How many antlers

Those species are not members of the deer family and carry their horns their entire life. The two terms, antler and horn, get mixed up a lot, but they are completely different. In late summer, blood flow gets restricted due to an annual spike in testosterone, and antlers slowly morph into a hard bone by fall, then they are shed in spring. The shedding of antlers is caused by the new antler bud pushing the old one off right at the base of the skull.

Horn is a two-part structure made up of an interior portion of bone that is covered by an exterior sheath of specialized hair follicles that grow together and harden over time. So, the eight point rule basically gives little or no protection to the superior bucks while it protects and promotes the inferior ones. Harvest has a tremendous impact on white-tailed deer buck size and antler quality.

Over-harvest of young bucks is the primary factor limiting antler size in Oklahoma. Statewide, it is more limiting than the other important factors of nutrition and genetics.

A white-tailed buck generally does not reach its maximum body and antler size until it is 4. This is why trophy bucks are so rare.

When the goal is to increase buck size, it is important to let young bucks live and harvest enough does to keep deer numbers below carrying capacity of the habitat. This allows deer to receive optimum nutrition. For this goal, deer harvest should be comprised primarily of does and mature bucks. These deer in well-managed areas with good genetics can sometimes have multiple points 10 or more and even have spreads outside their ears. This is why learning to judge age by body characteristics is so important, because a one-year-old with great characteristics is the exact buck you want to let develop until five or six.

Their legs still appear long for their body and may seem gangly and awkward. They may show some neck muscle build-up during the rut, but their tarsal glands will only be moderately stained and still very small and round. Their antlers will have a spread around the same width as the ears; beams show the beginning of some mass and multiple points.

Now the neck and shoulders should be thickly muscled, but the neck should still be discernible from the shoulders.

Their back and stomach lines are relatively straight and taut. Their legs appear about the right length for their body. Now the antlers can have a spread even with or outside the ears with decent mass. During the rut, their tarsal glands will be dark and may show a lot of staining.

Research shows that at this age, most bucks have achieved 50 to 75 percent of their antler-growth potential. Four Years Old. Now we should be looking at a fully muscled neck that blends into his deep chest and well-defined muscled shoulders. Their waist drops down to become more even with their gut, helping to give the appearance that their legs are slightly short for the body, but their stomach and back are not sagging yet.

Their hind-end appears filled-out and rounded. Their faces appear to have taut skin around the jaw. The antlers are now beginning to show you their potential and should be heavy with good bases and multiple points.

During the rut they should have noticeably larger tarsal glands that are dark-stained with some staining possibly extending down their legs. Four-year-olds have an entirely different appearance than one- to three-year-old bucks. Bucks in this category have legs that appear too short for their body.

However, they also may have a pot belly and a sagging back. Their increased body mass gives them a more rounded appearance, and they may look like a small cow.

They will have achieved 90 to percent of their antler growth potential, and they can have highly stained tarsal glands during the rut with the stain extending well below the tarsal gland. A few free-ranging bucks make it to the post-mature age category. These bucks have passed their prime and regress in both body and antler size. Large antlers on a younger deer and small antlers on an older deer can negatively influence your estimated age.

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