Is it possible to predict how a young buck will turn out?
Fall 2023
Article and photos by Susan Lindsley
Hunters dream of a gigantic buck with antlers that score well over 200 Boone and Crockett Club points and carry enough weight to fill the freezer. Opinions vary of the best way to produce such a buck. Cull the young ones with a weird rack? Feed loads of corn? Let the bucks with tall even, balanced racks walk and hope the neighbor doesn’t kill the potential monster?
The Two Spot Buck.
Year after year, my property hosts potential monsters and also hosts yearlings with only spikes or odd racks. Following the annual growth of antlers for a specific buck is difficult unless the animal has some distinctive markings. The “two spot buck” sported a pair of white spots on each side. His first rack in 2021 did not offer much hope for a trophy in future years.
The pushing match for dominace.
Ah, but when only 18 months old, he was willing to challenge and butt heads with the dominate buck, a 9-pointer. The two fellows pushed and shoved for almost 15 minutes, first one way and then the other. They disappeared out of sight to my right, and moments later they returned, in reverse positions. What courage, I thought. He was going to be a winner.
The match ended with no apparent hard feelings.
The pushing match ended, however, with a hug. Perhaps a thank you for the lesson in being an adult.
Summer of 2022, what gumption he had as a yearling was gone. He fled from any perceived threat. When he came to the feeder, he stepped with caution. If another buck even looked his way, he skedaddled. If he did return, he slipped back behind the more dominate buck. Safety lay in hiding from sight. When in velvet, he retreated from does, but bucks in general seemed to be aware of the danger their antlers face from a doe’s flailing hoof.
By fall of 2022, he seemed to offer some potential with a tall and almost balanced rack. But he lacked brow tines, and the possible point near the end of his right beam never materialized.
A member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association, Susan Lindsley of Decatur has authored numerous books about deer and wildlife, as well as novels, short fiction and nonfiction. For more details visit her website. She can be reached at yesterplace@earthlink.net.