Buttons And Beyond.. The Amazing Growth Of Antlers
By Brad Herndon

While deer hunting one fall, Cullen Stahl saw a limping yearling buck. It had an injured left rear leg, and its right antler was odd, with the end of the main beam configured like a “T.” Naturally he named it the T-Handle Buck. The next two years he again sighted this deer, and each year it carried the “T” on its right main beam. When the deer was 4 1/2 years old, the entire year passed without Stahl seeing the buck. “Is it dead?” he wondered.

The next year while hunting, Stahl looked through the brush and saw an antlered deer coming. It was walking with a limp. Yes, it was old T-Handle, alive and well. Stahl marveled at the old rascal buck and wondered how he had survived so long. Although Stahl had raised his gun a couple of times through the years, he could never bring himself to kill the old deer. Although they had a certain bond, Stahl realized the whitetail’s time might be running out.

The next year Stahl was once again in his woods hunting when shortly before noon old T-Handle again came limping through the timber. This time Stahl decided the story of The T-Handle Buck had run its course. He raised his shotgun and put an end to the fascinating adventure he had shared with the deer.

Because we are good friends, I was fortunate enough to share this complete adventure with Stahl. I felt like I was hunting right along with him all of those years. The most fascinating thing about this story, though, is that while the T-Handle Buck was a documented 6 1/2 years old when he died, he had an extremely small rack. Very likely, if he had lived to be 20 years old, he still would have carried a miniature rack.

Other bucks, meanwhile, grow tremendous antlers in a shorter period of time. The 319 4/8-inch Lovstuen buck, the highest scoring deer ever taken by a hunter, is a classic example of this. In 2002 this buck’s antlers grossed somewhere in the 250 to 270 inch range. Those hunting him thought his rack might go downhill. Instead, from 2002 to 2003 he added an incredible 70 to 80 inches of antler!

Buttons, And Beyond

The T-Handle Buck and the Lovstuen Buck are at opposite ends of the scale when it comes to antler growth, yet both deer started out as button buck fawns. And by the way, 52 percent of all fawns that are born are bucks. From the beginning, they are different in many ways from the doe fawns they grow up with, not only genetically, but from a behavioral standpoint as well. No deer is as curious as a button buck. If any deer is going to see you in a tree stand, it will be the button buck, for he is seemingly craning his neck in all directions as he explores the fascinating world around him.

Give this same button buck five additional years of life, and you will discover his curiosity has long ago been satisfied. Now blocky in appearance and with rippling muscles, he usually carries huge antlers that give him a majestic look appreciated by hunters and non-hunters alike. He has also become wary beyond belief and uses the intelligence the Creator has given him to easily avoid hunters year after year. Seemingly nocturnal in his movements, he is a worthy adversary for even the most expert whitetail hunter, and few hunters in North America are privileged to slip their tag on a 5 1/2-year-old trophy whitetail.

Since this is the kind of deer all food plot managers would like to have on their property, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at the fascinating growth cycle of a whitetail buck. While the T-Handle Buck and the Lovstuen Buck show genetics certainly can be a factor in the size antlers will eventually grow to, there is much more to the process than meets the average eye.

Growing Up

In southern Indiana where I live, a 1 1/2-year-old buck will carry antlers grossing around 70 inches. Typically his rack will consist of 6 or 8 points. In regions where the deer population is out of control, yearling bucks may be spikes or forkhorns. By the age of 2 1/2 years, most of the bucks’ antlers in my region will gross in the 85 to 105 inch range. At 3 1/2 years their racks will gross 105 to 130, with a few deer of this age group going into the 140s. Bucks of this age are the deer who “make the rut” in many states.

By the age of 4 1/2 years, most bucks’ racks will have reached their maximum inside spread, but tine length and mass will continue to increase. By the age of 5 1/2 years, many trophy bucks have reached maturity when it comes to antler growth, although some will continue to increase in gross score until the age of 6 1/2 or even 7 1/2 years. These deer will carry headgear that varies greatly in size, shape and score. A few will score 170 inches or more as a typical, but these deer are a rarity in nature. Of the millions of deer killed by hunters over the past 100 years, only 3,484 typical whitetails scoring 170 or more inches have been entered into the Boone & Crockett record book.

Normally, whitetails 5 1/2 years of age or older will score in the 120- to 160-inch range throughout the country . At this age, however, they will possess numerous “character” features. The most notable will be antler mass. Their racks will also likely carry sticker, or kicker points someplace on their tines or main beams, and they may have eye-catching drop tines coming from the main beams. Regardless of their scores, these ancient bucks will most likely carry massive, gnarly-looking, impressive antlers─the kind we whitetail hunters love to hold in our hands.

On the weight side, yearling bucks in Indiana will weigh 150 pounds on the hoof. At 2 1/2 they’ll go 175 pounds; and at 3 1/2 years they will weigh, on average, 220 pounds. At 3 1/2 years, their maximum body size is not far away. However, a buck can easily add 50 pounds between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2. Keep in mind these are average weights. At maturity, genetics and available food will determine what bucks weigh – and it will vary greatly. I photographed one high-scoring Indiana buck which weighed only 155 pounds field-dressed. On the other side of the coin, I did a story on a giant non-typical in my home area that tipped the scales at 307 pounds field-dressed! This last deer would have weighed 375 pounds on the hoof.

How Antlers Grow

Antlerogenesis is a big word. It simply means how antlers grow. Basically, antlers are modified bones. Besides deer hunters’ fascination with them, numerous research scientists are studying their growth and composition since they are one of the fastest growing tissues on earth. Only a few cancers grow as fast, so scientists hope to find a link between the two that would lead to a cure for cancer.

In addition, studies are underway where certain physical properties of velvet antlers are extracted and then used in the study of animals such as rats and rabbits that have osteoarthritis. In rats, feeding them this extract has resulted in them growing increased femur bone length, thickness and mineral content. Of course osteoarthritis is a malady many people suffer with; and there are hopes the extracts from velvet antlers will eventually provide relief to these people and possibly slow cartilage breakdown. Some scientists think cartilage repair can be achieved with these antler extracts.

As you can see, antlers are fascinating in more ways than one. Not only can their presence on a deer send our emotions sky high, they may someday be responsible for giving us relief from, or a cure for, some serious diseases. Now let’s see how they grow on deer.

When only a few months old, button bucks have bony projections on their foreheads, which are the forerunners of antlers. These bases are in truth projections of the frontal bone of the skull and are called pedicels. As the antlers start to grow, the deer’s body grows a protein framework. This is composed mostly of cartilage and is covered by the skin on the frontal part of the skull. Because this skin contains small hairs, we use the term “velvet” to describe the antlers at this stage. Because protein primarily determines whether the buck’s antler growth potential is reached (along with several key minerals), it is extremely important for deer to have a high-protein food source at this time. Research conducted by the Whitetail Institute showed antlers in the first few months of growth consisted of 80% protein.

Interestingly, a buck’s antler growth is triggered by a sudden increase in the deer’s blood testosterone level in the spring. Testosterone, incidentally, is the male sex hormone produced by both the testes and the adrenal gland. It is thought this increased testosterone level in the spring is caused by the brain’s reaction to longer day length (photoperiodism).

As the buck’s antlers start to grow from the pedicels, a slow growing bud appears at first. The looks of its antlers, even at this age, have been previously coded into a portion of the brain, a mystery we don’t fully understand. As the antlers start their rapid growth, they form a bulb at first and soft cartilage is formed. Later this is replaced by hard bone. During this growth time, the velvet, a kind of modified skin, nourishes the antler from the outside, not from the inside such as occurs in the growth of true horns such as cattle have. The antlers at this time are soft and pliable and can be easily damaged.

Because the veins are on the antler’s surface, they bleed easily. If you would touch an antler at this stage, it would be hot to the touch and you would notice the short, bristly hairs we call velvet.

As summer progresses, the antlers continue their dynamic growth rate and are fully developed in most regions of the country sometime in August. Once this occurs, the buck then sheds his summer coat of hair, replacing it with the grayish winter coat. Only then does the shedding of the velvet take place. And this happens just after the antlers become hard by a process called mineralization. Deer biologists believe the minerals carrying out this process were probably stored in the deer’s bones the previous growing season. The hardened antler is comprised of 45% protein and the other 55% is a complex combination of minerals.

The Rut And Winter

Once the velvet is shed, the buck begins rubbing saplings to relieve itching and to build up his neck muscles. At this time he breaks up from his buddies in the summer bachelor group and becomes aggressive in behavior. Sparring and fights with other bucks then take place in order to establish dominance. These fights may end in locked antlers and death.

By the time the rut arrives, the buck hierarchy is established and breeding takes place. By the time breeding is over, the bucks are in a run-down condition and some actually die from the rigors of the rut. As early as December in the Midwest, but usually in mid-February, another dramatic change takes place in the life of the surviving bucks. As testosterone levels in the blood decrease, a thin layer of tissue destruction forms right above the pedicel. This is called the abscission layer. This layer is directly responsible for the antler being able to fall off, and once it is formed the antler can topple off at any time.
Once the antler is cast, a scab soon forms over the bloody pedicel. Over the next few weeks a new antler bud is formed and the process starts all over again.

Spikes May Be Special

In short form, this is the process by which a buck’s antlers grow and fall off. The size of the antler cast to the ground, quite naturally, is determined to a large degree by the age of the deer. Of course yearling bucks may be everything from spikes to 8-points. A buck may have spikes because of a lack of nutrition, because he was a late born fawn, because of a severe drought, or simply because he is a “slow grower”. Don’t, however, think he is inferior and should be removed from the herd.
Ben Koerth has been part of a study on wild deer and the growth of their antlers. By using ear tags, they are able to accurately identify all deer in the study. One 1 1/2-year-old buck had a 6-point rack the first year, a 9-point rack at 2 1/2, and a 10-point rack at 3 1/2 years. In the same study was a yearling buck with 6-inch spikes, the type of deer managers normally cull out of the herd. The second year, this buck sported 8 points. At 3 1/2 years of age it carried 10 points and was equal to, or better, than the buck that started out with a 6-point rack.

Three years into the study, the initial thoughts are that it makes little difference whether a deer starts out as a spike, or as a 6- or 8-point buck. He will lag slightly behind at age 2 1/2, but at 3 1/2 years of age the spike will have caught up with his bigger-racked brethren. Seemingly, age and nutrition are more important than the size of a buck’s first set of antlers when it comes to the potential score of its rack. Obviously, you should let those spikes walk. If culling antlered deer, do so on mature bucks that have matured to their genetic potential, not on yearling bucks.

Non-Typical Antlers

As mentioned earlier, the genetic look of a deer’s antlers is coded into a portion of its brain. This is true of both the typical and non-typical frame rack. Researchers think 50 percent of all bucks possess some non-typical characteristics. This doesn’t show up in many deer simply because they are not allowed to live long enough to show these traits. From my experiences, I believe this may be true, and I agree with deer researchers that the same non-typical characteristics will show up year after year. This is especially true if the deer has reached 3 1/2, 4 1/2 or older.

Non-typical antlers are also caused by injuries to the deer. Losing or injuring a leg is the most common cause. An injury to a rear leg will result in a deformity on the other side of the deer’s rack. The T-Handle Buck was a classic example of this. With an injury to a front leg, the deformity is less predictable. In this case the antler(s) may become malformed on the same side, the other side, both sides, or not at all.

There are many other amazing characteristics of antlers that are fascinating. Researchers know the answers as to how some of these oddities are caused, but in many cases much is yet to be learned. One thing we do know, though, is that for a buck to reach his maximum potential and show what incredible growth he is capable of, he must have good genetics, he must be allowed to grow old and he must have good nutrition.

As a food plot manager, you can provide him with the nutrition he needs. As a hunter, you can let him walk and see if that spike becomes a monstrous non-typical. You may be surprised at what he can do.

How Nutrition Plays A Part In Antler Growth

The author and his wife Carol have recorded all of the Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young entries into a database, and keep it constantly updated. In a previous issue of Whitetail News, an article entitled “Food Plots And The Record Books: Is There A Connection?” was printed. It revealed that 58.13 percent of all Pope & Young bucks had been taken within the past ten years. This was a time period when the number of food plots in the United States was dramatically increasing, thanks to the innovative thinking of the founders of the Whitetail Institute of North America.

Without doubt, providing the best nutrition possible allows an antlered buck to grow his antlers to their maximum potential. The example of the T-Handle Buck was included with this article to show that while great nutrition will allow maximum antler growth, it can’t cure poor genetics. You have to do that. When a buck reaches the age of 3 1/2 years and he still has a small rack, he should be removed from the herd. This allows whitetails with better genetics to do the breeding.

The T-Handle Buck lived in the fertile Midwest and had quantities of native browse available, along with farm crops such as corn and soybeans. He definitely wasn’t underfed. Top-notch food plots would have increased his score somewhat, but he would never have been a high-scoring deer. The Lovstuen buck, meanwhile, had great genetics and the men hunting him were smart enough to give him all the Imperial Whitetail Clover he wanted, and more.

During the spring of 2003 they planted a 3-acre plot of Imperial Whitetail Clover smack dab in the middle of the deer’s home range. Trail camera photographs revealed this deer was a glutton for this clover, and certainly it played a part in his adding 70 inches or more of antler to his rack that year. As I noted earlier, protein is critical to the antler-growing process, and Imperial Whitetail Clover has a ton of it.

Imperial Alfa-Rack and Extreme are two other perennial products that have high protein content that really boost antler growth. Extreme, especially, is one tough plant. Last fall I planted Extreme for the first time on well-drained, low pH soil. We received a quarter-inch rain and Extreme came up. Then, almost unbelievably, we went 39 days in a row without a drop of rain. It was the driest September in history in southern Indiana. Amazingly, Extreme lived through this incredible drought. Finally the rains came and gave Extreme an opportunity to grow. In November we killed deer out of this food plot. Extreme hangs tough in difficult conditions.

PowerPlant, No-Plow and Secret Spot are three annual plants that also provide high protein content to your whitetail herd. Annuals and perennials both have their advantages, but keep in mind they all supply great protein; and diversity is always good. Protein, incidentally, describes a diverse grouping of compounds called amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of animal tissue. Deer that are young or are growing have the highest need for protein, so it’s important to always have it available for your deer.

On the mineral side, a deer’s mineral requirements vary greatly, depending on sex, time of year, age and other factors. Certainly calcium and phosphorus are important in a deer’s diet since both minerals are involved in skeletal formation. This includes antler growth. Much is to be learned yet about minerals such as sulfur, magnesium, chlorine, sodium and others. The same is true with trace elements. Selenium is of particular interest because the tips of growing antlers have high concentrations of selenium.

Once again, the Whitetail Institute is on the ball with a quantity of high quality mineral and vitamin products. These are specially formulated to assure minerals interact with each other, not against each other. Feeding too much of any one mineral can be detrimental to your deer’s health, so this is why it is important to use products such as Cutting Edge and 30-06 Mineral.

Yes, great food plot products and quality mineral and vitamin supplements are available to help your deer reach their maximum potential growth. Keep in mind, however, that food plots and supplement products are only two of the pieces in a complete quality deer management program.

Whatever you do, don’t get caught up in the “I have to see a lot of deer” game. It’s critical in any deer management program to keep deer numbers down to the point where there is still plenty of native browse left in the timber. While deer are bedded during the day, they will periodically get up, stretch, browse a little and then lay back down. If a food plot is some distance away, they won’t travel there several times throughout the day. Check your timber, and if it shows a browse line, you are limiting your buck’s antler development.

To alleviate this problem – which will take time – harvest plenty of does. If possible, do some tree stand improvement or a selective timber harvest to restore the native browse more quickly. You might even plant some fast growing trees, shrubs and vines. You have options.

More and more each year, great bucks are showing up in regions of our nation that are not known for high-scoring deer. Recently a friend of mine told me about tagging a buck grossing in the upper 150s. He said he saw a 140-inch 8-point and a 170-inch 10-point the same morning. I was somewhat shocked to learn he was hunting in Louisiana, not Illinois, Iowa or Kansas. All these bucks were seen on a perfectly managed tract of land.

Yes, whitetails must have good genetics to score high. And yes, they must be allowed to live to maturity to add those inches. But nutrition is also a key ingredient in them reaching their maximum antler growth. Do it all right, and you may have a buck that grows 70 inches in one year.