About finished

[Outdoor life]

This is the 8 pt buck skull I found on my uncles property early this week. It's my first EVER find so I've been cleaning it up for a euro mount.

When I found it, with some skin and hair still on it.

This is after cleaning it up. I didn't want it 100% white, cause I think it has a little character like this.

This is a close up shot of an antler, so is this weathering or some type of animal chew? Also is there any way of telling how long it's been dead?

Thanks for looking.

 

[cecil30-30]

I believe that deer died back in the summer before the antlers was done growing and it still had velvet on it.

 

[Mike Belt]

When you first posted a pic I thought that the rack hadn't finished shedding all the velvet off the tip.

 

[Outdoor life]

Alright thanks! It never came to me that the deer died in velvet, but that does explain the anters. Because it didn't look like a chew to me and normally weathering just bleaches it out, and doesn't do that, because the tips of 4 of the points look like that.

Of course that's not skin or anything causing the tips to look brown, it's more like the white just never reached the tips before he died.

 

[BSK]

Outdoor life,

Although I've not seen it mentioned in scientific literature, I've noticed that bucks who suffered from EHD during the late summer sometimes do not mineralize the tips of their antler points and beams, leaving the tips dark in color and soft to the touch (usually you can dig your fingernails into the antler material). Now I don't know if this is specific to EHD infection or just as symptom of not finishing the mineralization process due to any cause, but that is probably why the antlers you found look they way they do--the buck died before his antlers had finished mineralizing, and that might indicate he died of EHD.

 

[mathews338]

good job getting it cleaned up Outdoor Life, looks good!

 

[Outdoor life]

good job getting it cleaned up Outdoor Life, looks good!

Thank you! First time I've tried it by myself.

 

[Outdoor life]

Outdoor life,

Although I've not seen it mentioned in scientific literature, I've noticed that bucks who suffered from EHD during the late summer sometimes do not mineralize the tips of their antler points and beams, leaving the tips dark in color and soft to the touch (usually you can dig your fingernails into the antler material). Now I don't know if this is specific to EHD infection or just as symptom of not finishing the mineralization process due to any cause, but that is probably why the antlers you found look they way they do--the buck died before his antlers had finished mineralizing, and that might indicate he died of EHD.

I hope it's not EHD, but those darker tips are soft compared to the white, in fact I could probably scratch it with my fingernail if I wanted to.

Thanks for that info though, I'll probably go back there sometime this week when it warms up shed hunting and see if I find any other dead deer in the area as well. This property follows a river so it wanting to be closer to water would also make sense for EHD.

 

[BSK]

I hope it's not EHD...

Just remember that 1) EHD is not contageous; and 2) some EHD infections occur in TN every year. Finding a deer or two dead of the disease any year is not something to worry about. We only hear about EHD during the big outbreaks, but minor EHD levels are endemic in TN (some deer have it every year).

 

[Outdoor life]

I hope it's not EHD...

Just remember that 1) EHD is not contageous; and 2) some EHD infections occur in TN every year. Finding a deer or two dead of the disease any year is not something to worry about. We only hear about EHD during the big outbreaks, but minor EHD levels are endemic in TN (some deer have it every year).

Yes I know that EHD happens every year, but it is spread by a biting midge, which usually means where one dies, another close by dies, and where I live, the deer population was finally starting to increase, so any deaths in the already low buck population around here hurts.

 

[BSK]

Yes I know that EHD happens every year, but it is spread by a biting midge, which usually means where one dies, another close by dies...

That's not necessarily the case, especially in wet summers.

 

[Redfred16]

Nice euro and even better shirt. :grin:

 

[Outdoor life]

Yes I know that EHD happens every year, but it is spread by a biting midge, which usually means where one dies, another close by dies...

That's not necessarily the case, especially in wet summers.

True, it does seem worse in dry/drought summers. My cousins in Missouri told me that it was really bad over there where they hunt last year, and they found many dead deer on their property.

 

[Outdoor life]

Nice euro and even better shirt. :grin:

Thank you! And hahaha yep, been a Packers fan since I was around 5, so nice signature on your posts as well!