
If you look for deer antler sheds long enough, you’re bound to find some big ones, weird ones and even some matched sets.
I’ve been fortunate to find all of the above over the years, including these dandies. Of the hundreds of antlers my son, Lance, and I have found over the years, these five sets are my “best bucks” to date.
As you can see, the deer in our area are genetically predisposed to growing mostly typical frames. Although we have seen some nonytypicals over the years, the average buck around here will be a big mainframe 8- or 10-pointer. We’ve also found that if these deer can live to maturity, they will very easily surpass the requirements set forth by the Pope and Young Club (125 inches, net). In fact, most 3-year-olds will attain such growth in this area of the Midwest. By the time these deer reach 4 years, they can be pushing 150.
On rare occasions, we will see local hunters with bucks gross-scoring 170, 180, 190 and beyond. In fact, a local bowhunter shot a mainframe 10-point last year that grossed 212 as a nontypical. That deer was a heavyweight, tipping the scales at more than 250 pounds field-dressed.
Your friend,
Lon
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