I hear stories like this fairly frequently. Makes me wonder what is going on in that area where everybody has a messed up antler on one side. I fully get why hunters assume it is genetic, even though it isn't. But is there an extraordinary amount of late-season fighting on that property? What drives so much pedicle damage?
Used to see it a LOT in the Deep South. The reason being their very late rut. With peak breeding in February, but antler drop only a month or two away, fighting bucks can tear off another buck's antler pretty easy. LOTS of pedicle damaged bucks down there.
When a buck's antler gets knocked off too early, it tears the core out of the antler's pedicle (like pulling a scab off too early and the center has not healed yet). This damage to the pedicle will cause the antler to grow very strangely in the future, usually produce a big spike, cluster of spikes, or a stunted odd-shaped antler. And this pedicle damage is permanent. It will never heal, and each time that antler falls off, it will tear away more of the pedicle, making the odd antler growth worse with age.
I'm actually pretty curious to see what becomes of some of these weird looking deer. I've seen the occasional one sided buck but never ave I seen such a chunk of the buck population with weird stuff like this. And it wasn't the case a couple years ago. It's just been the last two years it became a "thing" on this property.
