Dwarf Deer
- Thread starter webfeet7
- Start date
Good comparison. But short guys usually are thicker and appear fatter/more muscular. Where as tall guys , even if overweight, have a leaner profile. So through this reasoning, big framed deer (skeletal frame) may appear younger and smaller framed deer may appear older. Although i think deer like the OP posted, are outliers anyway - probably not worth worrying about
BSK
Well-Known Member
Ever wonder why so many "big buck" pictures in magazines are taken in Texas? because the bucks are so small in body it makes their racks look huge in comparison. Not uncommon at all for mature bucks on some of the South Texas ranches to weigh only in the 150-175 range.
I've actually considered doing just that. Having a way to measure the deer would sure be helpful. The little deer don't look little. They look like deer. It's when you walk up to them after killing that you find out how big they are.....or aren't.
And in Canada the rack looks so so but it's a booner!
The deer is very short and stocky and the neck is really thick relative to its length. Thanks for posting this. The OP and comments are very interesting. I've googled dwarf deer and it seems like it could be that but then there is the mention of the area known for tiny deer.
I'd never shoot a deer that was wearing a backpack. It should have been wearing a safety orange colored one...
My buddy's parents had a lab/basset hound mix dog. It looked like a full blooded lab with basset hound legs. I told him that's definitely me if I were a dog
BSK
Well-Known Member
Dwarfism does exist in whitetails, but this is not a dwarf deer.
KPH
Well-Known Member
When I was on Guam there was a smal native deer not any bigger than a German shepherd
webfeet7
Well-Known Member
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- Oct 15, 2015
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Just to clarify I was not saying this is in fact a "dwarf deer", it was simply an interesting title. Also I have killed dozens of deer in this area and some of them are smaller body than others but none have been even close to this small.
In my experience field dressing at 100 lb approximately is pretty representative of East tennessee, Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. I'm speaking mostly of younger dear though, one and a half year olds.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I was just commenting on DayDay's post about dwarfism. Yes, it exists in whitetails (and is often associated with piebaldism), but as you pointed out, this is just a small-framed deer.
When I bowhunted Ft. Campbell hard back during the late 80's to mid 90's, I was always amazed at how a huge racked older buck could only dress 135-40 lbs there.
Seems like all the archery only areas deer look just like Texas bucks. Or, at least they used to. That was 30+ years ago though. Dang I sound old, but I'm really not!
Grizzly Johnson
Well-Known Member
There was one time back in the late 80's, I was maybe 10-11 years old and hunting with my dad in Henry Co., around Cottage Grove… I was in a stand by myself for a morning hunt.. had a deer come by that had a little 6pt. rack… I was ready to shoot but it was tiny, not much bigger than the average Labrador Retriever … I almost convinced myself that I was so excited to hunt that I had imagined it… never told my dad because I didn't think he would believe me.
Yes, i've shot 2 bucks like this. Weird thing, both were from the same property less than 200 yards apart, but one was 1996 and the other was 2014. The first was a 8pt that scored 98 2/8". Shot him on black Friday trailing a doe and grunting on a foggy AM. he was 25 yards away when I shot him. I was excited as it was my biggest buck at the time. I had a 1986 ranger, we laid him across the bed of the truck between the wheel wells and tailgate. We didn't even had to bunch him up, cause there was room left...lol
The other, I was watching a ridge and see a buck. I grunted 2 times and he comes running. I shoot him at 15 yards. 7pt with antlers out past his ears. I walk over to him and was blown away at how small he was.
1996 buck, taxidermist aged at 4.5.
2014 buck, buddy and I aged him at 3.5 according to teeth wear.
The other, I was watching a ridge and see a buck. I grunted 2 times and he comes running. I shoot him at 15 yards. 7pt with antlers out past his ears. I walk over to him and was blown away at how small he was.
1996 buck, taxidermist aged at 4.5.
2014 buck, buddy and I aged him at 3.5 according to teeth wear.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Yes. Many times over the years.
Around 15 years ago, I shot what I thought was a 140-gross mature 10-pt mainframe.
But he had a tiny body, very muscular, but only field dressed (if memory serves) @ 102 lbs!
And that relatively small body just made his rack look relatively large!
He did gross score 118, but, certainly not the large rack I had presumed.
In fact, body size vs antler size may be the main reason most our top-end antlered young bucks get killed at such a high rate. Above average sized antlers on a yearling or 2 1/2-yr-old buck can easily appear 20 to 40 inches larger than their reality.
Place a 115" rack on an average 2 1/2-yr-old buck's body, and many hunters will believe it's a 140-class rack when they kill it. And many these same hunters are having no issue giving a pass to 115" older bucks (with average or above average sized bodies).
How old was the tiny bodied 118" buck you killed? The buck the OP killed was not a young one by any stretch.
