Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Map of Alabama deer restocking program

Food helps their bodies grow, antler size is all in genetics. There's a reason parts of the state devoid of any decent cropland, and can only grow pine trees, grow massive rack deer. And it ain't cause they're eating the best, they simply have the genetics to slap a huge rack on their heads. Those bham deer get huge because of age, not cause what they are eating.

Everything needs food and water to survive. Bucks use their nutritional intake for their bodies first and then their antlers. When they have the proper amount of good food to sustain their bodies, the rest goes into antler development. Better and more ample food -- and age -- and they will have bigger antlers if their genetics are good.

A buck could have the best genes in the world but if it's eating chitty food, the antlers won't show it. If it has chitty food and dies young, the antlers won't show it.

Age, food and genes all work in concert to get to the max outcome. Those B'ham bucks aren't big just because of genes. They clearly have good food sources and are older (probably due to lack of pressure, mostly), too.

Clem is correct, growing big antlers is a 3 legged stool.

100% truth. And IMO, the longest leg on that stool, in Alabama, is age. Genetics and food definitely play a big part, but when you consistently kill 95% of your best bucks, as 1, 2, and 3 yr olds, it becomes awful hard to see what those good genes and good food can actually produce.

I agree.

While I advocate for fewer laws-regs and hunting to be happy, it's easy to see that a lot of the 2- and 3-yo bucks with skinny spindle tines *might* be quite better a year or two later with more nutrition and age.

If you're shooting 5- and 6-yo bucks as determined by legitimate aging and they're not any bigger (antler-wise), that could be poor nutrition-food souces or crappy genes. Or both. One of those can be affected easily - the food souces.

Hunters have the ability to impact two of the three prongs on that stool with food and age. The latter should be the most simple but probably is the hardest to achieve. Depends on your goals and level of satisfaction.


Same thing with turkeys. If you shoot jakes all the time you're not going to have older birds. Shoot one now and then, eh, OK. I think I've shot two in my limited hunting. But I also don't want to be mandated by The Man that I shouldn't do that. Common sense and logic should guide me into not shooting jakes in order to have more older birds.

Crappy genes? Maybe stunted due to age structure?

Plenty of ag and browse in the area that deer was taken. Alot of ppl feeding, also.

The smaller antlers are from a deer taken a few miles away that was a 2 yr old.

There are certain places in the state that grow better than average deer and it has to do with the genetics. There’s nothing special in the soil or available nutrition to blame it on from anywhere else. There’s no other explanation as to why
certain areas of the state display different ruts other than genetics. People like to say over time there was a genetical wash between the native deer. They were still restocking deer in the 60’s so that was about 60 years ago. I don’t believe we are there yet, and then you have to throw in what CNC mentioned about herds being impounded by certain factors such as highways etc. If we are talking racks, the Alabama recipe is to let them get 5 plus in age. Regardless of nutrition or soil he will have a decent rack.

My point was unless that deer had a couple freak years he would never break 110" or so, no matter what age you shot him at. I figured that one at 3.5 when I pulled the trigger. There are some great genes in the area, but he was not gonna be one of those deer, imo. I'd rather shoot bucks like that, and keep letting the the better framed deer in the area get age and have less competition/more food, because I have seen what age can do to the ones that have great potential. Why keep letting that deer walk when there are others the same age that are already showing alot more potential?

I have read about stunting due to age structure, was curious if anyone had some knowledge on that.