Antlers: Beautiful headgear

A buck with good mass is a sight to behold
photo Dave Richey ©2012

Granted, it’s only mid-June. A buck’s antlers are really starting to grow but we’ve got two months to go before we have any idea whether the buck will wear a small or wide rack
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. And now is the time to say it: what turns me on may not turn your crank.

Two things that make for a beautiful rack include overall 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 a non-typical buck.

It’s a personal issue 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, and it’s the sheer massiveness of their antlers 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. 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 and with some luck, 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 shoot him. A good buck 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.

Seeing the animal within bow range is the frosting on a 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-typical -- that capture my attention as well. I also like really high racks as well.

Non-typical bucks have so much going on with their rack that it is difficult to make a really adequate assessment of size on short notice, and can lead to disappointment. 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 special, 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 both sides.

A buddy 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 so far out of balance.
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.
Most truly large-racked bucks are large bodied as well. The neck on some look 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.

Three-beamers have three main beams rather than two
photo Dave Richey ©2012

Good herd management give bucks more time to grow larger racks.

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 with me, but if most of us 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.

Sportsmen who are content with shooting a small basket rack and continues  to shoot 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 is 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 lucky or very good at hunting to pull off this trick more than once or twice during a lifetime of hunting.

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

Antlers begin growing in the spring before shedding the velvet and turning hard 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 can’t and don’t have. Deer have antlers, not horns.