I was reading Part 2 of "At What Age is a Buck Mature?" in the August issue of North American Whitetail. In it, Dr. Deer (Kroll) says that if 2 1/2 year old bucks are doing the bulk of the breeding, even those few that make it to older age-classes will probably never show their true antler potentialbecause they became physiologically mature at too early an age.
I thought this was interesting as well as disheartening, because this seems to be what takes placein the area I hunt. I guess itexplains why I
never see any "big" bucks. Hopefully the AR's will help this situation down the road. I just thought this was interesting and wanted to shareit.

What are the AR's in your area, Jeff?

So because a buck gets to have sex as a 2.5 year old, that alone will diminish his antler growth? I think it would be a stretch to correlate those two.

I'm calling BS on this one -- if that's the only reason. I haven't read the article yet.

The AR's are 3 points to a side inmy area, and in 5 other WMU's they have a 4 point to a side requirement. A point must be at least 1" from base to tip.

I don't understand this one either Greg. Maybe were missing something here but I kinda dought it.

Greg, these results came from a test with captive deer. I don't know if the results would be the same in the wild, and it would seem to me nutrition would have to play a role in this as well. He's talking about just young bucks doing the breeding. Like I said though, in my area it sounds like this concept could hold some water.

in my experience, most yearlings meet the requirements in your WMU .... I justy wonder how effective that will be ..

That's the problem, I think. If a deer is a "legal" buck as a yearling then he isn't going to live long enough to become mature. I personally think they should have 4 points to a side state wide to make AR's effective.

Tony and Earlyin: I don't know if it's just a regional thing, but near our camp in Clarion PA. Brow tines are not a given and many times even on more mature deer they are missing. So a big "Y" cannot be assumed to be a legal deer.

We are also a 3 point area. I think the # of points have less to do with the effectiveness of AR, than the regulation itself. No longer can you just see 3" of antler flash (like the old days) and start letting lead loose. You physically have to be able to count 3-4 tines judge them for length, and then make a shot. In the hardwoods of PA, by the time you do the above (especially in Gun season) there is not time for the shot. It's like the old 5 M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i rush of your school-yard football days.

It makes sense, he is putting his energy into sex and not antler growth or body growth.

He's called Dr Deer for a reason