In yesterday's blog I talked about the Lovstuen buck and the fact that this buck grew his biggest set of antlers - by far his biggest - late in life.  In today's blog I'm going to look at a possible reason why and also discuss a buck that I hunted this past season that was also the product of this late life antler surge.  I love antler surges, don't you!

This buck was on our farm last year for the umpteenth year of his life.  Nick Mundt filmed him going past my stand a couple of times during the 2007 season.  I didn't shoot him because he had broken off his right G3.  Scott Prucha and his gang have the antlers off him for the previous two seasons.  He didn't grow much during those three years, maybe a few inches at the most.  He would struggle to gross score 160 in 2007 if he had not broken the tine.  Then in 2008, when he is already fully mature, he jumped up to score what looks to be nearly 190 inches.  If you want to see footage of the buck in 2007 and 2008 you can watch Episode 23. 

Of course, he broke his antler again and I had to pass him up.  He came past my stand three times last season at close range after he broke the beam.  It always happens like that.  He came past six or seven times in 2007 after he broke his G3.  I have come to think he breaks stuff up on purpose so I don't shoot him.  He is old and has finally figured out how to live long enough to die of old age - keep busting up his rack. 

I asked a couple of biologists about this and they told me that once a buck stops breeding he often grows his biggest antlers even though it is late in life.  So, if that is the reason, and it sure sounds likely, some bucks must stop breeding in their older years and this causes the big jump in those deer.  I also asked a couple of elk farmers about this and they said the same thing.  If they keep a bull away from cows for one fall he will grow bigger antlers as a result the next summer.

The stress of the rut takes it toll on bucks and as a result they go into the winter in worsened condition.  When spring comes, their body is in bad need or repair and they simply aren't in as good of health as they would be if they hadn't chased all fall.  So naturally, their antlers suffer so that their bodies can be replenished.  When they stop breeding, they are simply healthier and their body naturally devotes more of their nutritional resources to antler growth.

I realize this is kind of academic if you don't have any mature bucks in your hunting area, but for those who do, you may sometime find a welcome surprise on your trail cameras like I did last year.  Well, it was welcome until the buck broke his beam off!  Dirty Bugger.  I'll be after him hard this season.  I just wish we had found a shed off him so that I would know he is still out there.  I can only assume so.  It will be interesting to see how much he grows (or diminishes) this year.  He is definitely very old.