Button buck

[Ski]

I have tired the shooting momma doe to try to keep a piebald buck fawn on property without the desired outcome. He stayed the rest of the season on food plots all day long but was gone come the next season. Who knows what could have happened to him. Just didn't work out in that case.

Yeah its a wives tale. If you kill a button's momma, he'll likely get adopted by an aunt, granny, or sister, and then they'll chase him away at 1.5 just like his momma would have. That's how I've always seen it play out anyway.

 

[rifle02]

While we are on the subject of button bucks. Had a fun walking around beneath my ladder stand Saturday morning. I know it was a button buck I looked straight down at his head and could see his little knobs. It reminded me of a question I have always had and that question is this. When early spring comes does a button buck lose the buttons? Or does he keep the buttons and they begin to grow into antlers later in the spring or early summer so that he has antlers at 1.5 years.

 

[woodsman04]

Just don't shoot fawns in any event if you're afraid of shooting a button head. Sometimes button bucks still ain't even for buttons.

 

[Ski]

While we are on the subject of button bucks. Had a fun walking around beneath my ladder stand Saturday morning. I know it was a button buck I looked straight down at his head and could see his little knobs. It reminded me of a question I have always had and that question is this. When early spring comes does a button buck lose the buttons? Or does he keep the buttons and they begin to grow into antlers later in the spring or early summer so that he has antlers at 1.5 years.

I've always assumed they continue growing into the spikes or forks that they sport as 1.5yr olds. But I don't really know??? I've seen buttons that are hard bone and I've seen them still covered by skin and fur.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Never shoot a small lone deer that appears to have a short neck

BSK, Redblood, and others have given solid advice. Short neck and short face. If you shoot a doe from a group you will have a size reference from the other deer.

 

[Cheshire]

How do you tell if it's a button buck from 200 yards?

It ain't easy, I have shot a couple my mistake. Mainly tell the difference by behavior, but not always. If it's by itself with no other deer it's likely a button buck. Yesterday I saw a button buck with two fawns. Would have bet it was a doe. Surprised it see that it was a button buck

 

[Deer Assassin]

Roll it over

 

[rifle02]

I've always thought that button bucks were fawns

 

[DoubleRidge]

I've always thought that button bucks were fawns

And your correct....the term "yearling" gets miss used often....I'm guilty of it myself....but yes, spots or no spots, a button head is a fawn.

 

[Ski]

I've always thought that button bucks were fawns

That's correct. At 1.5yrs they have spikes, fork horns, or maybe even a tiny real rack. I call those yearlings.

 

[rifle02]

So does anyone know...do they shed the buttons and start a new rck as yearlings?

 

[rifle02]

Rack

 

[Mag]

Fawns have much shorter faces than adult deer. Visually, the distance from the tip of a fawn's nose to the center of it's eye is almost equal to the distance from the ear-hole to the center of the eye. On an adult doe, the distance from nose-tip to eye is twice the distance from ear-hole to eye. Other visual clues include: fawns have a much shorter body trunk than adult does, and fawns have shorter necks and smaller ears than adult does.

But the best advice to reduce the chances of taking fawns (and button bucks specifically) is to not shoot lone antlerless deer. A deer by itself provides no size reference. A lone fawn can look much bigger out by itself than it really is. Another piece of advice, don't shoot the first antlerless deer that walks out into an opening, field, or food plot. Fawns are less wary than adult does and are usually the first to enter a feeding area.

Below, the first two pics are first, an adult doe and second, a fawn. Notice how short the fawns face is. The ear-to-eye and eye-to-nose distances are about the same on a fawn. the third and fourth pictures are a doe and fawn looking at you. The ear-to-eye and eye-to-nose distance differences are still quite apparent even when the deer look at you.

^ this is an outstanding post.

 

[mike243]

the buttons will fall off, no blood going through them.

 

[rifle02]

the buttons will fall off, no blood going through them.

Thanks for the info, that makes sense to me.