antler growth

[ivorytip]

a buck that has some awesome kickers.... will he have those same kickers next year? yoyu allways have these guys that say.... ive followed this same buck for 5 years and i finaly got him. with out being collard how do ya really know unless he has same charecteristic in antlers? i allways had the impression that odd antler growth was due to injuries and obviously lack of and excess food. i have a bull ive been hunting for last 4 years and only reason i kow its the same bull is cuz hes the biggest bull on the mountain and allways in same spot every sep.

 

[Alabama]

They don't always have the exact same tines. He might have some extra tines or loose some. But he will have the same configuration. He's not going to be a 25" wide 3x3 one year then be a 20" wide 4x4 the next. If you have a lot of trail cam pics then they have other characteristics that you can identify them by.

 

[ivorytip]

got ya... makes more since, have never really sat down and thought on it.

 

[packmule]

Like alabama said, kickers/trash/drops/etc can come and go but their overall frame stays about the same.

 

[packmule]

It's also dang near impossible to follow a buck from yearling to 2yo unless they're a) family pet b) have something (markings/scar/odd coloration) on their bodies that stand out.

 

[velvetfvr]

I was just out scouting for my deer and I found the same buck I was after last year. As said he has the same exact frame as last year. In 2013 he was a tall wide 4 pt with a little kicker. This year so far he is just a bigger a 4 pt then last year. Beams have the same turns in them and the fronts look identical. I can't always find the same bucks every year, but some you can tell by patterns, location and the main frame.

 

[Graylight]

I always look at old battle scars and ear tears from fighting... Thats the only way I've been confident in seeing the same animal.

 

[Hilltop]

We had a buck with a very obvious facial mole. It was neat to see the way his body and rack changed from year to year.. Basic frame shape stayed the same but the kickers, tine length, and number of points did vary year to year. One year a basic 9 point and then a 10 and then back to 9. He was never harvested that we are aware of- just stopped showing up. We like to think he died of old age but who knows.

 

[Alabama]

It's also dang near impossible to follow a buck from yearling to 2yo unless they're a) family pet b) have something (markings/scar/odd coloration) on their bodies that stand out.

Very true. from year 2 they are easy to follow with trail cams. Dang near impossible before that.