What did you notice where you hunted this year? Last year and the year before we had many bucks with busted up racks. Several with multiple tines on both beams plus broken off beams. This year has been the exact opposite. We have a few young bucks with broken off brow tines and a main frame 10 with a split G2 at the top that broke the tip off. All other bucks at the end of the season are 100% intact. What do you think made the difference??? More does from good fawn crop and less fighting.......Dominant buck or bucks from previous years that liked to fight got shot........Change in diet /food source after 2 years of drought.........Better buck / doe ratio.

I usually only have 5-6 bucks on camera but there is always one that gets busted up and having had a camera out there for a few years it is the same buck. He just doesn't show up in daylight...

Some of it's genetic; I have a certain line of antler that almost always results in major breakage. One of those broke his rack three years in a row. They were also determined fighters, though. I watched him as a four-yr old whip three different bucks in an oat field, while only have one beam.

I didn't have too much this year but had two bucks of a different line from that one that both broke a beam.

I keep salt/mineral out year round for livestock that one would think helps with that.

I haven't noticed as much broken antler, but there are fewer deer on the ranch this year that historically break off each year.

A couple of broke brow tines, but overall very few broken tines.

I don’t see many broke antlers in the hill country. It happens, but not every buck will break.


Down south, it was hard alot of years to find a buck that wasn’t broken up.

I dont think we had as many broken this year but I havent put much thought into it. There are always quiet a few.

We had several deer broke off. More than I saw last year. More were broken off than intact. We have a lot of bucks, maybe 1 to 1 ratio?

IMO most of them break while fighting trees and shrubs. Most buck fights last less than a few minutes. I've watched bucks work a tree for over an hour, and a tree can't help move and pull against them if they get wedged/locked up.

Interesting. Ive never even thought about that. Is that just your opinion or have you heard that cited before? I consider you one of the sharper tacks in this drawer so im curious.

Mostly opinion, although this article suggests its the main reason for broken brow tines.

https://realtree.com/deer-hunting/b...5UZREKjofG9-r1o-dry9OCF1p2hH3eqoExZXw9Eh

However, think about how many trees you see in a bucks area that are scarred up. While this is done by multiple bucks, usually the dominant buck starts most of the rubs and certainly visits all of them. It takes quite some time to do all that damage and create those rubs. Bucks typically only have the knock-down, drag-out fights when there's a hot doe present, and a buck capable of challenging them. But they visit rubs and scrapes daily during the rut.

Interesting, thanks.

A friend of mine found a 230" buck dead...what a disappointment !!! They believed it died from fighting.

Was it a high fence buck? I can see it happening with a managed herd where the bucks are more mature and a good buck to doe ratio. I read once that some of the better managed ranches try to shoot the older mature bucks before they get killed from fighting.