Not Quite a World Record Whitetail Buck

Big Missouri Non-Typical White-tailed Buck

This is not real new, but this big buck photo is finding its way around the white-tailed deer hunting community. This massive buck was taken by Roger Jarvis in Boone County in northern Missouri. It was originally thought to be a new world record, but it only scored 316 5/8 Boone and Crockett inches. Only. But the buck is not a wild-grown deer. The Missouri Department of Conservation said that this buck was purchased from a breeder and released in a high-fenced ranch. Of course, deer harvested within high-fenced ranches are not eligible to be recorded in Boone and Crockett record books.

In case you didn’t know, the current world record non-typical white-tailed buck was found dead in Missouri, in St. Louis County, in 1981. The big deer was entered into the Boone and Crockett record bok by the Missouri Department of Conservation on behalf of the citizens of Missouri. That buck, called the Missouri Monarch, scored 333 7/8 inches. It is pictured below on the right. And yes, I am looking for a lease in Missouri!

Big Missouri Non-Typical White-tailed BuckWorld Record Non-Typical White-tailed buck from Missouri - 333 7/8

Amazing Locked-Antlered Bucks Harvested

When it comes to unique deer hunts this really is one of those once in a lifetime deer hunting stories. In fact, it is downright amazing! A reader of the site tipped me off to this story, which is making its way into hunting forums around the country — and for good reason. The harvested buck was a good animal, but so was the head of the dead buck he was carrying around on its head! That’s right, apparently the bucks got into a scuffle and the better buck won — but he also ended up carrying around the dead buck because they had locked antlers. It’s wild, check out the story:

Locked bucks shot at 7D Ranch near San Angelo

Attached is a picture of my daughter, Morgen, who went deer hunting for the first time this last Saturday morning. Little did she know she would get a trophy that most people have only seen in magazines. Morgen killed a 12 point buck whose rack was still locked with a 9 point buck. The 9 point buck was dead and little more than the bust and remnants of the hide were left. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see the two bucks are literally cheek to cheek.

This is extremely rare. Hunters will find two dead bucks whose racks are locked together. To make a kill of a live buck is just amazing. For Morgen this was a once in a lifetime event. The 12 point buck is a magnificent animal. We can only speculate that the hide from the 9 point buck was all ripped and tattered from coyotes.

We were hunting the 7D ranch north of San Angelo. Since this email is going quite literally all over the world I’ll explain that this ranch is over 200 square miles in size. We would like to thank the Sugg family (Joel and Chris especially) for inviting Morgen out to the ranch and being a part of a lifetime memory. We got many many pictures. Needless to say, everyone else took a lot of pictures.

The deer have been dropped off at a taxidermist but it will be 4-6 months before the mounting is finished. This is a story that will be told over and over for many years to come. I’m really proud of Morgen and I just want the entire world to know. Our best to you all and for sharing this little bit of excitement (even for those who are not hunters… thanks for understanding).

Mark Priest
Legend Jewelers
San Angelo, Texas

Fighting White-tailed Bucks and Fences

I am continually amazed at the number of ways in which white-tailed deer meet their demise. Although deer commonly die by getting one or both of their hind legs hung in a fence, and less often by getting impaled on iron fences while attempting to jump them, it appears that bucks can also become “captured” when their antlers get hung up in net-wire fences. Over the years though, I have heard of bucks getting their antlers hung in fences while fighting. Is this the case here?

A white-tailed deer hung in a fence

A rancher once told me that he watched two large whitetail bucks battling each other through a game fence (opposite sides) and then the next day he found one of the bucks dead on his ranch, presumably from injuries sustained during that fight. Was the fence to blame in that case? Not likely, especially considering that whitetail bucks will sometimes fight to the death.

A white-tailed deer hung in a fence

Although most battles do not result in death, some do. Some fights even involve both bucks dying, either directly from locked antlers or indirectly through injuries sustained during the battle. Nature is survival of the fittest, but as hunters and deer managers we hate to see bucks killing themselves.

A white-tailed deer hung in a fence

These photos of what appears to be a 3 1/2 year old buck hung in a fence come to us today from the Four A Ranch in Coryell County, Texas. Was this buck battling another buck across the fence or within the same ranch? It is hard to say from looking at the photos, but both scenarios end with a dead buck.

A white-tailed deer hung in a fence

Winter Deer Browse Gets More Important as Temps Fall

Browse plants are important for wintering deer 

White-tailed deer are primarily browsers. They typically eat very little grass, with most studies estimating grass comprising no more than 7 to 9% of a deer’s diet in any season. Browse consumption is important to deer, but learning to read browse utilization can be important to your overall deer management program. Browse is defined as the leaves, twigs, and buds of woody plants. Browse is the bread and butter of a white-tailed deer’s diet on almost every landscape, but the importance of browse becomes particularly important during the winter months.

Why? Well, winter is the most nutritionally stressful time of the year for deer. Not only does a deer require massive amounts of energy to regulate its body temperature during the coldest part of the year, but food in many cases is not readily available. This is especially true at northern latitudes where extreme winter conditions prevail. In the southern part of the white-tailed deer’s range, winter temperatures are simply mild inconveniences. However, prolonged periods of cold weather at southern latitudes can take its toll on deer populations in this area simply because deer densities are higher. There may be more browse in southern forests, but there are also more deer! Continue reading “Winter Deer Browse Gets More Important as Temps Fall”

When Whitetail Bucks Lock Antlers

Whitetail bucks lock antlers during a fight 

Each fall, as testosterone levels rise in white-tailed bucks they begin working off aggression by working rubs and building up much needed shoulder and neck muscles. It’s not an accident and if you’ve ever noticed the changes that a buck’s body undergoes between late August and late October, it really is amazing. However, as the breeding season — known as the rut by hunters — begins, whitetail bucks that were friendly towards one another during the antler growing period quickly become rivals. It’s all about a battle for space and access to receptive does.

The rut really takes its toll on bucks. Not only do bucks lose a substantial percentage of their body weight over the course of the breeding season, but buck to buck combat can lead to both direct and indirect mortality. Indirect mortality can come from wounds that become infected or even internal damage from fighting. Direct mortality, although more infrequent, can occur when two or three bucks’ antlers become locked together causing one or both animals to die.

Whitetail bucks lock antlers during a fightWhitetail bucks lock antlers during a fightWhitetail bucks lock antlers during a fight
Whitetail bucks lock antlers during a fightWhitetail bucks lock antlers during a fightWhitetail bucks lock antlers during a fight

This is the case today for one deer. I received these photos of two locked up white-tailed bucks from Minnesota. The guys that stumbled upon the bucks actually found them while one of the bucks was still alive. Instead of shooting the locked up buck, they managed to separate the two and send one lucky deer on his way. Here is the story: Continue reading “When Whitetail Bucks Lock Antlers”