Whitetail Deer Hunting Gain a better understanding of the World's most popular big game animal and the techniques that will help you become a better deer hunter.

abnormal antlers

Old 12-24-2013, 05:18 PM
  #1  
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
 
buckman11's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SW, missouri
Posts: 822
Default abnormal antlers

I need everybodys opinion. this november I shot what I thought was a huge doe but to my surprise it was a 150 pound buck with a three inch spike on one side and what looked like where an antler broke off on the other. then two days later I sat in the same place and shot what I thought was another huge doe but it was also a huge buck with a 6 inch spike on one side and what looked like a broken antler on the other. both deer came from the same place and I shot them withen 10 yards of eachother. is this a result of fighting, lower amounts of minerals, or genetic defect. any help is greatly appreciated.
buckman11 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 06:00 PM
  #2  
Giant Nontypical
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Default

I have no idea, but I'm wondering why you can't tell the difference between a doe and two "huge" bucks that had a 3" spike and especially the one that had a 6" spike sticking out of his head! My initial impression is that I wouldn't want to be in the same county where you hunt, but welcome to the site and we'll see what other comments you get!

Last edited by Topgun 3006; 12-24-2013 at 06:03 PM.
Topgun 3006 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 06:20 PM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
Lunkerdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northern Minnesota
Posts: 2,533
Default

Originally Posted by Topgun 3006
I have no idea, but I'm wondering why you can't tell the difference between a doe and two "huge" bucks that had a 3" spike and especially the one that had a 6" spike sticking out of his head! My initial impression is that I wouldn't want to be in the same county where you hunt, but welcome to the site and we'll see what other comments you get!
No Kidding!!!

Umm. First lets be clear... Broken antlers are not "abnormal" antlers.

A rutting buck is a wannbe champion prize fighter... Win or lose (broken bones)things happen.

Now as Top pretty much said... How is it that you, don't know/can't figure out, What yer shooting at???
Lunkerdog is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 06:34 PM
  #4  
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
 
buckman11's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SW, missouri
Posts: 822
Default abnormal points

Originally Posted by Topgun 3006
I have no idea, but I'm wondering why you can't tell the difference between a doe and two "huge" bucks that had a 3" spike and especially the one that had a 6" spike sticking out of his head! My initial impression is that I wouldn't want to be in the same county where you hunt, but welcome to the site and we'll see what other comments you get!
they were both at about 6:45 in the morning. and almost 200 yards away.
buckman11 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 06:41 PM
  #5  
Giant Nontypical
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,227
Default

Originally Posted by buckman11
they were both at about 6:45 in the morning. and almost 200 yards away.
Not a viable excuse in my opinion. If you are not 100% sure what your target is, don't shoot. In some areas of the country you can only take deer of specific sex on a permit. If you thought you were shooting does but ended up with bucks that could be very costly if the tags in hand don't legally pertain to the animals.

As to your question on the deer, some areas have very poor minerals which lead to thin and weak antlers. Buck fight each other and also can be pretty aggressive when making rubs. If the minerals content of the soil is bad they may just be breaking them that way. I spent 4 years in Pensacola and that area has poor minerals for antler growth. I shot several bucks that had busted up antlers there.

But, I knew when I squeezed the trigger they were bucks.

Last edited by flags; 12-24-2013 at 08:52 PM.
flags is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 07:12 PM
  #6  
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
 
buckman11's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SW, missouri
Posts: 822
Default

Originally Posted by flags
Not a viable excuse in my opinion. If you are not 100% sure what your target is, don't shoot. In some areas of the country you can only take deer of specific sex on a permit. If you thought you were shooting does but ended up with bucks that could be very costly if the tags in hand don't legally pertain to the animals.

As to your question on the deer, some areas have very poor minerals which lead to think and weak antlers. Buck fight each other and also can be pretty aggressive when making rubs. If the minerals content of the soil is bad they may just be breaking them that way. I spent 4 years in Pensacola and that area has poor minerals for antler growth. I shot several bucks that had busted up antlers there.

But, I knew when I squeezed the trigger they were bucks.
I examined each of them for at least 10 minutes. I am a very ethical hunter and would never shoot anything that I was not 100% sure was legal. Any true hunter would realize its just one of those things that happens to almost every hunter. if your hunting deer, duck,turkey, ect... it just happens.

Last edited by buckman11; 11-25-2014 at 12:56 PM.
buckman11 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 07:40 PM
  #7  
Giant Nontypical
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Default

Originally Posted by buckman11
I examined each of them for at least 10 minutes. I am a very ethical hunter and would never shoot anything that I was not 100% sure was legal. Any true hunter would realize its just one of those things that happens to almost every hunter. if your hunting deer, duck,turkey, ect... it just happens.
***So examine them for another ten minutes and wait until there is enough light to be 100% sure of what you're shooting at. It would appear that you would have to have had either sex tags or two doe tags to do what you did and not only once, but twice!!! What type of tag did you have that you could shoot those bucks legally when you thought they were does? When the same person shoots two deer the way you have described by mistake it also makes the rest of your post pretty lame. Sorry, but your initial posts on this site do not make you look very good. I've shot over 100 big game animals in many years of hunting and have never made the mistake that you have now made twice within the period of three days---just sayin!!!

Last edited by Topgun 3006; 12-25-2013 at 06:25 AM.
Topgun 3006 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 07:40 PM
  #8  
Nontypical Buck
 
rockport's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Default

I could see it happening. 200 yards...you have tags for either sex and don't care if it has horns or not...You shoot the deer and find it has a 6 inch spike.

Plausible I think.
rockport is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 07:55 PM
  #9  
Giant Nontypical
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Default

Originally Posted by rockport
I could see it happening. 200 yards...you have tags for either sex and don't care if it has horns or not...You shoot the deer and find it has a 6 inch spike.

Plausible I think.
***Yes, that is plausible, but if that's the case in this particular instance then why did he look them over for 10 minutes before shooting if he had either sex tags? The way he has posted it sounds like he is admitting to two mistakes that may have been game law violations. It just sounds fishy to me because he didn't say either one was shot on an either sex tag! I guess we should look into the MO regulations to see what is legal and how many bucks you can legally shoot there. Any MO folks reading this thread want to weigh in on this situation?

Last edited by Topgun 3006; 12-24-2013 at 08:00 PM.
Topgun 3006 is offline  
Old 12-24-2013, 07:57 PM
  #10  
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
 
buckman11's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SW, missouri
Posts: 822
Default

Originally Posted by Topgun 3006
***So examine them for another ten minutes and wait until there is enough light to be 100% sure of what you're shooting at. It would appear that you would have to have had an either sex tag to do what you did and not only once, but twice!!! What type of tag did you have that you could shoot those bucks legally when you thought they were does? When the same person shoots two deer the way you have described by mistake it also makes the rest of your post pretty lame. Sorry, but your initial posts on this site do not make you look very good. I've shot over 100 big game animals in many years of hunting and have never made the mistake that you have now made twice within the period of three days---just sayin!!!
considering they only had 1 spike. and they where about a half an inch around. I think the argument could be made. and on the matter of tags. Missouri spike limit is three inches so the first one was legal. the second one was just a mistake that I have to live with. but nobody is going to see 1 three inch spike from 200 yards away. like I said I have been hunting for years and pride myself as a hunter that abides by the law. I have let many bucks walk right by because I could not count the points. and I have let a lot of spikes go by that where obviosly illegal. but I would never carelessly shoot a deer like some of you people are suggesting. that is an insult to me and everything I stand for as a hunter.

Last edited by buckman11; 11-25-2014 at 12:57 PM.
buckman11 is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.