Originally Posted by
Army Chief
Not at all. I went through the rigorous (to understate the matter) hunting certification process in Germany to earn the Jagdschein, and one of the things they covered in detail was the fact that uneven antler development is most directly related to an underdeveloped or damaged testicle on the other side of the animal (i.e. left affects right, and right affects left). We're assuming a natural growth issue here, of course, and not an injury sustained as the result of fighting or an accident of some kind.
Per the German view, a kill like this would also be considered especially honorable, since it removes the opportunity for a genetically-compromised buck to breed. There are some eugenics overtones to this which may give some pause, but conservation in Germany is managed by the hunters themselves, and a few hundred years of excellent hunting stock does tend to suggest that they know what they are doing.
Wish it were a bit easier to help you nail down the cause/culprit. Hard to say, and for all we know, it was a slow-bleed shot taken miles away, and the buck just happened to elude the shooter and expire on your property.
AC
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