Antlers: Bones of beauty

12-point; wide & heavy. 3-beamer buck.

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 rack are overall mass and points. A buck with tremendous mass is a sight to behold. They are awe-inspiring portrayals of nature’s handiwork. Some people favor a typical rack, and they can be absolutely stunning with high points and a wide spread, but I really enjoy seeing nontypical bucks.

It’s a personal choice for most hunters, but for me, bucks that have antler bases that most bow hunters can't get their hand around are truly breathtaking. Such animals are old, up to about 7 ½ years old, and it’s the sheer massiveness of antlers on its head that makes us gasp in amazement.

Hunters all appreciate the majesty of a big rack of antlers.

Locating, and hunting nothing but one big buck, is one of bow hunting's greatest challenges. It’s not easy tp find a buck's home range, 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.

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 will shoot him while other times I will not. One avoided me two years ago, and the same happened again last fall when I fell off my back steps, but seeing a buck with that much mass and so many points, puts a fire in my belly. It’s much like football, for instance: it’s not whether you win or lose, but about how you play the game. This is a one-on-one hunt.

Seeing the animal within bow range is the first taste of the bow hunter’s cake. Making a successful shot is nothing more than the icing on the cake.

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

A buck on the prowl looking for an estrus doe

The non-typicals have so much going on with their rack that it is difficult to make a really adequate assessment of size unless a person can study the antlers from all four sides for a length of time. 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 tines are really something to see, especially if the drop point is long and/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 each side.

Three-beamers have three main beams rather than two.

One of my buddies saw a nontypical 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 balance. It would have too many deduction points to rank very high.

There are a fair number of big, heavy, high and wide typical bucks that offer the viewer a huge thrill. These bucks have excellent mass, 10 or 12 points with very large G-2s and G-3s, a 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, Michigan -- 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 move with it.

Herd management give bucks more time to grow bigger racks.

A heavy buck left and a nice winter buck on right.

Time is the major reason why big bucks grow to such a large size. 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, 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 wondering where all the massive bucks had come from.

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

Shooting a real trophy is a difficult thing to accomplish in this or any other state. One must either be very lucky or very good at hunting to pull off this trick more than once or twice in a lifetime.




And contrary to what the hosts of television hunting shows say, a deer does not have horns. They have antlers, and they should know better than to call antlers “horns” on television.


Antlers begin growing in the spring before shedding the velvet and turning hard bone in the early autumn. Horns, such as those found on cattle and sheep, continue to grow through the life of the animal. There is no excuse for calling the headgear of whitetail deer by something they can’t and don’t have. Deer have antlers, not horns. I hope that clear up any misunderstanding.