CSI this deer....

[ALCOAR]

Hey guys, looking for any info on age...eta on death...and potential causes of death.

Found on my property, no hunting is allowed anywhere remotely close, and this buck appears to be relatively young in my estimation. Hopefully the teeth can help some of you identify it's age.

It's an Alabama Whitetail fwiw. I'd guess it's weight was around 140lbs.

A few coyotes have been pushed into our locale recently according to one of our neighbors, however I've yet to hear them, or see them.

[ryan]

Looks like a 2 year old.

I bet good money you have a poacher.

[ALCOAR]

Thanks Ryan for weighing in. I hope Amanda is hanging tough, and doing ok. Will continue to keep you guys in my thoughts.

F**king poachers.....I started this thread afraid I'd hear that to be a likely culprit.

So easy to shoot these guys under a spotlight, and a suppressed .22 to the dome. Sucks also that he was indeed a young deer.

Any chance the next season his antlers would have turned out differently? As in more typical, with even growth on each side.

I've heard if they are wounded severely enough on one side, the opposite side's antler won't grow right....sounds kinda foolish I know.

[ryan]

Thank you sir, she is doing really good.

I had one on camera like that season before last. I guess it was his first rack. Turned into a pretty nice 9 point for Alabama probly 120 class deer as a 3 year old last season.

My guess is that that was his first rack.

Did you ever hear about the guys poaching Calaway Gardens?

They were using mountain bikes and Archery gear, very slick.

[ALCOAR]

Haven't heard about those poachers, sneaky f**kers.

Thanks for the info pal

[Army Chief]

Any chance the next season his antlers would have turned out differently? As in more typical, with even growth on each side.

I've heard if they are wounded severely enough on one side, the opposite side's antler won't grow right....sounds kinda foolish I know.

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

[J-Dub]

From the teeth, I would say young. How young I dont know, but they arent worn down..

[ryan]

Haven't heard about those poachers, sneaky f**kers.

Thanks for the info pal

Yes sir, just food for thought, something to look for you know.

I think it also can happen from an injury on that side(not just testicular). Not sure haven't studied it or anything. We do have our far share of half rack deer around here.

[ALCOAR]

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

Excellent info! Very interesting info as well in regards to Germany. I was a member of a hunting camp for several years, and it was a policy to try and take out bucks like this one in the pic above, but rarely saw it practiced to the best of my memory.

Something just extremely majestic about an antlered buck. Perhaps I can use this buck's antler for a nice knife handle or something...that way he won't have gone to total waste.

It's truly a blessing to have your continued presence on M4C as well. One can never tap a knowledgeable resource to much in my book

[MAUSER202]

Not an scholar here, but have studied, hunted at photographed deer for about 15 years. From teeth and antlers I would guess 1.5- 2.5 years old. The one antler looks broken from either fighting or a vehicle accident to me. Hard to tell in the pics. I have found carcasses like this with broken bones and even paint on antlers from a car collision where I hunt. Usually less than 1/2 mile from the road.

Poachers or being malnourished from the rut backed by a hard winter are other possibility's.