Photo Gallery & Stories | Deer Hunting & Management

Antler Restrictions on Deer: They Work!

If you’re not familiar with antler restrictions, let me just say that they do work! In Texas, certain counties have restrictions on white-tailed bucks, meaning only bucks with inside spreads equal to or greater than 13 inches OR bucks with at least one unbranched antler (i.e. spike on at least on one side) can be harvested. Growing up, I spent a considerable amount of time hunting a parcel of land located in Colorado County.

From the time I was old enough to hunt up until 2000, the county bag limit was 1 buck per hunter. After that time, antler restrictions were implemented. Why, you ask? Well, under a 1 buck bag limit apparently only the best young bucks were harvested each deer hunting season and the cull (inferior) bucks were left on the range.

With legal bucks now limited to unbranched antlered bucks and those with an inside spread exceeding 13-inches, many young bucks now enter older age classes and inferior spikes are harvested. Of all those years I spent hunting that tract of land in Colorado County, rarely did I see a buck over 2 1/2 years old. Now, to see several high quality, young bucks in a hunt is common place. In fact, the hunter pictured above was lucky enough to harvest the 4 1/2 year old 9-point buck on that same parcel of land.

All About Antler Restrictions Regulations in Texas

South Texas Buck Takes the Trip of a Lifetime

Hunters dream of one day harvesting a free-ranging monster buck, but those same folks never dream that they will one day save one. Furthermore, I doubt many ranches would go above and beyond to save a white-tailed buck from seemingly imminent death, unless, of course, that ranch is the legendary King Ranch in South Texas… and that buck happens to be of the 280-290 Boone and Crockett variety.

Texans are known for doing things big, so why not save this big buck on one of the biggest ranches in the state? Now doesn’t that seem grand?

There was rumor earlier in the week that a large Texas buck had been treated at the Texas A&M University Veterinary Center, but I really didn’t hear any specifics. However, I received news that the buck was found trapped in a barbed-wire fence and hung by his back leg, which was broken.

I don’t have the entire story, but apparently the huge buck was transported via helicopter (presumably after sedation and legal clearance) from the King Ranch in south Texas to Texas A&M University in east-central Texas (College Station) where it was treated. The buck, once stabilized and prepared for life back in the wild, was then flown back to the ranch and released.

The buck is estimated to have a gross score of about 290 Boone and Crockett inches. Thanks to TrophyScore for sending the photos!

Albino Buck Harvested by Minnesota Hunter

Everyone likes to hear about albino deer — and I think everyone would even love the opportunity to harvest an albino buck simply as a novely. But guess what? On this season deer hunting opener in Minnesota, a female hunter managed to harvest one of the rarest colored white-tailed deer around — an albino buck! Yep, hunter Mary Rakotz of Avon got the 6-point buck on Saturday in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.

The hunter said it was thrilling to see the abnormally-colored animal, but it was 100 times more exciting to be able to actually take the white-colored buck home. Here is what Ms. Rakotz had to say:

“I had heard that it might be in the area, so I thought that here was my chance of a lifetime. So I had to creep a little bit, probably about 40 yards, to get a good place where I could steady myself a little bit. But then I did that and shot and the buck went right down.”

And as rare of a harvest as it is, the hunter says she’s not sure if she has room to mount the buck, but her family and friends are pretty excited for her, and maybe even a little jealous.

The albino buck was only a 6-point deer and I doubt it’s very old (and sorry about the photo, it was the best available). However, in most cases ablino deer just do not get to live very long, because oddly colored deer don’t last long in the woods for obvious reasons. Not many hunters are going to pass on a shot at a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Strange Wildlife Camera Photos

Looking for some odd wildlife photos captured using trail cameras? Well, this is a good place to start! Below are some of the most crazy game camera pics I have seen to date. The great thing about motion-activated cameras is that you never really know what you are going to get. Enjoy these strange photos and if you have any of your own, send ’em over!

Missouri Monarch: The World Record Non-Typical Whitetail Buck

The Missouri Monarch is a buck that hunters can only dream about. That is because it was not hunter-harvested, but the big white-tailed buck is the current world record non-typical white-tailed buck. Yes, that’s big! The deer was smart enough — or lucky enough — to avoid hunters despite spending it’s life in the shadows of a major metropolitan area.

The story all started on November 25, 1981, when Missouri Department of Conservation Agent Mike Helland was sent on what appeared to be a routine patrol call in St. Louis County. The white-tailed deer was discovered by a hunter, but it was not shot with bullet or arrow.

Missouri Monarch: The World Record Non-Typical Whitetail Buck

The toothless buck was found dead, apparently of natural causes. The deer had a non-typical antler rack that measured 333 7/8 under the complicated Boone and Crockett trophy scoring system. The massive antlers shattered the record from Texas of 286 points, which had stood since 1892. The buck’s antlers had an inside spread of 25 1/8 inches and weighed 11 1/4 pounds.

However, there is no definite explanation for the tremendous antler growth exhibited by the deer, but the deer grew a monstrous rack between spring and winter.

The Missouri Monarch was 4 1/2 years old and had a full-body weight of 250 pounds. The buck had a deformity in the lower jaw, causing it to be set back a few inches. According to Department biologists, the deformity may have been caused by a canine bite early in the buck’s life.

The injury consisted of a small puncture hole in the lower jaw bone that apparently resulted in an infection that caused a total loss of his lower incisor teeth.

A buck’s antlers are composed of calcium, phosphorus, and protein. When growth is completed, the once soft antlers forms into solid bone. Abnormally shaped antlers occur occasionally, for several reasons, and sometimes represent injury during growth.

The big Missouri buck represents the trophy that most deer hunters dream of, but it goes into the books as a deer “not taken by a hunter.” What a story.