quote:
Actually, when comparing 1st year bucks that have nice racks compared to scrub 4's, I believe being born early or late plays a significant role.
Excellent point! I agree this along with nutrition play a big role. To take it a step further, the health of the doe could also be taken into consideration. A healthier doe will produce healthier offspring for a doe of lesser health.
Agreed, so let's see - we have how early the buck was born, the health of his mother, nutrition, and genetics. I think genetics and also the geographic location play the biggest role in antler development. As someone pointed out above, you can see a variety of size in 1 1/2 year old bucks in your area and they all have the same nutrition available. We all know that age is the most significant factor but this post was started talking about 1 1/2 year old bucks.
Badatta2d, you may very well be correct with that buck in the first pic. He may be one of those who is borderline when guessign between ages because I agree his body looks bigger than a typical 1 1/2 yr old. Maybe the steroids I put in the biologic are working!
I am more sure of the rest of my estimates and the dead deer I know the ages on. Which other do you question?