#2033694 - 08/17/10 08:43 AM
Deer Size Question
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msubullyhunter
Spike
Registered: 09/15/07
Posts: 23
Loc: West Tennessee
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This may be a stupid question, but I thought I would ask it anyway... I've gotten some pretty good pics of some bucks on my lease this year, but I've noticed that their body size is very thin. Is this normal during the hot summer months? I don't remember them being so thin in the past. I would post some pics, but I don't know how to get the file size down to the board's "legal limit".
Tks
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#2033699 - 08/17/10 08:52 AM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: msubullyhunter]
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Winchester
Non-Typical
Registered: 12/05/03
Posts: 25233
Loc: TN
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Yes, deer look somewhat thinner now for sure. They will soon bulk up with winter coats and fat, the bucks necks will appear much larger as well.
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#2033728 - 08/17/10 09:07 AM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: Winchester]
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Football Hunter
18 Point
Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24550
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co
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Send the pic to Photobucket,then use the bottom code.
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#2033791 - 08/17/10 09:46 AM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: Football Hunter]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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What Winchester said. Deer look much thinner in summer because their food sources contain little fat. Even on a pure protein diet, you will deposit little fat. Deer are driven biologically in fall to put on fat for winter survival. This causes them to "balloon up" in fall. In addition, bucks' bodies begin to produce much more testosterone in late summer into fall which actually causes massive muscle gain, just like a weightlifter taking steroids. Bucks necks don't "swell" for the rut, that is pure muscle devlopment. Post-rut, their bodies stop producing so much testosterone and they lose that muscle. In summer, buck's bodies produce so little testosterone that they are basically "emasculated"--virtually non-male.
And that's why "field-judging" age in summer is so difficult. The "rules"--the defining body characteristics of age used in field-judging--were designed for bucks near the rut, when they are at peak muscle development. A buck can look VERY different from summer to fall.
Below is a prime example. The two pictures are of the same buck, first in August and then in November (peak rut). Hardly looks like the same animal.
August
November
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"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#2034007 - 08/17/10 12:02 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: BSK]
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Jim H
6 Point
Registered: 08/15/08
Posts: 781
Loc: Arlington
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NICE PICS
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#2034013 - 08/17/10 12:08 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: BSK]
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msubullyhunter
Spike
Registered: 09/15/07
Posts: 23
Loc: West Tennessee
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This one actually looks a little worse. Hopefully this link works:
(by the way, thanks footballhunter)
Edited by msubullyhunter (08/17/10 12:08 PM)
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#2034023 - 08/17/10 12:17 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: msubullyhunter]
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Football Hunter
18 Point
Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24550
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co
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nice buck,no problem with photobucket
_________________________
The best day to plant a tree,IS TODAY!
You wont know,if you dont go!
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#2034719 - 08/17/10 08:15 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: msubullyhunter]
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Boone 58
16 Point
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 13533
Loc: Food Plot
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Summer coated and body size of deer is def. smaller here in tn...just my observation.
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#2035638 - 08/18/10 12:06 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: msubullyhunter]
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msubullyhunter
Spike
Registered: 09/15/07
Posts: 23
Loc: West Tennessee
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How old do you think this deer is? 3.5 yrs?
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#2035713 - 08/18/10 01:03 PM
Re: Deer Size Question
[Re: msubullyhunter]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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How old do you think this deer is? 3.5 yrs?
That's not a good angle for judging age, but if I had to make a guess from that picture alone, yes, 3 1/2 with a great rack for his age.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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