What makes whitetail have antlers like this? Will they grow out of it?

CGWVU

Formerly 'Colson Glover'
Joined
Jul 21, 2019
Messages
54
Location
West Virginia
Hi all,
We've noticed that a lot of nice bucks have one side that doesn't match the other. It's this way with multiple deer. Will these deer never grow out of this?
 

Attachments

  • 16177A3A-E2D4-42D1-817F-E2B9B53C1B36.jpeg
    16177A3A-E2D4-42D1-817F-E2B9B53C1B36.jpeg
    46.7 KB · Views: 1,822
  • 49BA8FBF-771B-4BBD-B1A9-A2AB164524A5.jpeg
    49BA8FBF-771B-4BBD-B1A9-A2AB164524A5.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 1,675
  • 977296DA-DC10-43F9-BE90-90DD9CE5DC61.jpeg
    977296DA-DC10-43F9-BE90-90DD9CE5DC61.jpeg
    1.3 MB · Views: 1,486
  • 9BB7C8F5-DAEA-41BF-8E39-281541FF2179.jpeg
    9BB7C8F5-DAEA-41BF-8E39-281541FF2179.jpeg
    2.2 MB · Views: 1,757
It's simply genetics if he was a much younger deer they might evolve into something a little different but he seems to be a fairly mature dear and I believe he is what he is but I appreciate unusual dear but again it is his genetics I believe and he will always be unique
 
It's simply genetics if he was a much younger deer they might evolve into something a little different but he seems to be a fairly mature dear and I believe he is what he is but I appreciate unusual dear but again it is his genetics I believe and he will always be unique
I can't find the article now but there was one on this exact question in one of the many magazines I read. A wildlife biologist went on to explain that it will not change, the antlers will never get better. It is what it is, I doubt this will ever get better based on that article
 
Genetics is what I'd say is causing this in your deer . Since it seems to be multiple deer . If it was just one and you only had pics from one year of him like that it could be from a vehicle strike .
When me and my wife first got married one of our deer biologist for the state lived just down the road aways and there was a nice 7 point (eastern count) seen on a regular basis in his field from the road. That deer kept velvet on all year long and never dropped his antlers. I stopped and was talking to him on evening and ask why that buck always was like that ? He informed me that he'd watched him the first year he grew antlers and that in early august that year a dog ran him across his pasture field and when that buck went to hop the fence he'd misjudged the distance that he'd needed to clear the fence and had castrated himself on the barb wire fence . When I was talking to him he said that buck was going on 5 1/2 years old but without the testosterone he hadn't grew into the body of normal bucks and he'd keep his antlers that he had during the time of the accident.
There is a lot of variables that go into horn growth . Or lack of however you wanna look at it . Vehicle strikes will cause one side not to grow like the other. For a year or so unless it was a very bad strike they should recoup in a year or so
 
Could be several reasons why. Hard to say. How was the rainfall in that area? Is there enough good quality food in the area to support antler growth? Might be genetics, but you dont know for sure. Here is a study done about culling and genetics on deer. It was done by my alma matter, Texas A&M - Kingsville.

 
It is "typical" for symmetric and "atypical" for non matching antlers. Some guys are really snobby about their trophies and will never shoot an atypical and even consider them trashy... AKA a management deer that needs to be removed from the gene pool. To each his own.
 
Funny to add here...sometimes you see a really nice set of antlers on a buck...but one side is slightly off...
Some have attributed this to places the buck likes to bed...maybe against a rock warmed by the sun...maybe it altered the growth of the antler....then again..maybe he forgot to lay with the other side of his head on the pillow....who knows...
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top