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..

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

shed33 when youtalk mid west what states are you talking about.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

INSANE brow tines. Tall points. varied mass and width.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I hunt true bush deer around my camp. I see a ton of mature bucks every year, but not many that meet my standards. The area is know for huge body size, but, on average, smaller rack size. There are the bigger bucks here (150"+), but a lot of the mature bucks never become more than 130" 8pts. I attribute this to the fact that there is no ag within 100 miles and the dense cover. The deer have genetically evolved into an animal that can grow a huge body and not a huge rack because of the harsh winters.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I have see it all where I hunt
Droptines
Wide racks
Tall racks
Heavy mass
Big bodied

Most places have the Gentics the deer just lack age.If you have Food, Gentics and age with lots of cover and low hunting pressure you are in the Utopia of deer hunting.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

ive noticed that around my hunting area that not much for mass. Once a buck gets past 3.5 years old expect stickers and junk. The only thing that hold deer around here from getting huge is shooting of small bucks. Ive watch one buck go from a 125 inch 2.5 year old. to a 140 inch 3.5 year old to a 165 inch 4.5 year old now to 175 inch 5.5 year old. All it takes is time around here.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

From what im reading, its truly amazing how they differ in other areas and what attributes to the way they grow and change as they get older. Has any one noticed how a rack can be more chocolate colored in dense brushy swampy areas? At least in my area it seems that way. good read guys!

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

in the development i moved into, it appears the bucks have evolved into not growing antlers at all;) I've seen 12 or so different does (at one time in my back yard), so I know the bucks are holding up until after dark on my 16 acres of woods.

In the place I hunt in the mountains, a mature buck will be anywhere from a 75" 8 point to a 140"+ 10 point, its just too diverse to really notice a pattern.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

The biggest thing I have noticed where I hunt is the bucks seem to not usualy have an even # of points. All the younger deer I have seen or killed were odd # points, except the two I shot last year. I have a pic. from two years ago of a 17 point ???

They do not seem to have killer spread either.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

It can very where I hunt because we have some really thick woods where I live and little or no farming to where you get lots of lower farm ground with lots of different crops scattered along the country side.More and more people are planting Food Plots on smaller farms and have been getting some really nice Buck lately.

I shot a real nice 8-Point Buck in 1995 with beautiful white racks,tall brow tines and very uniform shapedantlers and 11 years later (last Nov.) I got another nice 8-Point Buck that is darker in color on the body and the antlers,the RH side rack has 4-points and comes around in a nice basket shaped circle to the front but the LH antler is more L shaped and has 4-points with a double brow tine and a twist in the antler where it points up in the air higher than the other side.My last Buck weighed 145 lbs field dressed where I have seen some of my friends get some Bucks that were in the 175 to 200 lb range!

I have noticed several smaller Basket Rack Bucks in our area and have seen some real Big Bucks taken within a 50 to 60 miles radious of our County!

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

For my area it seems that the younger bucks 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 year olds are almost always 8 points with basket racks. The mature bucks in the area recently have seemed to got into a pattern of growing wide racks that don't have amazing tine length and decent mass. We have been seeing alot of bucks the past couple years that would have 20-25 inch spreads but a 9" tine around here is pretty dang big.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

its very common to see split browtines and just funky stuff around here.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Like Troy, I've also havebeen stomping my area for the last 2 decades whether it be for hunting, scoutingor shedhunting.

1.Main frame 4 pts( a side )still run heavy in my area. It has gotten better in the last 10 years though with more 5 pts. When I first moved here 20 years ago, it was a rariety to see a buck with 5 on a side. This area was really over hunted back then.

2. After 4.5 years old our bucks don't gain much in antler growth in the following years should they live that long. Main reason why I won't pass them up once they hit 4.5 years old. More orless... it'sas good as it gets!! Why let them live longer and take a chance someone else will kill em!! :D

3. A 160 class buckis top end. I've seen 3 bucks in almost 30 years of hunting that would have grossed 170 or a bitbetter.

4. Split brows aren't very common. Droptines are a rariety.

5. 10 inch tines are astall as it gets. Expect6 - 8 inch tineson a good buck.

6. Brow tines are generally under5 inches or less.

5. At 4.5 years old or older... bucks will dress outaround 200 lbs. Heavest buck taken on the farm I work at was 228 lbs. He was 4.5 years old according to the tooth wear. Generally a buck weighing around 235 lbsfield dressed will take the big buck contest that towns runaround me.

6.20 inch inside spread is usually as good as it gets. Expect 18 and under.

7.24 - 26 inch main beam is top end. Expect 18- 22 on bucks3.5 years oldand older.

8. Out of just under 800 sheds we have found... the biggest went 73 inches.It is the only one that went over 70 inches. The buck's other side went 68 inches. Maybe a dozen or so from 65 - 70 inches. According to the sheds we have found... 160 class buck is top end and a rariety at that.

I've measured somewhere around 40 - 50 racks of my buck's, Tyler's, others and skulls we have found... biggest measuredis 160 1/8 gross. Here's a hint to who shot it... ;)[8D] There is another guy that nailed two bucks last year that went 160( rifle )and 162( bow )just outside my area. He is a big time shed hunter too. I am pretty sure he hasn't founda shedover 70 inches in this area. He's been at it a lot longer thenwe have.

Tim

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

The antler traits do change a lot depending on my hunting area. I mainly hunt 2 spots 80% of the time.

Area1: Riverbottom land. The bucks tend to lack in width. Mature bucks will average around 18-20 inches, and I haven't seen many wider than 22". There seems to be a dominant typical frame, being 5-6 points per side on a mature buck, and being tall and heavy. A mature buck will almost always have some kickers or stickers, with average mass.

Area2: Pasture/Agriculture land. The bucks tend to get wider. Mature bucks average 20-24 inches, but I've seen them up to 30"(literally). The bucks usually carry more mass, but not as many typical points, usually 4-5 per side, and not as tall.

Even though they are uncommon, I've seen droptines, double main beams, and freak nasty non-typicals in both areas. But there aren't many of them like that.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

As far as racks go I can't really say there is a trend. I can tell you that out of the two properties I own that the smaller of the two along the bay(lake michigan) is producing much larger bodied deer. My other property is along a river that dumps into the bay and the deer just don't seem to be as big. Both props produce some good racks and lots of does.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

Around here 8 points are the norm. Bucks will start out at 1.5 as spikes to basket sixes or eights, but they all more often times than not will have an 8 point frame. It's hard to tell what they do when they get older because a 3.5 year old is still pretty rare, but it's getting better. The tines are usually fairly high, but an 18"+ spread is considered wide. There are 10s, 12s, etc., but the 8 point main frame is the norm.

Every once in a while a real giant will get tagged, so the genetics are there, but as someone mentioned the age structure has to be allowed to mature.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

big 8 points or split brow 10s

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

I have lots of split browtine bucks, some tall and narrow, others wide and short tined, some really chocolate colored. Some that have it all, for the most part there is a good variety.

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

The deer I see don't have much for brow tines.

And one trait that I really dislike is, the G-3tines are longer than the G-2 tines on a lot of the deer I kill. That really sucks for scoring.[:@]

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

John i know what you mean there, that one is common around here also!! with the G-3's being longer than the G-2's. Here is an example, i killed this one two weeks latter ;)

RE: genetics, traits, in your area
 

The racks around the area that I hunt seem to always be very typical and symmetrical. I have never seen a buck with stickers or anything odd. Mature bucks are usally a nice 10 pointer with about a 20 inch spread and a nice heavy rack. The bodies on the deer around here get real heavy though.