

The classic underwhelming 11 incher

He's not a super trophy. Length I don't know but would guess barely 12 inches, likely less.
Age I have great difficulty determining but from what I see of his face and body bulk would guess between 4 and 6 years.
I would like to hear from @ [MENTION=22958]Husky1600#2

I've found the most accurate way to age them is to shoot them and count the age rings on their horns.

First glance is usually a big indicator and the first thing I saw was that the horns aint that big. Maybe 11-12, probably a 4 or 5 year old, but I'd be sitting watching him for a good while to see if the horns start to curve back in. If youre just after a bull to say you've shot one, then he will probably get shot. If you were after a really good head, theres still plenty around and I'd be spending more time glassing to see if there aint something that really stands out, hanging around and only showing himself 10 minutes before dark.

i normally shoot nannys when i do shoot thar so i dont have a heap of experience at judging size . ive seen one in a different spot that makes this guy look small in the body , would the length of mane/body size a good indicator of horn size.? the mane is way down by his hips and looks like a bear, he lives in one the shittest gully's ive had the misfortune to find.

Originally Posted by IamHackmeat

i normally shoot nannys when i do shoot thar so i dont have a heap of experience at judging size . ive seen one in a different spot that makes this guy look small in the body , would the length of mane/body size a good indicator of horn size.? the mane is way down by his hips and looks like a bear, he lives in one the shittest gully's ive had the misfortune to find.

The further back the mane goes is a good indicator of age, which is usually a prerequisite for decent horns. Size, stature, the way they walk in to the group are all good indicators of age, but it takes patience. If you think its what youre after, then spend time on evaluating the horns, lots of good info around with pictures, you want the horns to start curving back in to each other rather than parallel tips. Aslo if looking from the side, you wanta see those horns starting to sweep down to the spine, maybe even in to the mane. I think the Duleys did an article that had pictures of what to look for.

I reckon hes bigger than you guys think. He has alot of length in his lamb tips and second year. Length is there, just not super heavy bases. Hes showing alot of signs of full maturity body wise. But not super old.

6.5 years and 13+inch I reckon.

You've got an age spread of 4-10 years, and a length spread of 11-13+. Sorry to say @IamHackmeat, but @RUMPY's right... you're gonna have to shoot him to find out who's closest. $100 each + $10 admin fee, winner takes the prize...

You could take someone in for their first tahr, and (almost) everyone wins!

Or just keep shooting nannies and watch him grow.

As a rough guide my 12-3/8" bull counts out at 8 years.

Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

You've got an age spread of 4-10 years, and a length spread of 11-13+. Sorry to say @IamHackmeat, but @RUMPY's right... you're gonna have to shoot him to find out who's closest. $100 each + $10 admin fee, winner takes the prize...

You could take someone in for their first tahr, and (almost) everyone wins!

Or just keep shooting nannies and watch him grow.

a nephew has called dibs so will take him for a walk. dont want to make it to easy so will be a long walk and probably shoot a nanny.

Originally Posted by Husky1600#2

The further back the mane goes is a good indicator of age, which is usually a prerequisite for decent horns. Size, stature, the way they walk in to the group are all good indicators of age, but it takes patience. If you think its what youre after, then spend time on evaluating the horns, lots of good info around with pictures, you want the horns to start curving back in to each other rather than parallel tips. Aslo if looking from the side, you wanta see those horns starting to sweep down to the spine, maybe even in to the mane. I think the Duleys did an article that had pictures of what to look for.

so sounds like ive got to get a spotting scope . i haven't seen him with any other thar so will wait till after the rut and see if he turns back up . if its like last 2 years he must go for a wander to get a leg over then comes back to his gully.