Rainfall is my guess. In my area it was a normal summer. Not too much, and not to little. The vegetation was happy.Although I shouldn't complain about some the monster bucks being killed this year, I'm deeply concerned about future years. First, let me admit I have absolutely no idea why antler development has been so phenomenal this year. In my area, and I'm hearing similar data from other parts of the MidSouth, antler development is up about 15 inches per age-class this year. I can honestly say I have NEVER seen anything like it. I'm seeing 10-point 2 1/2s grossing in the 120s. I'm seeing 3 1/2s grossing in the 150s. I've never seen such a high percentage of 10+ point bucks, EVER. I'm trying to enjoy this anomalous year as much as possible, but I know what's coming next year or the first year things returned to normal. Hunters all complaining the state screwed up the management because they aren't seeing the monsters they did in 2020.
Antler growth is very complicated and is not just a product of what a buck eats in summer. Just as much a part is played in how stressed the buck was in the previous year's rut and what resources he had during the winter months. A highly stressed buck coming into spring spends most of his summer resources rebuilding what he lost the last year instead of growing bigger antlers. That said, have no idea why regionwide bucks did so well this year with antler growth. But if I knew what it was, I would bottle it and sell it! I'm just not looking forward to hearing the complaints when this anomaly ends.
From all of the data sources I have, In western Middle TN, 2 buck limit had zero impact. No change in buck age structure or numbers.Might have been said already but is the 2 buck limit having an impact. I don't know that's why I asked instead of implied.
Although I shouldn't complain about some the monster bucks being killed this year, I'm deeply concerned about future years. First, let me admit I have absolutely no idea why antler development has been so phenomenal this year. In my area, and I'm hearing similar data from other parts of the MidSouth, antler development is up about 15 inches per age-class this year. I can honestly say I have NEVER seen anything like it. I'm seeing 10-point 2 1/2s grossing in the 120s. I'm seeing 3 1/2s grossing in the 150s. I've never seen such a high percentage of 10+ point bucks, EVER. I'm trying to enjoy this anomalous year as much as possible, but I know what's coming next year or the first year things returned to normal. Hunters all complaining the state screwed up the management because they aren't seeing the monsters they did in 2020.
Antler growth is very complicated and is not just a product of what a buck eats in summer. Just as much a part is played in how stressed the buck was in the previous year's rut and what resources he had during the winter months. A highly stressed buck coming into spring spends most of his summer resources rebuilding what he lost the last year instead of growing bigger antlers. That said, have no idea why regionwide bucks did so well this year with antler growth. But if I knew what it was, I would bottle it and sell it! I'm just not looking forward to hearing the complaints when this anomaly ends.
This may be the most significant single factor.Could it be there are fewer deer overall meaning an increase in available food over the winter? . . . . . fewer deer equals more quality/quantity food per deer?
There very well may be something to this. Or perhaps even a year earlier. Most recent information reveals the most critical time for optimum nutrition for a buck to eventually reach the most of his genetic potential at maturity is actually when he is an EMBRYO/ FETUS. That's right, the nutritional status of that mother doe 5.5 years prior to that buck becoming a 4.5 y/o is the single most important year.….But the 2 1/2 & 3 1/2-yr old bucks we're seeing today may have been born in a lower-deer density time, thus benefited in their early lives from higher quality food sources (at least per mouth). Having better nutrition as fawns, perhaps this may have been the single biggest factor for the larger antlers we're seeing on 2 1/2-yr-old bucks this year?....
A lot of very valuable information in this thread. I'm a huge fan of improving the habitat and wish more people were as thrilled about it as I am. We have done several timber operations on our property over the years. Fixing to start another big one in a few weeks. Hoping to do a lot of burning this spring - just need the weather to cooperate. I believe that's one of the reasons we have been able to grow the bucks we have in an area that is nothing but rolling hills and hollows of hardwoods, with absolutely no agriculture for miles around us. When we planted soybeans this spring, that was the first time our deer had ever even come close to smelling a soybean. Hoping to have 3 times the acreage of beans this summer with a lot of fresh natural grasses and forbs from burns. This should lead us to our goal of having much healthier does, and not far behind, much healthier and good-looking bucks.
There very well may be something to this. Or perhaps even a year earlier. Most recent information reveals the most critical time for optimum nutrition for a buck to eventually reach the most of his genetic potential at maturity is actually when he is an EMBRYO/ FETUS. That's right, the nutritional status of that mother doe 5.5 years prior to that buck becoming a 4.5 y/o is the single most important year.
Which is also why hunters should not expect to see dramatic improvements in antler scores of mature deer the year (or even 2 or 3 years) after improving habitat and increasing food resources. It's actually going to take a minimum of 5 years of improvements to see mature bucks benefit from the habitat improvement.
I too have become as interested in habitat improvements as much as the hunt itself....don't get me wrong....I love late October , November & December hunts...but land management is a year around hobby that I really enjoy.
Me too. It actually got me excited about deer hunting again, added an entirely new level. There's no much to learn again and should keep me busy experimenting for quite a few years, hopefully the rest of my days. I don't think I've loved deer hunting this much since I was a boy.
Man this has the wheels turning Mega.There very well may be something to this. Or perhaps even a year earlier. Most recent information reveals the most critical time for optimum nutrition for a buck to eventually reach the most of his genetic potential at maturity is actually when he is an EMBRYO/ FETUS. That's right, the nutritional status of that mother doe 5.5 years prior to that buck becoming a 4.5 y/o is the single most important year.
Which is also why hunters should not expect to see dramatic improvements in antler scores of mature deer the year (or even 2 or 3 years) after improving habitat and increasing food resources. It's actually going to take a minimum of 5 years of improvements to see mature bucks benefit from the habitat improvement.
I don't think your theory is all that outlandish, although I would think most of a deer's diet in middle TN won't be crops. Still, there are probably a significant minority living a GMO diet. Back when I hunted the Midwest every year, we'd joke that the deer we killed couldn't be certified as organic.Eh, makes me feel like a good hunter. I tagged three big boys in two states, and put my wife on a big drop tine buck. Been an exceptional year for me & my house. I know that's anecdotal but it seems to jive with what I've been seeing across the board. It's not only big ones, either, but weird racks with lots of trash. Whatever the cause, I'm enjoying it.
My theory is a bit outlandish but not illogical, and I don't have any factual data to support it. But I think it's GMO's. Our genetically modified seeds are growing bionic crops, which have been attributed to a surge in the average human size. If GMO's are making our crops bigger, which make us bigger, then why wouldn't we expect it to make deer bigger as well? They're eating the same crops.