Whats up with the broken up ......

[growalot]

Racks this year   I have several bucks on cam with busted up racks and a missing side...talked to ppl around the county seeing the same thing....guys here have mentioned it.... speaking of AR's this is usually a sign of a larger percentage of mature bucks...We have no AR's...that said...

If not the above is it due to the past winter conditions are they dealing with deficiencies? is this being seen more in snow belt areas such as Buffalo and Tug Hill? Thoughts?

Edited November 20, 2014 by growalot

[greensider]

just bucks fighting i had a busted up 9 on cam not a regular buck

[ants]

We were just talking about this. I saw two half racks during archery season and this past weekend one friend shot a broken up 8 and another friend shot a 5 that use to be a 7. Must have been a hell of a slug fest this year.

[growalot]

LOL ya lets establish that as a given...Posted because in  my recollection, this hasn't been mentioned in past years as it has been now...So opinions on why an increase in  fights and or weak structure of racks??

[G-Man]

lots of deer made it thru last year in great shape even with cold(remember so much food around , and not much snow for extended period )deer didnt have to move. takes were down in a lot of areas, so a lot more buck made it through. so many more 2 year old and older buck around. leading to broken racks, less scrapes, and few rubs as older deer surpress the younger from breeding activity.

[ididnotvoteforobama]

The way I see it, broken racks are from fighting for dominance. That being said, bucks of the same stature and size will  compete for dominance. A higher than normal amount of broken racks,  tells me there is no alpha buck, which in turn , leads to many fights  among the  size ,same   stature  bucks . This is not from the alpha buck beating up on ,  so to speak,  on smaller stature bucks.  Is this a bad thing? Yes,  if your out for a nice rack and there is no dominant buck , fighting will increase. Bad thing ? No,  it tells me there are  many bucks in an area , which in turn will provide larger bucks the following  year , providing there is an average amount of hunting pressure.

[growalot]

 

so many more 2 year old and older buck around. leading to broken racks, less scrapes, and few rubs as older deer surpress the younger from breeding activity.

 

There was just a GPS study ...some one here posted that sorta dispells that ....

 

 

Posted 18 November 2014 - 08:16 AM

 http://www.outdoorli...-a-rutting-buck

 

though I agree that there is an increase in bucks...the male fawn population was way up here last the last few years...infact you see me mentioning the buttons I see over doe fawn...There is no doubt bucks fight. Their hormone levels are much higher causing agressive behavior...yet I routinely see mature buck traveling together late in the season...last year I watched as a 10 huge 8 and 12 filed past me like an assemblly line of tines....I think it was the second week of the gun season...

 

I don't think just snow depth effect the herd...remember we had one solid week of bad sub-zero temps and then many scattered through out the months...it was brutally cold last winter...and I actually did an aweful lot of shoveling as well...

Edited November 20, 2014 by growalot

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I watched two small 6 pointers the last Saturday of Bow and they both had distinctive racks. On my Sunday night watch I saw them again at different times but both now wore a broken side. I heard one fight as I was walking out of the woods one evening the last week and I only heard it one other time in the woods. Reminded me that when I try rattling, I NEVER make enough noise. It was loud and very aggressive.

[ants]

I remember, years ago, listening to two bucks going at it, about 30 yards away from me in a thick stand of hemlocks. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Loud and aggressive doesn't begin to describe it.

[First-light]

8P is the broken rack capital of NYS. They fight like hell here. Saw many at bow season this year.

[ATbuckhunter]

I saw one half rack 8 point chasing a doe on Sunday.

[beachpeaz]

you can't rationalize nature.

 

it is what it is.

[the blur]

Then you shoot 1/2 of them, and the pecking order changes immediately.

[G-Man]

cold is not as much a factor as snow depth, deer hair is remarkable insulation, but lack of ability to get to food is a much bigger factor. a turkey will sit in a tree for days and live off its breast sponge, deer can do the same with body fat. but if they cant get to food in 10 days or so then starvation becomes a factor.

[older042]

Weird I'm in saratoga county and so far my group has a big eight a six and a spike all broke off on one side

[growalot]

 

Weird I'm in saratoga county and so far my group has a big eight a six and a spike all broke off on one side

 

Thats what I thought...I can not recall a year where so many broken and half racks have been mentioned....I find it interesting...

[NFA-ADK]

This is very interesting!