deformed racks
 

i have my trail cam out and i've been getting about atleast 3 or 4 different bucks that are kinda screwed up.

2have 4 points on 1 side then a 10 or 12" stub on the other side
1 has 2 tines goin straight up on one side and a big mess in the middle
and the other side has a few points also
but then i also have 1 buck i think that is normal a small 8.

the biggest is the 8 with the 4 on one side then a stubb and i think one of its kids has the same thing but a smaller rack.
there properly fed the guy feeds them corn in summer and winter when no one hunts and i've put out some homemade minerals out there

any idea whats making them grow like this i'll post some pics later. there are a couple in the trail camera posts.thanks

RE: deformed racks
 

Sounds like it is genetic. Several years ago on my property I had a few very similar bucks as you do. I shot every one I could that had the one side stub, didn't matter how big they were,and in the last 3 years I havn't seen any like that.

RE: deformed racks
 

It sounds like one deer that is messed up is passing his genes on to many deer. Or it could be that a few deer in the area are passing these bad genes. Pretty much the only way to get rid of the bad genes are to shoot the deer. Just invite some friends over and tell them to shoot only the bucks with screwed up antlers. Then hoprfully you will see some bettergenes in your bucks.

RE: deformed racks
 

Sounds like freezer filler to me since most guys would pass on such a buck. That's ok, I'll take a gimme like that anytime.

RE: deformed racks
 

heres a couple of them
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=172233319/PictureID=3681204868/a=103591650_103591650/t_=103591650
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=172233319/PictureID=3681218424/a=103591650_103591650/t_=103591650
still have to go check the camera for recent pics.

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
 

I think the only 2 causes of this that I know of is malnutrition and just plain ole' bad genes.

RE: deformed racks
 

my best friend has the same problem one side is fine the outher just drops if I was you I would shoot as many of them as can

RE: deformed racks
 

An easy way to figure out if it is genetic is to let them go one year and then kill them the next if they have it again.

RE: deformed racks
 

spoken like a true high fence eficianado.

RE: deformed racks
 

Exactly what I was thinking!:)

RE: deformed racks
 

Oh you got reindeer too...Sounds like these deer..Ive been doing the same as the other fellas killem out took one last year with 17" tine and small tine and other side was same height with a 3" drop tine, no brown tine..Bad Genetics is the cause because these woods are full of them..Not to mention all the hen turkeys over here have beards longer than the males..:D

RE: deformed racks
 

Spoken like someone who hunts in Texas.

You don't need to have a High Fence to have a management plan.

What's the worst that can happen where you live? Someone else shoots it?

lol

RE: deformed racks
 

i would simply blast them all, get those bad genes out of your gene pool

RE: deformed racks
 

I would shoot them before I would take the chance that they would infect my herds genes. If you let him walk this year no telling how many times he will breed and then in a few years your whole herd could look like these guys. IMO

RE: deformed racks
 

Infect?

He is a PRODUCT of your herd's genes.

There is no way that letting him live an extra year is going to amount to more than a drop in the ocean of a gene pool.

What seems like the greater benefit?

You let him live an extra year and give him a chance to grow the horn out and be a nice trophy for you (shoot him either way)

Or, you kill him right thenbefore he MIGHT breed 3 does (if he is mature) who will each probably have 60% chance of their fawn living to sexual maturity. (Don't forget she contributes half of the genetics too.)

I'm not saying this can't be a GENETIC trait. I'm just saying in my experience a lot of deer with damaged antlers are getting killed for one year damage to their horns because of fears like the above poster has.

RE: deformed racks
 

i have been getting pictures of the bigger buck the 4 points on one side then the 10 or 12" tine on the other side. He's been comming right past my stand that i have set up every morning between 5:55 and the latest was 6:30 am and also in the evening about half hour before sunset.

although i have been getting pics of other bucks that are hangin out with him and they are fine. theres 3 that are messed up like that otherwise the other 3 bucks look like decent racks but still small. probably only 1 yr old or so

RE: deformed racks
 

Here is an example of what I was talking about in this post.

Exhibit A:



A truly amazing buck in every sense of the word, but a 6 year old... and in my part of the world we can afford to let them live until they reach 7+ years of age.

Exhibit B:




The very same deer the next year at 7 years old... After the worst drought in 50 years and perhaps some kind of illness. Do you want to shoot that deer before he "infects" your herd's genetics?

Exhibit C:



The same deer the next year at 8 after a good rainfall year. Does shooting him the year before seem smart now?



This is just an example of what can happen when you let deer walk. It's never a mistake to NOT shoot a buck. NOT shooting one has a chance of being remedied. Shooting one... doesn't.

RE: deformed racks
 

If he isn't in a pen, how can you be sure that is the same deer?

RE: deformed racks
 

well... couple ways...

for me... I can just distinguish his face from other deer.

I've been watching him grow since he was a 4 year old and his antlers made him stand out from other deer.

For someone who doesn't have a knack for recognizing deer.. you might look at the combination of the weight of his antlers with the distinct black tips of his ears...

Maybe you might notice the 30 inch wide buck missing that always frequents a certain spot one year...but notice a deer with the same mass antler and black tips on his ears with a huge spike on one side...

And then the next year you dont see the deer with the huge spike on one side but the 30 inch wide heavy buck is back with black eartips?

Pretty elementary...

I can just look at the deer and know it is him though... I could tell without antlers...

I guess it comes with a familiarity of watching him and watching video over and over...

Know how you can't tell identical twins apart... unless you are friends with them and spend a lot of time with them?

Same thing...

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
 

MB - You hit the nail on the head. Genetics is at the bottom of the heap.

RE: deformed racks
 

bad genes

RE: deformed racks
 

...

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.

You missed the main ones Injury to the body while the antlers are forming and injury to the antler while it is still soft.

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.