If you are one of the fortunate hunters to have killed an elk, you’re likely curious about its age. Without the trained eye of a biologist or a taxidermist, determining that can seem daunting.

However, elk are relatively easy to age up through 3½ years, when their incisors are still developing. After 3½, aging gets tougher, as the incisors, molars and premolars are all fully developed. Elk chew from side‑to‑side and slowly wear down their molars and premolars. The canines or ivories become shorter and more rounded. The incisors, too, become shorter. For example, the two front incisors on an 8½-year-old can have as little as ½ inch of tooth left before the gum line.

If elk survive a dozen years or more, tooth wear and decaying teeth can prevent them from getting enough forage. Eventually, they succumb to the elements, because they can’t eat enough to take them through the winter.

How old do you think this elk is?

Answer
The bull attached to this jaw was a healthy 5x6, perhaps 3 ½ to 4 ½ years old. The fully developed incisors and minimal wear on molars and premolars, coupled with the fact he was killed in a heavily hunted area where bulls rarely grow older than 5 ½ brought us to this conclusion. If you have a lower jaw to your elk and would like to have it aged to the year, check out Matson’s Laboratory (www.matsonslab.com) in Milltown, Montana where they can age your animal using an incisor.