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RE: deformed racks
Here is another example of a deer from 3 different years...
To the left is his 6 year old year... to the right is the horrible drought year... and in the middle is this year... 3 very different looking sets of antlers... his frame changes sizes... and his points move around... but look at his G-1's... they rarely change... Look at beam shape... that rarely changes... and most importantly... look at the distinct coloring on his tail... it is red with a black tip... All of those things put together... and you have yourself a positive ID...  Maybe I should make a post about some of the things I look at to try and identify a deer from year to year... I would love some pointers other people might be able to throw out there too... |
RE: deformed racks
Most deer with one messed up antler will grow normal antlers the next year. It can happen due to injury or sickness during the growing period. Lots of times bucks lose an eye in the rut the year before then have a messed up antler on that side the next year. Genetic defect would be the last and least likely of any of these scenarios to be the cause of the things that you are seeing. I've watched a deer for 5 years that is huge. Last year we were planning on taking him (he was 7.5) but when we found him he had a huge spike on one side. We let him walk. This year we have had a ton of rain, and he is bigger than he has ever been. You would have never known he had a huge spike on one side last year. |
RE: deformed racks
bad genes
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RE: deformed racks
...
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NOT genetics
Very, very rarely is it genetics. More common is an injury, either cranium or skeletal. Most spike theories from hunters are not true.
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Originally Posted by Chris_H
(Post 2227264)
I think the only 2 causes of this that I know of is malnutrition and just plain ole' bad genes.
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Numerous bucks with mismatched antlers showed up at our lease. My lease mates and myself made an effort to eliminate those bucks. I killed a buck with a spike on one side and three points on the other.
During antlerless season that rear i killed a deer having no antlers that was rutting. There were two stubs about 1/2" inches long. |
I shot one with a weird rack with my crossbow October 7th. After I had shot him I discovered that he had a broken toe on the opposite rear foot. It wasn’t a big buck that’s for sure. Probably 140 to 150 pounds dressed. So it was a decent size deer. I am guessing it was involved in an auto accident at some point and his toe never recovered from it? I simply don’t have any answers as of what happened to his toe. But I do feel that his genes didn’t need to be passed on to the herd though.
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