Bad gene pool buck?
Wisconsin
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This guy is 3.5 years old. Due to the vertical nature of his antlers I've named him Impala. If this is all he's grown, will they ever branch out? I don't want to harvest him as there is a nice 8 walking around. But if it gets to the last day of the season....
He may branch, but he'll always be about the same.
I'd say if he is 3 1/2 and still looks like that, that's all he'll be or hardly any more. He should've branched already. But I'm no expert just my opinion. You'd at least think his tines would be longer. I have seen plenty of 1 1/2 that look like that.
That would be pretty disheartening if that's what letting them go....to grow does for you. My father in law has a collared deer on camera in Sawyer county. It was a yearling the first time it was photographed. Four years later it looks like a Black River Falls yearling as seen on camera with the same collar. I'm not necessarily a big buck hunter, but I do hold out for something a bit better than a scrapper like that one on our 80, and I blame most of it on nutritional value....or lack there of. Genetics plays a part for sure, but I believe the lack of good horn growing nourishment is a bigger role in those smaller antlered deer in the north woods. Funny, because there was a 160 killed by a family friend two years ago, but I'm not so sure he didn't stray off the QDM property just to the north of him that has all the food they can eat?
Do you know for sure this deer is 3? I take it you must have trail camera evidence of his existence through his growing years?
Does he look thin for this time of year?
He looks like he's bald . But I can't see as good as I used to .
It's called genetics. Just like people. It doesn't matter how much some people eat or how long they live, they aren't going to be 6'5" or built like Duane Johnson. Deer are the same.
Here he is in 2014. Just realized he actually had some antlers at that point, so maybe he's 4.5??
I don't think he is a 4.5 year old deer. But I am just going by his body in the first pic. OP, I think if you truly want to giving him another year will not hurt. But if you want to shoot him I wouldn't blame you.
How do unowned its the same deer?
Elk, it's on private land, lots of trail cams, lots of photos of the same deer population. I've watched him in person also out in the stand for a few years.
Only you would know. But by judging the body and the pedicel of his antlers it looks like a young deer.
He sure does not have the body of even a smaller 3 year old. Looks a bit thin for this time of year.
Are you sure its the same deer and not sn offspring with the same genetics? Body doesn't seem to match stated age either.
Yeah his body is bigger in person. I'll post a video tomorrow. Just for reference I'm up north in Burnett County. Not a ton of big ones in cabin country.
Pasq, if it does not matter then why bother injecting a useless comment?
I would put him on the hit list for family members that just want meat. I would not want to put my buck tag on him.
I wonder too if this is the same deer but you know more about him so it looks as though he is never going to become much of a buck. If there is good nutrition there he must not have the genetics.
I have to say though, while in order to have large antlers a buck needs the genetics, age and nutrition, but without genetics the other two won't produce the large antlers. Skoomjt pointed out genetics but I add if Duane Johnson ate only junk food he would not be what he is. He would be just another tall dude.
A few years ago here in the north after we were hit with a hard winter the older bucks did not produce large antlers they put the nutrition into rebuilding their bodies. They had been stressed with low and poor nutrition and heavy insect attacks. The next year they were back to growing better racks.
I could certainly be wrong, but to me, looking at the bodies, both deer look like they are 1.5 yr old bucks. Could the photos be of different deer, both 1.5 year old spikes?
Several things to think about: in Wisconsin the vast, vast majority of areas have no issues with bad genetics (i guess that depends on your definition of bad genetics), you can't manipulate genetics by culling deer in a wild herd, and just because a 1.5 year old is a spike doesn't mean it's genitally inferior, most likely it isn't. Spiked bucks 2 yrs old or older are unusual in Wisconsin, most likely caused by a prior period of poor nutrition or damage to the pedicle. BC
I would agree with some others here - to me it looks like they're different 1.5 yr old bucks with similar genetics. Unless its truly a genetic oddity, even in areas with poor soils the pedicles are too small for a 3.5, the bodies seem too thin & the legs too long. Unless I was 100% sure, I'd be leaving him alone.