Canadian_Shooter Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 i know that a deers rac kwill shrink after its been killed and mounted and what not...but will it really shrink enough to notice that much of a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lovinbowhuntin247365 Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? really?????? ive always thought taht aafter a deer reaches a certain age, that the rack will become smaller with each passing year ... but i never heard that the rack would become smaller after mounting!!! anthough, wiht the fluid draining, drying out and what not ..... i dont think it would be enough to notice, ive never noticed, at least on deer other ppl have shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach1 Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? I've heard of some shrinking as much as 4 inches from the green score to the official score after the mandatory drying period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bond Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? Yeah the racks have shrunk on every deer I've shot. The biggest thing I notice is the spread. My biggest buck had a 20 inch spread, now it has 18 inch. My last buck I shot at the end of October and I just measured it today and the spread shrunk almost a 1/2 inch.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whttlbucksteve Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? The spread always gets smaller my buck this year went down 1 " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? As the skull cap dries, the spread always shrinks some. That's why there's a mandatory 60 day drying period for the record books. Sorta equalizes things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? The green score on my one big buck inside spread was 21" I think. Its official inside spread was 20 2/8" I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaskMan Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? They'll shrink but to be honest you'd need a pretty keen eye to notice much just looking at it on the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbucks Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? my dad shot one and hes didnt shrink my grandpa shot 2 way back and they never shrank either so.....i dont know what would happen!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western NY bowhunter Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? Actually, from what I've read on the subject...the antlers begin shrinking in early August as they begin the mineralizing process and they continue to shrink and become more brittle up to the time that they are shed. So the antlers of that buck that you killed this November have been shrinking for over 3 months already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkillemquick Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? They will shrink to some degree after you shoot them. Visually you probably won't see any difference but if you measure it the day it was shot and again, two months later, you will loose some, how much?, well every animal is different, that's why for official measures they wait the 60 days then, they score them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QDMAworks4me Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? I personaly think that you will notice a difference if you put a tape on it and score it but IMO if you were just to look at it you would not notice much of a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller66 Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? supposedly they do shrink but I wouldn't think it woudl be enough to notice, I haven't scored either of my bucks lately to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? Whenever I shoot a good one, I always cut a board that I wedge between the antlers and leave there for 3 or 4 months. Reduces a lot of the spread loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkillemquick Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? After 60 days it just won't shrink that much if any. I quess that make's it more of a level playing field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rifleman25 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? If you wedge a board in between the curve in the beams snug it will hardly shrink. I have done this many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? [ QUOTE ] If you wedge a board in between the curve in the beams snug it will hardly shrink. I have done this many times. [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't this be considered cheating? My brothers antelope shrank almost 2-3 total inches. We measured it at the time of kill to be 75 inches. Now it is 72-73 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LDB Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? Isn't there a chance the skull might crack if there's a board wedged between the main beams during the 60-day drying period? I've noticed shrinking on racks, mostly on the circumferences and inside spread. My mule deer this year lost close to an inch of spread and 1/8 inch on each of eight circumference measurements. I've even noticed shrinking on shed antlers that I picked up fresh and re-measured a year later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Xen Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? most of what I have found from searching online, is that a deer taken earlier in the year will shrink more than a deer taken later in the year. a lot of taxidermists have said that on mounts they get in, they can average around 1/2" to 1" per month of shrinkage based on the month the deer was killed in. i'm not sure if they mean by spread or by total score, but supposedly a deer taken in december or january has almost no shrinkage at all, where a deer taken in august or september can have up to 4 inches of loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rifleman25 Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] If you wedge a board in between the curve in the beams snug it will hardly shrink. I have done this many times. [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't this be considered cheating? My brothers antelope shrank almost 2-3 total inches. We measured it at the time of kill to be 75 inches. Now it is 72-73 inches. [/ QUOTE ] It still dries for 2 months doesn't it? I'm just trying to kep as much of what he grew. My official scorer has had to cut the board out before measuring before as the board was too tight to come out. He has never said anything about this and still gives me an official score sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rifleman25 Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? [ QUOTE ] Isn't there a chance the skull might crack if there's a board wedged between the main beams during the 60-day drying period? I've noticed shrinking on racks, mostly on the circumferences and inside spread. My mule deer this year lost close to an inch of spread and 1/8 inch on each of eight circumference measurements. I've even noticed shrinking on shed antlers that I picked up fresh and re-measured a year later. [/ QUOTE ] I have done this on a few bucks that were entered into the big game records of north america. I have yet to have one crack or any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Re: Racks Shrinking? [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] If you wedge a board in between the curve in the beams snug it will hardly shrink. I have done this many times. [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't this be considered cheating? My brothers antelope shrank almost 2-3 total inches. We measured it at the time of kill to be 75 inches. Now it is 72-73 inches. [/ QUOTE ] It still dries for 2 months doesn't it? I'm just trying to kep as much of what he grew. My official scorer has had to cut the board out before measuring before as the board was too tight to come out. He has never said anything about this and still gives me an official score sheet. [/ QUOTE ] I wasn't questioning any integrity. Just don't want you or anyone to get the wrong idea. I'll use thistrickon my future deer, I hope!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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