Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What's the deal with this buck?

I've seen this buck a bunch of times over the past 2 years, over all seasons. It never drops its antlers and they always look to be covered in velvet.

This past year, it grew a 4-6" point that sticks out from the main 2X2 frame. Unfortunately, you can't see the sticker point due to me taking this pic through my phone skope in the middle of a November snowstorm. The antlers are really tall, but very narrow. Probably doesn't have much over a 14-16" spread.

The buck doesn't ever seem interested in the rut at all. Usually hangs out with a doe group or young bucks. When the rut was going, he would cower down when a dominant buck gave him the evil look. Body size is on this critter is huge when comparing it to other mule deer. The only bucks that come close in size are the mature bucks with their harems of does.

What do you think his issue is? Anybody killed one like this? No nuts, maybe? A friend of mine shot a really nice non-typical a couple falls ago that had a busted-up velvet covered rack and the buck didn't have nuts.

Sorry for the poor pics, but the day I finally decided to take pics it was about 200 yards away in a snowstorm. I ended up using screen shots from video. I saw it again about 2 weeks ago so it made it through hunting season.

Probably testicular injury or absence of nads.

BIL killed a FL 'buck', similar situation, huge antler base, they near melded together.... sort of a weird set of spikes...

never chased does............ it had one nut, the size of a pea.....

he said it was the best venison he ever ate....

This

"stag" buck. Kinda like the Gomer of the deer world. Fairly rare but not unheard of. Be a cool trophy especially one that big! If you don't want I shoot him I'll gladly come do it!

Yep. Hormones, or more correctly LACK of hormones, i.e. testosterone

Yes. Most likely a plumbing/hormone issue. In rare instances one can run into an antlered doe as well. Usually with slightly deformed antlers. The two below were bucks, the first with good form but still packing velvet in November. A poor pic given it was taken from a couple hundred yards and heavily cropped.


Got a good look at this little guy from the rear and he had no visible scrotum.


Often seem to have a goofy or mumpy looking face as well. Did not have a chance to look at the plumbing on these two.



When running around with Cookie, we see two or three examples of this every year out of maybe 200+ bucks across all ages.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Thank you 1minute for the always fine pictures.

I looked the buck over a few times pretty closely with the spotting scope and could never see a scrotum. So was thinking it was a issue of the testicular sort.

When I was about 15 or 16, I shot what I though to be a 2x3 whitetail buck. It still had velvet in November. Turned out to be a very big antlered doe.

I've hunted in some areas where deer like those in the pics turn up fairly often. I actually have one mounted that is nearly 200 inches. That particular bucks testicles had not dropped. I've also been told by locals who see them regularly that they attribute it to the deer surviving EHD.

Great pics guys. Lonny I bet your on the $, he got his nuts hung up on some barbed wire. Be a cool deer to kill, love those tall bucks. 👍

Hey now I already called dibs. Lol 😁

We have killed a couple like that over the years...referred to them as stags..

But yeah my first thought on seeing this one was to shoot him and eat him!

I killed a smallish antlered whitetail still in velvet late into November. Last day to hunt for me and I had seen this deer a couple of times. I shot him and while field dressing him, it turned out to be an antlered doe. This was before cell phones and I wish I had tried to get a picture, but I didn't. Doe of course had no gamey smell and ate well, appeared to be a good sized doe, guessing 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old.

Some guy shot a 17 point Whitetail doe in Ohio this gun season.

Ron

Maybe he got caught in a fence and ripped his sac off, esp. in winter i could see it happening.
But what a awesome critter he is though, to bad he's maybe not seeding any does.

You guys are going to have to wrestle my nephew for him/her/it! My nephew came really close last year to getting a shot, but an 11-yr old isn't real quick on the setup and the does the stag was with, led him to safety. I like seeing that goofy buck and it kinda makes my day when I see he is still around.

SACharlie?

Early November blacktail still in velvet. It happens.

Yep. Decades ago a "neutered" bull elk was killed south of Gunnison (probably some kiind of injury), he was a 4 point still in velvet and estimated live weight of something like 800 lbs.