Antlers Can Be A Thing Of Beauty

It's not that a basket-rack 8-point isn't pretty, because it most certainly is, but beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder. Some whitetail bucks simply have a great deal of class, and others do not.

Two things that make for a beautiful racks are mass and points. A buck with good mass is a sight to behold. Some people favor a typical rack, and they can be stunning with high points and a wide spread, but I really enjoy seeing nontypical bucks.

A buck that has antler bases that most bow hunters can't get their hand around are truly breathtaking. And great hunt to hunt. Such deer often are nocturnal, and you've got to be in the right place at the right time when one of thest monster bucks decide to move.

Locating, and hunting nothing but one big buck, is one of bow hunting's greatest challenges. Finding the buck's home range is important, and then trying to pattern the animal can be a lengthy and time consuming effort, but when properly done, the end result is a thing of wonder.

Lots of mass on this early-fall typical whitetail buck.

I will hunt any big buck I find. Some years are better for big bucks than others, but often I’ll locate at least one nice buck and sometimes I shoot him. One I found avoided me last year, and the same happened this year when I fell off my back steps, landed on my back and rearranged several vertabrae, but seeing a buck with this much mass and so many points, puts a fire in my belly.

I look for classy looking bucks. There is something about a symmetrical rack that is delightful to see, and there is something about the freaks of nature -- the non-typicals -- that capture my attention as well. I also like really high racks as well.

The non-typicals have so much going on with their rack that it is difficult to make a really adequate assessment of size. I look for drop tines, kicker points, sticker points, out-of-balance racks with one side higher than the other. To me, deer with drop points are really something to see, especially if the drop point is long or thick.

One fairly common non-typical is one with double brow points on each side, and one look at such a buck gives the impression of Richard Nixon giving the peace sign with both hands. Double brows on one side are fairly common, and there are always a few bucks with double brow points on each side.  A fairly common non-typical may have a third main beam on one side but I’ve never seen one with two main beams on both sides.

This 3-beam non-typical has an extra beam on the near side under the normal beam. it curves out over the near-side main beam.

One of my buddies saw a non-typical last year that was much higher on one side, had more points on that side, and he was an impressive looking animal even through his rack wouldn't have scored very high because the rack was too far out of sync with the other side.

There are a fair number of big, heavy, high and wide typical bucks that offer viewers a big thrill. These bucks have excellent mass, 10 or 12 points with very large G-2s and G-3s, wide spread and there is little doubt among viewers that they are looking at a very special buck.

A photographer buddy -- Dennis Buchner of Grawn -- shoots bird and deer photos. Last year he was cruising, and saw a massive 10-point stand up in marsh grass and run into the open woods. The rack on this buck was truly impressive, but there is even more to it than that.

Most truly large-racked bucks are large bodied as well. The neck on some of them looks as big around as a barrel. See one of these huge bucks, and the skin seems loose around the neck, and when the animal turns its head, the rolls of skin and fat move with it.

Time is a major factor in growing big antlers.

Time is the major reason why big bucks grow to such large sizes. In reality, most hunters shoot the first buck with antlers they see. These 1 1/2-year-old bucks have tiny racks, and once they've been killed, there is never a chance for them to grow any larger.

Many hunters can feel free to disagree with me, but if most of them passed on these small bucks every year, and other hunters in the area did the same, within three years they would be seeing and shooting massive bucks. It's really that simple but everyone has to cooperate.

Sportsmen who are content with shooting a small basket rack and continue  shooting them, will never see a big-racked buck. Those who instead choose to shoot a doe are doing the right thing, but it's right only if everyone plays by the same rules. It’s  one reason why Quality Deer Management rules are effective; only large bucks qualify to be shot. That allows smaller bucks more time to grow high-quality racks.

Shooting a real trophy  is a difficult thing to accomplish in this or any other state. One must either be very luck or very good at hunting to pull off this trick more than once, and that is especially true as the late deer season winds down.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors