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Yearling bucks

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BSK

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 1999
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84,093
Location
Nashville, TN
Just curious if anyone else is noticing what I've been seeing in camera censuses. I suspect because of the great fawn recruitment year we had last year, a lot of the properties I'm monitoring across the state are seeing an explosion of yearling bucks. I haven't seen this many yearling bucks in years. Now many are undersized due to the drought last year, the high number of yearlings is actually skewing the buck age structure downwards. It's not that these properties have fewer mature bucks than in the past. It's that there are so many yearlings they are dominating the age structure and lessening the percentage of the population that is older bucks.
 
Definitely an increase this year in yearling bucks for me.
BSK said:
It's not that these properties have fewer mature bucks than in the past. It's that there are so many yearlings they are dominating the age structure and lessening the percentage of the population that is older bucks.
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Agree.

BSK said:
Now many are undersized due to the drought last year . . . .
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Unfortunately.
And their growth my be stunted for the duration of their lives.
Not just the ones born in 2022, but those born in 2021 as well.

Just based on observations, seems a higher percentage of the yearling bucks this summer are spikes.
 
TheLBLman said:
And their growth my be stunted for the duration of their lives.
Not just the ones born in 2022, but those born in 2021 as well.
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Sadly, agree.

TheLBLman said:
Just based on observations, seems a higher percentage of the yearling bucks this summer are spikes.
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A crazy high percentage. On some properties that normally run 45-50% spikes, this year it's 80+% spikes
 
BSK said:
On some properties that normally run 45-50% spikes, this year it's 80+% spikes
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Wow! Don't think I'm seeing it that high!
But your Humphreys County drought was worse than a little farther north.

Prior to the 2022 drought, over the past few years, I've believed at least half the spikes in my area were the result of being late-born (many having yearlings for their momma, who became pregnant as a fawn).

Being a spike as a yearling is not necessarily sub-par antler genetics, and is more often sub-par nutrition, often the result of being born a month or more later than the norm?
 
TheLBLman said:
Being a spike as a yearling is not necessarily sub-par antler genetics, and is more often sub-par nutrition, often the result of being born a month or more later than the norm?
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That is the most common cause.

Buit this year, it's all about last winter's food sources.

Even a property I'm monitoring on the Cumberland Plateau, that was not hit as hard by the drought, is seeing a big jump in spike yearlings.
 
Not anywhere near like that in West KY. Got mostly 8pts growing up. Can't remember but 2 or 3 spikes in many many pics and videos. This is on 4 farms in two counties. They finally started showing themselves in late july.
 
I've not noticed it at all. Last year I noticed a lot of yearlings and 2.5's so this year I'm hammered with 2.5's, but otherwise this year seems pretty normal. Perhaps I missed it because I wasn't paying much attention to young ones? I'll look a little closer.
 
Mr.Bro said:
Not seeing any spikes, fours and only a few 6s. I'm assuming alot of these 8s are year and a half.
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I would assume many your yearlings have 8-pt mainframes, but wouldn't necessarily expect most yearlings to exhibit 8-pt racks, even in Kentucky.

I, too, see mostly 8-pointers, but most of them are 2 1/2 or older.

Since you mentioned this is in KY, not saying most your yearlings aren't 8-pointers, but just that would not be the norm, just much more likely to occur in KY than TN. All of KY has better soils than most of TN, so would GENERALLY expect to see fewer spikes in KY, more yearling 8-pointers in KY, than compared to TN.

In both TN & KY, antler genetics for spikes are rare, as most yearling spikes are that way solely due to being born late and/or to sub-par nutrition. Most yearlings will become mainframe 8-pointers by 2 1/2 or 3 1/2.
 
8-point yearlings a bit more common in KY and northern tier of counties in TN than in the rest of TN. Pretty common for 80-90% of yearlings in most of TN being 6 points or less.
 
BSK said:
Pretty common for 80-90% of yearlings in most of TN being 6 points or less.
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In most of Stewart Co., I'd guess less than 20% of yearlings will have 8 points (at least an inch long). What's more, their tines are more like a pencil, while the 2 1/2's are more like a cigar.
Average is probably a 5-ponter, with most being 4, 5, or 6-point racks.

The top-end antlered yearlings' racks often look much larger than their reality because the deer is so small. Same goes for the 2 1/2-yr-old top-end bucks. They get hunter-harvested at a much higher rate (as yearlings & 2 1/2's) than do their brothers & cousins with below average antlers.
 
I am going to have to get a couple more cameras out. I have only one out right now, but have had it at two of my normal spots that usually has good activity, and have gotten just one buck in the past nearly 10 weeks. Even my doe and fawn pics are down compared to years past.
 
BSK said:
That is the most common cause.

Buit this year, it's all about last winter's food sources.

Even a property I'm monitoring on the Cumberland Plateau, that was not hit as hard by the drought, is seeing a big jump in spike yearlings.
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What county on the plateau?
 
BSK said:
Just west of Dunlap.
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I run some cameras on my property which is very close to where you describe. I have not seen a huge increase in yearling bucks but I have seen two distinct pairs that appear to be twins? I know it's not the same pair of Young Bucks being seen twice because the antlers are not the same. I've got an awesome Bachelor group now which hopefully will still be around later but the last camera card pull showed five mature bucks and about five yearlings.
 

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