Gentleman, (used loosely) How long is this blackbucks horns? (Straight Tape)

This is the only picture I have of him, and he is by far the biggest one on our place.

19" range

I'm with BBD. He should be all over 19" maybe a hair longer.

I'm with the 19" guess-timate. 19" blackbuck look pretty big. He may go close to 20". If on a hunt I would guess that one at 19".

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I was thinking 18-20."

He needs another year or 18 months to get Jet Black. He looks close to 19.

I agree.

yeah looks 19" or so

He's nice. I woulda guessed 20", but I'm not an expert judge. Let him get good & dark before you shoot.

Yea, definitely wait another year for his coat to fit his name. He's looks like a nice 4 1/4 spiral, his horns may get another 1/2 spiral by the time he is black. That's a big boy!

20"

I'd bet he's over 20".A buck that old running with does is as black as he's going to get.He will get a little darker in the fall and winter.

Likely to get darker in the winter, IMHO

If you like him drop him.

If not let him

Thanks, didn't know their color was based on age.

A dumb zoo worker once told me that only the dominant male turns black. Then again that zoo only had one mature male, so many that was all she knew.

Old equals black, is this right?

That is absolutely incorrect Roo.....age is not the determining factor for coloration in Blackbuck. It is a combination of age and dominance.

Some mature bucks stay tan because they don't establish any type of dominance in their herds. Coloration can also change....if a buck is dominant and black, but then gets his butt whipped by another buck....he can go back to being tan due to lack of dominance.

I agree with eland slayer.Age alone does not dtermine color.Alot of it depends on sexual activity.If you have a 2yr. buck running with does and he is the only buck,he will turn pretty quick.Although on our ranch I have seen dominant bucks get knocked out by another buck but he stayed black.

I'm pretty sure that the black color is affected by the amount of testosterone in their system.

Higher levels of testosterone trigger breeding, dominance, and aggressiveness.

While they can breed all year long, there is a peak of breeding that occurs in colder months here in Texas, triggered by a rise in Testosterone. So it is not uncommon for BB in Texas to turn darker in winter.

Older animals tend to have higher levels [of Testosterone], so they tend to turn darker as they mature - but it is not solely age related. Often, a younger animal will be "dominate" and darker than an older male.

They do not have to be black to breed. However, animals with higher hormone levels tend to breed more and often dominate the harem when other males are present. An older male that is "losing his stuff" may turn from black to brown, as he loses his dominance and breeding urges - often displaced by a younger, more-hormone-enriched male.

Certain supplements and diet can affect hormone levels, so some ranches may have a higher number of "black" males than others. Some herds/ranches have no all black males, only slight darker ones - and still they are breeding. Some breeding males never turn all black.

At least, this is my understanding on how it works...

I was going to guess 20. I believe the increase of testosterone will cause them to get darker.

Have the same questions (age/size) about my "backyard" buck. Sorry about the pic quality, but the best my phone could get through an upstairs window

Nice buck. No idea on age, but maybe 16-18". No expert here though.

I'm guessing your backyard buck is 16-17"

yea I would say 16-17 on the backyard buck

Thanks everybody. I was thinking 17-18.so I guess I'm not as bad at this as I thought I also have a HUGE axis buck that passes through every few days. Haven't been able to get a pic of him yet as he slips through the trees right around dusk. Thinking of throwing a trail cam out just so I can see how big he is. If it wasn't for the dang HOA I would put up a feeder and do my exotic hunting from my porch