Position your camera to the north or south of your Trophy Rock, otherwise the sun might ruin many of your pictures. Trophy Rock also provides over 60 natural trace minerals to help with antler growth. Enter our trail camera contest at www.trophyrock.com.
inches in antlers. We know genetics dictate the overall design of the buck’s antlers but it is nutrients that determine how big that particular design will be from year to year. For a buck to output maximum antler-growth, it has got to be in its best possible body condition. Body condition is directly dependent on moisture since moisture is what translates into good forage nutrition, the key component in antler growth. Yearling mule deer bucks are often used to gauge forage nutrition conditions. Studies have confirmed that forked-antlered yearlings are more prevalent than spikes after a wet season. So when a yearling deer tops out as a spike, forage quality was lacking for that particular animal; while a yearling that produced forked-antlers reflects a higher forage quality. There is no doubt the amount of moisture that falls across the west each season greatly influences antler size, but the timing and amount of moisture and its effects on antler growth vary whether you are a desert mule deer or a Rocky Mountain mule deer.
Rocky Mountain Mule Deer In northern habitat (somewhere around the s. Utah/s. Colorado border northward), mule deer are more vulnerable to deep snow pack which limits their access to nutrients while weakening their body condition. Too much snow and cold temperatures are a deadly combination and can seriously deteriorate a deer’s health quickly. The poorer the buck’s condition is coming out of winter, the more energy will be required to rebuild its body condition in the spring which robs would-be antler growth. To get the upper limit of antler growth, a buck must go into the winter after a wet year gorging on high protein through the summer/fall months. A mild winter lets the buck come out of it in healthy enough shape that the body reconditioning process will be a piece of cake and protein can be converted into antler growth earlier. This is the scenario we are experiencing this season. Mule deer went into the 2012 mild winter in excellent shape and are coming out of it in above average body condition, which means deer are migrating uphill this
5MULE DEER WATCH5
spring more fit allowing more energy to be put towards antler growth. In the northern regions, this fall should be promising for producing upperend antler potential especially if some spring and summer moisture can relieve the recently dry weather. Desert Mule Deer In drier habitats further south, it isn’t snow levels that impact the deer’s health as much as precipitation levels throughout the year, particularly in the spring. Late winter and spring is when abundant moisture can produce a protein smorgasbord, which is essential to maximize antler growth through the dry summer months until monsoon season arrives in late summer bringing more moisture. Just ask any Arizona hardcore hunter how moisture effects antler growth on big Coconino bulls and Strip bucks; those guys watch the weather channel like a stock broker watches Wall Street. Rainfall makes the big difference in antler size from year to year. One study in south Texas, with similar dry conditions as the southern
Summer 2012
93