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Influencing pedicle width

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    Influencing pedicle width

    So i'm a fan of heavy antlered deer. It seems that the main, maybe only, factor in antler mass is pedicle width. Is there anything that can be done to influence pedicle width in deer? Any mineral that will help, etc.? Or, is it all biology? Any insight will be appreciated.

    #2
    In for the responses. Learning a bunch about antler growth from you guys today...

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      #3
      Discuss aging, scoring, management ideas and all things related to improving hunting conditions

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        #4
        I've noticed big differences in mass (more so than other qualities) from area to area up here where I am. Areas with better soils have way better deer.

        I'm guessing that bucks at our house/farm weigh 20 pounds more and have MUCH better mass than bucks at our camp that's 25 miles away.

        Here's an example from this year. These two were the same age. Buck on the left had 11 points & a pretty rack, but nothing outstanding. Buck on the right had ~34" of mass as an 8. Huge difference. These deer have very similar food sources, but the soil is just a lot more productive here than there.
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          #5
          Influencing pedicle width

          Age. Gonna see if I can't find some young mee pics of this deer.


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
          Last edited by Black Ice; 05-08-2017, 05:04 PM.

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            #6
            Tons of factors that influence antler characteristics. Age, nutrition and genetics are at the top. Feeding mineral in my opinion for most people is a waste of time as deer will only use it if they need it. In areas with good habitat, deer seldomly use mineral blocks or licks enough to be any influence.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Hawkpuppy 1 View Post
              Tons of factors that influence antler characteristics. Age, nutrition and genetics are at the top. Feeding mineral in my opinion for most people is a waste of time as deer will only use it if they need it. In areas with good habitat, deer seldomly use mineral blocks or licks enough to be any influence.


              If you are only willing to feed corn and a few supplement blocks then age is the best way. I can't afford to spend and extra 10 to 15k on protein so I choose to be really selective on the deer I take and let them get to 6.5.


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                #8
                I reckon patience is the key. We feed corn all the time, and protein from December through September. We hunt Wilbarger County, so the deer have plenty of native food, and cultivated crops to pick from. Patience is my new mantra.

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                  #9
                  Genetics is the key for me. They either have it for mass or they don't. You can't feed genetics out of a bag or get it solely on age. I have seen mature bucks(7+) in South Texas that did not have 27" of mass. These bucks had access to protein for 5 yrs. Second would be very close between age and nutrition. I have seen young bucks on great habitat and nutrition have upper 30's on mass at 2-3 yrs of age.

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                    #10
                    You can make a deer a better version of his self with age and food but if they don't have it genetically, you are pigeonholed. I've got deer on ether side of my high fence, both being fed the same. One will grow out to be a 135 inch 7 year old buck and the other will break 200 at 4. Same food, same food plots, same soil, different genetics. Cheapest thing you can do is let them get old but don't expect miracles, they will just be better than they were.

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                      #11
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