ORIGINAL: JagMagMan
Most people generally agree that the further North you go, the bigger the deer 's body size.
So much so that, being from the Gulf Coast of Texas, I see on some of the hunting shows, I will see someone shoot what appears to be a "less than trophy racked buck." Then, upon the close-up of the deer, it's "wow, that is a real good rack!" (The same rack on a 150 lb. deer "appears " bigger than the same rack on a 250-300 lb. deer.)This part I understand! It isbasically an optical illusion.
So, to the real question: IF deer are bigger in body size the further North that you go, what is the explaination of Mexico and "South" Texas deer? These deercan rival Northern deer for body size! Not to mention rack size!
Seems to throw a wrench into the "further North, bigger deer" theory!
Any possible answers?
the deer down on the coast line are TINY. the last deer i shot just north of houston was amature buck and weighed in at around 150 before gutting. the woods are much thicker down here so the deer are genearlly smaller by genetics, also creating taller narrower racks as opposed to shorter wider racks. the farther west and north you go, the bigger they get, but down here between houston and louisianna, the deer are very small bodied when compared to up north.