toddyboman Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Ok this is coming from another post but..... Are yearling's able to produce antlers within the first few months of their lives?? Or can they NOT have antlers until they are 1.5 years old. Ex: A fawn buck is born in April of 07. By Oct 07 (hunting season) can this fawn have developed any antler or will he just be a button buck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubie Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I've never seen it, but I suppose anything is possible. Maybe some more visable spikes, rather then 'buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Yearlings are not fawns or 6 month olds. Take a look at this Todd, might help a bit with clarifying for you http://www.qdma.com/articles/details.asp?id=23. Here is another link to take a look at http://tndeer.com/field-judging.shtml, notice it goes from "yearling" class to 2.5 year old class. Typically first year buck fawns(not yearlings) will have buttons, however if they are born early enough, they may have spikes, but that is not very common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ckcranch Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Typically first year buck fawns(not yearlings) will have buttons, however if they are born early enough, they may have spikes, but that is not very common. I agree, I call a 6 month old deer a fawn and a 1 1/2 year old deer a yearling. I have heard of fawns having small antler growth beyond being button bucks. For example this past spring in west Texas they had a lot of rain which caused an increase in vegetation growth and the antler growth increased as well. Some early fawns grew small spikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhine16 Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I agree, I call a 6 month old deer a fawn and a 1 1/2 year old deer a yearling. A fawn will always be a yearling to me. Just what we term them here . A 1.5 yr old is a "last year's deer" or a 1.5 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted February 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 EVERYONE'S terminology is going to be different for fawns/yearlings...... But my main question is: do you think a young buck born early say April of 2007 WILL/CAN produce antlers (more than buttons) by the hunting season of 2007. OR will he NOT produce any antlers until the spring/summer of 2008? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ckcranch Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 EVERYONE'S terminology is going to be different for fawns/yearlings...... But my main question is: do you think a young buck born early say April of 2007 WILL/CAN produce antlers (more than buttons) by the hunting season of 2007. OR will he NOT produce any antlers until the spring/summer of 2008? It is possible but rare. I agree, I call a 6 month old deer a fawn and a 1 1/2 year old deer a yearling. I have heard of fawns having small antler growth beyond being button bucks. For example this past spring in west Texas they had a lot of rain which caused an increase in vegetation growth and the antler growth increased as well. Some early fawns grew small spikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 A fawn will always be a yearling to me. Just what we term them here . A 1.5 yr old is a "last year's deer" or a 1.5 year old. Do you only call them fawns until they lose their spots? yearling implies year old and a fawn is only 6 months old during hunting season......also, 'yearling' is a lot easier to say then 'last year's deer' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 EVERYONE'S terminology is going to be different for fawns/yearlings...... But my main question is: do you think a young buck born early say April of 2007 WILL/CAN produce antlers (more than buttons) by the hunting season of 2007. OR will he NOT produce any antlers until the spring/summer of 2008? YES Todd, they can and do, with early births and the right conditions and nutrition. I have seen it first hand here with early born buck fawns. Normally we see start seeing fawns here around the end of May into June, but have seen them come around in late April to early May, and I have seen little fawn bucks with hard bone protruding through the buttons during our seasons here. Most often when they do sprout in their same year born the antlers are less than 3 inches from what I have seen, which earns them being called "antlerless deer" here and they do not count towards buck limits, which is messed up. Pretty sure I have seen some pics in here or somewhere on the internet of spike/button bucks with hard bone protruding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ckcranch Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Most often when they do sprout in their same year born the antlers are less than 3 inches from what I have seen, which earns them being called "antlerless deer" here and they do not count towards buck limits, which is messed up. That is messed up that they are considered "antlerless deer" with 3 in spikes. Down here they are considered antlered deer as soon as the bone breaks the skin; unless that has changed. Either way I don't like shooting fawns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAhunter14 Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Most often when they do sprout in their same year born the antlers are less than 3 inches from what I have seen, which earns them being called "antlerless deer" here and they do not count towards buck limits, which is messed up. same way here in PA, but i can see why they do that. I mean anywhere below 3 inches and it could easily de mistaken for a doe. And then if you dont got buck tag...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Well, a yearling and a 1.5 year old are the same thing to me. Can a fawn produce an antler? Hmmmm, I've seen some big buttons, but I don't think I've ever seen a fawn with measurable antlers. The deer my son shot this year was probably a fawn, or a late drop fawn from last year, and it had just a tad of bone poking throught the skin. I never did look at the jaw, so I'm not positive if it was a yearling or fawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 i consider a yearling a 1/2 year old, and a 1 1/2 year old a.. 1 1/2 year old, i would say most fawns only have buttons tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDeerHunter Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 a yearling can produce antlers, most commonly they are spike or forks. Alot depends on the birth month, some deer are born as early January and in most cases the older yearlings will develope more antler providing there is good nutrition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 same way here in PA, but i can see why they do that. I mean anywhere below 3 inches and it could easily de mistaken for a doe. And then if you dont got buck tag...... I agree with this. I shot a yearling (1.5 years old) some years back at 75 yards thinking it was a doe because I didn't see antlers. When I got closer there were 2 thin spikes about 5 inches long. I was not happy, because I had to use my buck tag. Thank God I still had it. I think this situation happens a lot and fawns/yearlings with spikes are left to rot because of mistaken identity and no buck tag. It was a learning experience for me. I now use binoculars if there is any doubt. I also wanted to mention that I shot a small tined 8-pointer once that was aged (by his teeth) to be a yearling (1.5 years old). However, I think most 1.5 year old deer don't get much more than 4 points. The 0.5 year old deer I've seen have all been buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Turtle Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Usually just buttons with very good nutrition, could be slightly more in rare cases. Antler growth is secondary to body growth and at that age so much is going to body growth there is not much left over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDeerHunter Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 I agree with this. I shot a yearling (1.5 years old) some years back at 75 yards thinking it was a doe because I didn't see antlers. When I got closer there were 2 thin spikes about 5 inches long. I was not happy, because I had to use my buck tag. Thank God I still had it. I think this situation happens a lot and fawns/yearlings with spikes are left to rot because of mistaken identity and no buck tag. It was a learning experience for me. I now use binoculars if there is any doubt. I also wanted to mention that I shot a small tined 8-pointer once that was aged (by his teeth) to be a yearling (1.5 years old). However, I think most 1.5 year old deer don't get much more than 4 points. The 0.5 year old deer I've seen have all been buttons. How could you not see 5in spikes at 75yds. I look at most all my deer with bino's and determine if they are shooters before pulling the trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 How could you not see 5in spikes at 75yds. I look at most all my deer with bino's and determine if they are shooters before pulling the trigger. Unfortunately my vision isn't as good as I would like. I'm legally blind in my right eye and wear glasses to correct the left. In Illinois the season is only 2 weekends for firearm hunting and at the time I wasn't bowhunting seriously. I only had a few seconds to make the decision. Knowing I had a tag for each and that the firearm season in Illinois is very short, I took the shot hitting it exactly where I had aimed. I expected to find a doe, but instead a spike. Up until that hunt all the deer I had seen had thicker antlers which is what I was looking for. It wasn't the length, but the lack of thickness that led to my error in identification. As for not having binoculars... my father taught me to hunt and he didn't use them (still doesn't) and he didn't encourage me to. I have no doubt that it is NOT uncommon for spikes to be mis-identified as does or antlerless deer. This is why some states define deer with 3 inch antlers to be (antlerless). If a state passes a law beacuse of identity mistakes for deer with 3 inch spikes, I think it's pretty easy to see how identification errors could be made for deer having 5 inch antlers. Glad to hear you haven't made any deer identification errors. May your vision, perception, and binoculars never fail you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 I almost shot a scraggly buck once thinking it was a doe. It had one antler that was about 2" high with a little kicker come off of it. I didn't see it until it was in bow range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDeerHunter Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Unfortunately my vision isn't as good as I would like. I'm legally blind in my right eye and wear glasses to correct the left. In Illinois the season is only 2 weekends for firearm hunting and at the time I wasn't bowhunting seriously. I only had a few seconds to make the decision. Knowing I had a tag for each and that the firearm season in Illinois is very short, I took the shot hitting it exactly where I had aimed. I expected to find a doe, but instead a spike. Up until that hunt all the deer I had seen had thicker antlers which is what I was looking for. It wasn't the length, but the lack of thickness that led to my error in identification. I have no doubt that it is NOT uncommon for spikes to be mis-identified as does or antlerless deer. This is why some states define deer with 3 inch antlers to be (antlerless). If a state passes a law beacuse of identity mistakes for deer with 3 inch spikes, I think it's pretty easy to see how identification errors could be made for deer having 5 inch antlers. Glad to hear you haven't made any deer identification errors. May your vision and perception never fail you. Sorry, I wasn't trying to come off as being harsh. Oh, I have shot a button or two in a quick shot situation. That's why I started really being patient and looking at them close, here in Texas if it has any hardened antler breaking the skin it's a buck which means no room for error. Wher iI hunt we have a much longer season and usually see alot of deer, which makes holding out a little easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Sorry, I wasn't trying to come off as being harsh. Oh, I have shot a button or two in a quick shot situation. That's why I started really being patient and looking at them close, here in Texas if it has any hardened antler breaking the skin it's a buck which means no room for error. Wher iI hunt we have a much longer season and usually see alot of deer, which makes holding out a little easier. Yea, I kinda took it as a slam, so thanks for the clarifiaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDeerHunter Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 I just sorta went off a little because I have some hunting buddies that have perfect vision and high dollar bino's and scopes and they have in the past couple years mistaken a few spikes and buttons for does, then they complain about having to use their buck tag. They have all the means possible to identify first and yet they for some reason don't. We also hunt Kansas which says it must be a visible antler protruding to be considered a buck, that sounds more reasonable than just hardened antler breaking the skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyt03 Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 I also wanted to mention that I shot a small tined 8-pointer once that was aged (by his teeth) to be a yearling (1.5 years old). However, I think most 1.5 year old deer don't get much more than 4 points. The 0.5 year old deer I've seen have all been buttons. It's not uncommon for midwest bucks to have atleast 100 inches at that 1.5 yr old age where they are being managed properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Turtle Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 At one year a buck will develop about 10 % of his mature potential so a 1.5 midwest buck that has 100 inches would have the potential of 1000 inches in 5.5 to 6.5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Turtle Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Okay had to recheck that it's 10 % of mass and 26 % of Boone and Crockett score in first year. wow at 100 inches I would of thought older. Here's where I was looking by the way. http://fwrc.msstate.edu/pubs/antler.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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