Weird Progression

[Ski]

This buck had a broken front left leg a couple years ago so I called him Hobbles. He went on to survive and came back last year with a weird rack on right side. It had a split g2 and long flier point off the base. I was pretty curious to see what he'd become this year but am surprised to see that although his rack is still weird on right side, it didn't grow. In fact I think he lost size. The split g2 turned into a crab claw beam tip and the flier moved off the base and onto his brow. So essentially he still has the abnormal points he got from the injury, only they moved a full tine farther out the rack. And his left side lost the g2 completely. I've seen several injured bucks come back the following year with abnormal antler growth but never been able to follow it like I have with this one because he's so present on the farm.

Here he is in 2021 with the broken leg. His right side even then had a crabby like split.

This was last year, 2022. Notice the split g2 and flier off base.

Here's this year. Rack seems par or even smaller than last year. The only thing that's stayed constant is general frame shape and brows that tilt inward. I really thought he'd get big this year but didn't happen. Neat to see how he progressed though with the injury and subsequent odd rack.

 

[LenS]

Neat pics and history with that buck. While he's not an antler trophy necessarily, I would find it difficult to let him walk. He just looks like a tough deer.

 

[backyardtndeer]

That is interesting. We have seen some strange progression here as well, in a couple that we were able to pin down in the following year. Now you have me wondering if the deer I killed this year was possibly one from last year that disappeared, he could have two lost points and his fork/split shifted from g2 to g3?

 

[Ski]

That is interesting. We have seen some strange progression here as well, in a couple that we were able to pin down in the following year. Now you have me wondering if the deer I killed this year was possibly one from last year that disappeared, he could have two lost points and his fork/split shifted from g2 to g3?

I certainly wouldn't say it's impossible or even unlikely. I'd have never guessed this guy would be losing rack size and tine count but he is. I also never knew their abnormal antler characteristics could move farther out the rack as they age.

However I have watched and kept up with a lot of bucks and one repeating pattern is that once a buck establishes his home, it's usually his home for life. Seems the older they get the more they favor familiarity. I'd guess hunters see more repeat bucks than they think. Racks just change enough year to year that they're not always obviously recognizable.

 

[Ski]

Neat pics and history with that buck. While he's not an antler trophy necessarily, I would find it difficult to let him walk. He just looks like a tough deer.

When he had a broken leg I believed him to be 2.5yrs. But the following year he was so heavy bodied that I'm wondering if he wasn't actually an underachieving 3.5yr old, making him now 5.5yrs. I could go either way on it.

But you're right he's tough. He carried that leg from early September into the following spring before I got him on camera putting weight on it again. Still chased does with 3 legs. Lot of attitude in that guy.

 

[Dumbluck]

They are all different and it is strange how some of them change. I've seen some explode and I've seen some get smaller before they are at peak age.

The deer I killed last year. I had his shed and he had a palmation between g2 and 3. Last year his palmation moved to between his g3 to g4, which I had never seen a palmation move like that. He put on more mass but was not substantially bigger.

The buck I killed this year I expected to explode, he got bigger but he didn't explode like I hoped. It seems the bucks that are the superior 2 and 3 year olds almost always seem to be the ones that make the huge jumps at 4 and 5.

 

[Ski]

They are all different and it is strange how some of them change. I've seen some explode and I've seen some get smaller before they are at peak age.

The deer I killed last year. I had his shed and he had a palmation between g2 and 3. Last year his palmation moved to between his g3 to g4, which I had never seen a palmation move like that. He put on more mass but was not substantially bigger.

The buck I killed this year I expected to explode, he got bigger but he didn't explode like I hoped. It seems the bucks that are the superior 2 and 3 year olds almost always seem to be the ones that make the huge jumps at 4 and 5.

Yeah I'm going to go back through old pictures to see if any other bucks had anomalous characteristics that migrated outward with age. Never noticed it before but doubt it's unique to this buck.

And I completely agree. Most that explode at maturity show some kind of promise in youth. Unfortunately a lot of the best up and comers get killed young because their larger than normal racks look huge on their immature bodies.

 

[BSK]

Never ceases to amaze me how different each buck is. Some explode near maturity. Some never progress beyond the rack they had at 3 1/2. Some peak at 4 1/2. Some don't peak until 6 or 7. Every buck is different.