I have a friend that raises deer. He's got some absolute whoppers. He normally cuts the racks completely off the bigger bucks that he does not intend to sell that year. This year he had a typical 10pt that scored 160". It was gored by a small 4pt a couple weeks ago and died.
That's abotu $3k down the crapper for him.
I asked him and he's never "trimmed" antlers before...just cuts them off. His deer are like dogs for 8 months out of the year. From the time the velvet comes off until they drop, they are as unpredictable as any wild animal.
On a side note...you'd be surprised if you heard some of the places that he's sold deer to. He said that it's not unusual for him to open a magazine and see someone holding a buck that they shot...and the buck was running around one of his pens just a few months before. Damn shame, but he makes a nice chunk of change at it.