Those "non-growing" bucks...

[WNY Bowhunter]

I posted the history of a buck that I named "Bob" earlier this yr.  I followed him from 2020 until my arrow ended the story back on November 3rd. Based on 5 yrs of history/pics, he was a survivor that managed to beat the odds every season while most of his better genetic buddies would end up getting killed.  He was still a trophy in my eyes but based on antler inches he was truly pathetic for being a 6.5 yr old (confident that deerage will verify this age) buck in the heart of the fingerlakes region!

There is another buck on the upper side of the property that is following the same trend. Again, this deer and Bob would show up on the same cards pulls back in 2020 and 21. He became more elusive on cams in 2022 and disappeared all together in 2023. I was pretty surprised when he resurfaced this fall. The odds are looking good for him that he's still going to be up there in 2025 too...

2024: Estimated at 6.5 yrs old

2023: He was MIA on my cams

2022: Estimated at 4.5 yrs old

2021: Estimated at 3.5 yrs old

2020: Estimated at 2.5 yrs old

 

Edited December 5, 2024 by WNY Bowhunter

[2BuckBizCT]

Cool history. I have a buck in CT (not since 10/17 though) that has been on camera 2022, 2023, and 2024. He was a 10pt (almost 11) the first 2 years). Finally this year the crab claw grew enough to make him an 11pt. Inches-wise he hasn't gained a ton, but I notice the mass is better each year.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Here's another one, the "notch-eared" buck. Not as long of a history with this one but had him in 2022 (looks to be 3.5) and then again this fall. He was killed on the neighboring property the opening week of gun. Certainly not the "big jump" you would expect to see!

2024: 

2022: 

[lucky118]

Looks like he gained alot from  1.5. Looks like a normal ny buck. Now if you jacked him up on some feed and minerals then he might add some more inches on the rack. 

[WNY Bowhunter]

1 minute ago, lucky118 said:

Looks like he gained alot from  1.5. Looks like a normal ny buck. Now if you jacked him up on some feed and minerals then he might add some more inches on the rack. 

There is no way he was a yearling (1.5) back in 2020. There is very little ag here (other than grapes)but the area still produces big deer by NYS standards 

[grampy]

I love old bucks! And their antler size means little to me.

To have a history over multiple seasons with a buck, is as good as it gets in my book.

I don't know why some bucks just top out, and don't grow larger antlers with age? Could be as simple as genetics?

[WNY Bowhunter]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

I love old bucks! And their antler size means little to me.

To have a history over multiple seasons with a buck, is as good as it gets in my book.

I don't know why some bucks just top out, and don't grow larger antlers with age? Could be as simple as genetics?

I think that most likely is the case here. I believe that bucks that don't have big jumps are more common than those that do. This is the buck I found dead back in January on the same property as Bob and the other two bucks on this thread. He went from a 120" to a 160" gross in a single year and he was only 4.5 at the most...

 

[grampy]

That's a huge jump for one year!!!

Funny how one buck will jump that much. And another won't?? 

I'll never figure them out! Still learning!

[lucky118]

5 minutes ago, WNY Bowhunter said:

I think that most likely is the case here. I believe that bucks that don't have big jumps are more common than those that do. This is the buck I found dead back in January on the same property as Bob and the other two bucks on this thread. He went from a 120" to a 160" gross in a single year and he was only 4.5 at the most...

 

Maybe a neighbor was "enhancing" him. I hunt big pa woods alot. Pretty much just down the road from where I live in NY. Pa can feed deer in off season. One mountain i hunted had a farm nxt to it that fed deer. Crazy racks on deer that eat rocks when there is no acorns. When they sold and the nxt people got it. They don't hunt or feed the deer. Rack size dropped back to "normal" size. Pretty much what went down in NY when all the farms died. As Charlie  said "paraphrasing " A natural 140 inch deer is a freak in NY. 

[Moog5050]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

I love old bucks! And their antler size means little to me.

To have a history over multiple seasons with a buck, is as good as it gets in my book.

I don't know why some bucks just top out, and don't grow larger antlers with age? Could be as simple as genetics?

Agree.  - some humans are simply bigger than others.  Most aren’t full grown at 10yrs.  But just because they are 40yrs, we don’t all turn into an NBA center.  Genetics. 
 

this assumes all things equal in nutrition

Edited December 5, 2024 by Moog5050

[WNY Bowhunter]

2 minutes ago, lucky118 said:

Maybe a neighbor was "enhancing" him. I hunt big pa woods alot. Pretty much just down the road from where I live in NY. Pa can feed deer in off season. One mountain i hunted had a farm nxt to it that fed deer. Crazy racks on deer that eat rocks when there is no acorns. When they sold and the nxt people got it. They don't hunt or feed the deer. Rack size dropped back to "normal" size. Pretty much what went down in NY when all the farms died. As Charlie  said "paraphrasing " A natural 140 inch deer is a freak in NY. 

Charlie was from the next town over from me. We routinely grow deer above 140" here in Steuben County. The number of big deer killed here today is far greater than 25 yrs ago when Charlie was pioneering QDM in our region. They aren't behind every tree but certainly are not considered freaks. 

I guess there are two interesting points to note here:

First, it seems as though when you start at the southern part of the county along the PA border and head north towards Rochester the top end of the bucks increases substantially. The northern part of the county where I live consistently produces far larger bucks those town's along the PA border 

Also, my dad had lived here his entire life and says the size increase of the bucks that we get now are just unbelievable compared to what he had when he started out in the 70s. 

[maddie]

QDM=posted signs=longer life =bigger racks. hunted catt. co. most of my life had big deer in the 60's and still have big deer just not many.

[Robhuntandfish]

i got/had one of those.  This year is the first he hasnt showed up and i think he finally got taken out or succumbed to something.  Big Sixy.  His rack stayed about the same and his body was always ginormous. 

 

 

 

 

[Bolt Action]

1 hour ago, Moog5050 said:

Agree.  - some humans are simply bigger than others.  

This coming from the man who tosses atlas stones like their balloons!

Kidding aside, I'm in agreement that genetics are at play here. If you have documented history with these deer, and they're putting on marginal inches, and even more marginal amounts of mass from year to year, I would think they'd be prime candidates as culls bucks. Take them down before they continue to spread the genes..

[cervidchasers]

17 minutes ago, Bolt Action said:

This coming from the man who tosses atlas stones like their balloons!

Kidding aside, I'm in agreement that genetics are at play here. If you have documented history with these deer, and they're putting on marginal inches, and even more marginal amounts of mass from year to year, I would think they'd be prime candidates as culls bucks. Take them down before they continue to spread the genes..

Old argument, cant control genetics in the wild herd as 50% came from the doe so unless one wipes out the herd and restocks, it will take decades.
I know an area in 8N where the bucks dont grow browtines..never have in 30 yrs