• Help Support TNDeer:

Injury related rack defects

S

Ski

Well-Known Member
TNDeer Supporter
Joined
Nov 18, 2019
Messages
5,442
Location
Coffee County
I posted pics of this buck last year I think showing his odd hoof. He limped around all season, never seeming to let his left front hoof touch the ground. It also looks swollen. I was considering shooting him because I hated seeing his apparent struggle, but now I'm glad I let nature take its course. I recognized him in velvet this summer and have watched him blossom into a neat, albeit stunted rack. First pic is last season.

1672716603838.png


I first noticed him in velvet in early summer due to his inward tilted brows. Notice the nub beginning to emerge on his right base.

1672717092537.png

By August he had a full rack and the nub was long. He also developed a split G2. Both anomalies emerged opposite side of his injured leg.

1672717276123.png


As of a couple days ago he's still alive and well so looking forward to next year! Surprisingly his flyer nub grew to about 4" and never got broke off. No idea what he'll look like next season but I'm pretty confident I'll find out. The property must be the center of his core because I get him almost daily on cam and all times of day & night.

1672717559224.png
 
Ski said:
I'm curious to see if his rack will continue to be weird or if it'll straighten out now that his injury is healed.
Click to expand...
Wish I could give you a "here's what's going to happen" answer. But research on this has shown ever possible outcome. Some deer with a body-injury-induced antler deformation displayed immediate return to a normal rack once the injury healed. Some showed a slow return to normalcy over several years. Some kept the abnormality for the rest of their life.
 
That's why you never shoot a young buck if you are managing for older deer (and usually better racks). Heck, we won't even cull a spike at 3.5, even though the chance he will explode into a trophy at 4.5 is virtually zero. More meat at 4.5!

I did shoot a 2.5 y/o 10-12 years ago that was hit by a car the day before and had a shattered hip joint and shattered shoulder. He could hardly get out of his bed and was a matter of just a few hours before coyotes caught up to him and ate him alive. Mercy killing for sure, but I only saved half the meat, the impact side was too bruised/ bloodshot.
 
megalomaniac said:
That's why you never shoot a young buck if you are managing for older deer (and usually better racks). Heck, we won't even cull a spike at 3.5, even though the chance he will explode into a trophy at 4.5 is virtually zero. More meat at 4.5!
Click to expand...
And that's why I keep telling landowners there is no "one size fits all" form of deer management. Harvest rules will always need to be site specific and geared towards what the landowner wants to accomplish.
 
BSK said:
And that's why I keep telling landowners there is no "one size fits all" form of deer management. Harvest rules will always need to be site specific and geared towards what the landowner wants to accomplish.
Click to expand...

I have a handful of properties that I tinker with and hunt. It amazes me how each place is so uniquely different. This stuff fascinates me to near insanity, in an enjoyable way. But I do not envy you for doing it in a professional capacity. That's a whole different level of crazy!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top