Rec and Sports

Deer Hunting Tips – What Conditions Affect Antler Size?

Herd management is one of the most important deer hunting tips. The large antlered deer are prized among trophy hunters. The bigger the rack, the more valuable the prize. All proud hunters will swap tales of giant antlers, diameter, point count, etc. What is it that determines the size of the animal’s antlers?

There are three main factors that decide the overall size of a buck’s antlers.

1. The Deer’s Genetics

2. Nutrition

3. Age

The genetics of a deer help to determine how big the antlers have the “potential” to get. In other words maximum antler size is a trait that is inherited. This is a fact that experienced deer hunters and game managers know and that science has proven. Leases are often managed in a way to produce the biggest bucks by limiting the size of the antlers that are permitted to be harvested. The gene pool of a deer population can be “antlered up” by limiting the number of deer that can be killed who have genetically superior racks and increasing the kill rate of those buck with genetically inferior racks. The actual effect of these strategies is questionable, but the though process and fact basis of this practice is very sensible. The fact is that culling of deer with inferior genetics is seldom possible when you consider the number of other deer killed within a population.

Nutrition or what a deer has to eat is another factor affecting the size of a deers antlers. Even if a deer has superior genetics, when there are not enough nutrients available for the deer to eat, the antlers will never reach their full size. Experienced hunters will tell you about seasons when drought caused foliage and food sources to be scarce. They will also attest how these conditions made it impossible to find any deer with huge racks. In order for deer to reach their full antler producing potential, they need adequate nutrition throughout the entire year. Due to the fact that most of the antler growth occurs during the spring and summer time, nutrition through this period is the most important. This means that when foraging conditions are poor during the spring and summer months, antler growth will be limited. However, if time and energy are put into habitat management, adequate nutrition and foraging will be made more likely. There are many times that supplemental feeding is needed.

The last thing that affect antler size is age. However, age does not have as much of an effect on antler size as genetics or nutrition do. A deer reaches maturity at around 3 years of age. Usually antler size potential increases throughout the first few years of life. It continues to increase some during the fourth through sixth year. However, the actual growth rate and size depend on the breed of deer and the deers genetics. For this reason deer under four years of age should typically not be harvested. I can still hear my father complain when the people on the farm next door shot a two year old buck. My dad would always state with frustration that “That deer still had milk on its breath.” It is recommended that young bucks be allowed to mature fully before being harvested. If you are at a point where you need venison, but can’t seem to get a mature buck, then you should harvest a doe. You will see the benefit of this during the next season of hunting.

Please use these deer hunting tips to help you during your upcoming deer hunting season. And please check out www.Deer-HuntingTips.com for even more advanced deer hunting tips.