genetics, traits, in your area
 

Just curious as what stands out the most in your area on your bucks. My area has always seemed to favor (with the mature bucks) high more narrow racks with long brow tines and good mass. However, this season seems to be a changing trend, I have been watching numerious bucks with very wide racks and very tall browtines. What stands out on the bucks in your area??

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

In my general area it is pretty diverse... Although at one of the farms I have hunted for years split brow tines is very common among 2.5+ year olds as well as quite a few yearlings.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I'm noticing a bunch of dink 1.5 yr olds that grow into so-so 2.5 yr olds. Occasionally....one lives to be a 3.5 yr old that people from other places will tell me is a 1.5 to 2.5 yr old.

It's a viscious cycle, really.

In all reality.....I saw two deer afield, last year, that I know was 3.5 or older. One was tall (relatively) and the other was wider and had more mass.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Well, of the limited few I've seen over the last 3 years......They have all been almost perfectly symetrical.....Very typical racks....

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

mobo....I just knew you were gonna say something about the doe's ears being symmetrical.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I must have missed where I said that.....Besides, I don't hunt does anymore.....I hunt deer.....Deer = bucks, bucks = deer....I'm saving all the does so you can shoot 2 or 3 in one evening....:D

ps.....all in fun, all in fun....

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Narrower & tall points as opposed to wider racks. Even a big old heavy racked buck around here is probably going to only have a 16-18" inside spread tops. Occasionally you see a wide one.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Mobo I was just messin with ya.

To be honest.....I'd like to get to the point to where I might notice the trends. I want the bucks to thrive a bit more than they have been, here. We just need to get the ratio right.

The best racks here seem to be the ones that are wider with good mass (from sightings and trail cam pics). Only one I've seen that is relatively tall.....but he won't be passing his genes.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Small racks and often only one brow tine![:@]:D:D:D

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I have 4 working on 5 different whitetails areas that I have hunted and shed hunted very hard over the past couple decades. This is what I notice from those 4-5 areas..


1. We have tall tines in all areas.
2. In the strickly timbered areas racks tend to be a little more narrow.
3. In the farm country that butts up against the mountains, I see, kill and find wider bucks ..say 18 to 20 inside..versus the 15-19 inside spreads from the purely mountain bucks.
4. SPLIT BROWTINES everywhere.
5. Lots of kickers an antler base stickers on theolder bucks. Very Very few clean typicals after they reach 4 or older..
6. a buck in this country older than 3.5 will almost always weight 200 lbs live weight or more. Thats after weigh all my bucks and brothers here over the past 10 years.
7. DROPTINES are a RARITY! very rare
8. We do have an occasional freak Nontypical killed.... in 05 one was killed 2-3 miles from one of my hunting spots that netted 216. In 02...one was killed 10 miles from my work that scored 255 gross
9. The majority of bucks killed are 2.5 followed by 3.5 year olds. not many over that age.. Mosthunters pass up the baby bucks here and I am glad.
10. A great buck for my area is 150 gross.. A giant would be in the 170's plus gross...

last.... we do lack the heavy mass over all that you see in the mid west and Canada..