BSK
Well-Known Member
You can get get in line behind me in that department!
I could write a book on the beliefs I have changed my mind about.
The 2020 antler conundrum
- Thread starter BSK
- Start date
I could write a book on the beliefs I have changed my mind about.
I'm not a biologist nor do I claim to be but, here is the explanation: They had an extra day of preparation due to it being leap year.
On a serious not I have seen bigger bucks than usual myself this year. It was amazing.
On a serious not I have seen bigger bucks than usual myself this year. It was amazing.
Most times the simple answer is the correct one!
Most deer don't get nutrients from food plots. But they do get supplemental nutrition and high quality. But I know places that have very big antlered deer.and they don't have any supplemental. They just have restrictions and not open as statewide season. So age has a ton to do with it. From my observations anyway. Soil yes but age is more important.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Yep...age, genetics and nutrition are key. In that order. At times, it's debatable that nutrition beats genetics. But if they have the genetics, time will tell with age. A lot factors come into play in that 4-5 years of that particular deer's life
Tom Collins
Well-Known Member
Killed a 3.5 year old yesterday grossing around 135 to 140. The jump he made from last year was insane, I bet he added 40 inches. Is that uncommon @BSK ?
TN Whitetail Freak
Well-Known Member
The buck I killed this year had barely shed his milk tooth and scored 144" benton Humphries line
BSK
Well-Known Member
Tom Collins
Well-Known Member
From 2.5 to 3.5. Assume this is an example of what you're referencing. Williamson/Marshall line.
BSK
Well-Known Member
In the areas where I have the most data, (western Middle TN), the average difference between a buck at 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 is 20 inches.
That is an incredible jump. Oddly the brows gained nothing.
Tom Collins
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I thought that was odd as well, each brow did add 2 stickers each on the back sides.
I've been pretty fortunate to watch him consistently since he was 1.5. I was shocked to watch him develop this summer. If I didn't know him so well I wouldn't have thought it to be the same deer. I would've gave him at least another year but he sustained an injury to his jaw that was making it really tough to eat and was starting to waste away. Don't think he would've made it through the winter.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but when I'm reviewing census data from the same property from one year to the next, and trying to find the same buck from year to year, in my opinion browtines are the best characteristic to look at. They may grow a little longer from year to year, but where they come off the beam, and any angle forward, backward, inward or outward usually stays the same from year to year on the same buck. They also often will carry little "quirks" throughout a buck's lifetime, such as a little crook one of the browtines, or one shorter than the other, etc.
Interesting observation. But man those brows hardly changed. Now I'm going to be looking through years of trail cam pics lol.
TNRidgeRider
Well-Known Member
The threads here lately regarding herd management and age structure have been amazing. It has made me rethink everything I was taught about deer management growing up. Going into this season after an almost 10 year break all I was told about the small parcel I grew up hunting was that there were a ton of does and no bucks. I will say I have seen several does, but only 10+ on a handful of occasions. Lots of young bucks with potential, and at least 2 mature (3.5+) bucks. Hopefully a good camera census in the off-season will give me a better picture of what I have.
Yessir I think that is a very common misconception. Although they're all deer, bucks & does behave differently day to day. You just don't see the bucks as often or bunched up in big groups like you do does, so folks tend to think they have way more does than bucks. Early to mid summer you see groups of bucks but still it's only a few together at a time. Not many people are looking for deer in June, though.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Although pre and post-season censuses can provide useful information, I can't stress enough how useful data collected during the season can be. Every property is different, and sees a different pattern in buck usage, but for small properties it is not uncommon at all to see big changes in which bucks are using the property during the seasonal influences on deer behavior from August through December and January.
Many bucks have "seasonal ranges," in that they spend the summer in a bachelor group in one location, but shift to a different area once bachelor groups break up in fall. Sometimes this shift is only a short distance, but sometimes this shift can be miles. Then as the rut approaches, most bucks vastly increase the size of their range, usually doubling it. In addition, some bucks actually have a completely different rut range from their normal fall range, up and going to this rut range for 4-6 weeks, only to return back to their normal fall range post-rut.
All of this seasonal shifting of activity has major implications for the small-land manager. Which bucks are using the property can change dramatically from summer to fall, and during the and after the rut. The only way to document these changes in buck numbers is by running cameras all season long. I've been running season-long unbaited censuses (not using bait to draw deer in front of the camera but just placing cameras in high-traffic areas) for over 20 years. The information I have gathered has been INVALUABLE for managing my property from a habitat standpoint, but most importantly from a harvest standpoint.
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
I have years of pictures of bucks developing their racks over the course of their life's. Browtines are the only antler characteristic that stay very similar throughout the bucks life. I have a buck that I've followed for the last 3 or 4 seasons now. I guess him to be 7.5 or 8.5 this year. In 2017 he was a clean 10pt. In 2018 he dropped a g4 on the left side and went to a 9pt. In 2019 he dropped the g4 on the right side and went to a clean 8. This year he threw a droptine off his 8pt rack and is now a non-typical 9pt. In all those racks his browtines are identical!
