09/20/2013
A lot of hunters do not understand this. Great illustration.
Some hunters believe weird antlers are a problem that should be fixed by killing the buck. We disagree, and these antler casts help explain why. This buck lived at Mississippi State University’s Deer Lab research center, and his antlers are arranged from age 1.5 on the bottom to age 4.5 at the top. The odd antler at age 2.5 resulted from an injury during antler growth, but the buck returned to normal antler growth every year after that. So, if a buck’s estimated AGE meets your personal goal, enjoy him, but if it doesn’t, and he’s wearing a weird antler, give him the benefit of the doubt.