Beads or BBs
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Osceola
20-Jan-17
I was once told that deer antlers that have a lot of small bumps/beads/BBs(about the size or a little larger than a BB) is indicative of the deer receiving good nutrition. The more "beads" the better the nutrition the deer received is the thought behind the comment.
Is heavy beading on the rack indicative of the deer receiving better nutrition? Fact or Fiction?
From: Charlie Rehor
20-Jan-17
I always thought it was a sign of maturity with nothing to do with good eats. Curious to any biologists thoughts.
From: Habitat1
20-Jan-17
I would go with age and genetics before nutrition
From: Genesis
20-Jan-17
I''ll take my biology courses and Holiday Inn Invoice and push all in on genetic predisposition + age to express = bumps on bases
To paraphrase...what Charlie said.
From: bowbender77
20-Jan-17
Habitat1 X2
From: elk yinzer
20-Jan-17
I always assumed genetic variation. Somewhere along the line, if rubs became important to passing on their genes, then the antlers that have those rougher bases have to be easier to make rubs, right? Really interested to see if there are any responses to this supported by fact though.
From: Woods Walker
20-Jan-17
OOPS! I thought this thread was about drone loads! ;-)
From: milnrick
20-Jan-17
I've asked about pearling on antlers to a few S TX wildlife biologists and was told it's a combination of all 3 reasons . Genetics, habitat/diet and maturity...
From: Bake
20-Jan-17
I would go with age and genetics. I've killed several older bucks with beading/bumps, and some of them with quite small antlers. And our nutrition is very poor here.
From: Scooby-doo
20-Jan-17
I would think genetics as I killed a ton of deer in one area that I have hunted for over 40 years. A lot of them have no brow tines and quite a bit of beading. Also a lot of them are 1.5 to 2.5 year old's so in my case age would not be a factor. Nutrition here has always been about the same. Scooby
From: TD
21-Jan-17
I know the older I get I'm noticing a good many more beads and bumps here and there.....
From: Woods Walker
21-Jan-17
This thread title sounds kinky....... ;-)
