THF Members,
I need your thoughts and expertise on these deer we are seeing on the place we hunt.
We have this older deer we call LSO (Left Side Only Rack) because he has a rack on one side only
and a solid looking spike on the other side. It looks like we have some younger deer with the same
LSO (left side only traits/genes) type of horns. If these were on opposite sides then I would think they
would be losing them fighting but all missing the right side so is it hereditary/genes or what?
Let me know what you think.
Many thanks

Broken up during fighting or even in antler growth period. Injury could also be the cause in some cases. Not genetic and never will be genetic. I see far to many deer that people classify as a cull when they see lopsided rack or rack deformed from an injury. 99% of these deer will not look like that the next season(if there is no pedicle damage).

I agree but find it highly interesting that on three of the deer pictured, it's the right side on all of them, and just about in the same place.

Most of the deer I see on my place or on my friends place that have a single broken side, will have it broken on the right side.

That's cuz they lean to the left where you are. All the liberals from the 1st crossing of the Germans left New Braunfels for Gillespie County. No joke.

We are sending them back home....to New Barnflies...your welcome

Really unusual that all 3 have the right side broken like that.

It is not unusual to see multiple bucks this time of the year with one or both sides broken off. Especially when you have a good buck to doe ratio. Fighting is more common on ranches with a good buck to doe ratio. I am guessing the pics are from a ranch with a good buck to doe ratio. Rattling on a ranch like that is fun.

Hear me out - but I could see deer or any animal for that matter having a dominant side just like we can be right or left handed. Come to think of it my dog always chew her bones on her right side of her mouth. If the majority of the deer are right side dominant like people are right handed, it would make sense.

not sure if dominant hand/eye coordination issues so prevalent in humans would be of any benefit to deer. Without some sort of benefit which would have been developed over eons, no dominant side should exist.

Because I’m down the rabbit hole…

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016815912100085X

impressed, but that is a benefit derived from a particular dexterity. Not sure if that would apply to an antlered animal.

Stx, can you give a reason for why most of the deer have an antler broken on the right side? Thanks Daniel

Agree with STx on this. We have this some and it seems it’s usually the same side. I’ve always thought it was coincidence but don’t know. Not really a big enough sample size to draw much from that. Do not at all believe it’s anything genetic. It pedicle is damaged it could carry over more than one year but maybe not.

Those deer would have a greater than 13 inch spread if you asked me to measure them.

Everyone,
Thanks for your input and I remembered my nephew shot a buck out there this year and he only had a
Left Side Only Antler. Lot of bucks that seem to be just missing one side for some reason.
I did not have permission to post his picture so I blotted him out.