Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting ever shoot an antler off?

I know it happens and I managed to do it myself many years ago.

While still hunting, two big blacktails came by and I could only see their antlers over the brush. There was small windfall nearby that I was able to step up on and see their heads from the chin up. they were maybe 30 yards away and I thought I could head shoot the biggest one offhand...the only shooting option I had.

At the shot I heard what sounded like two huge cue balls coming together! It was my bullet, a 130gr Hornady from my .270, striking the base of an antler. The buck dropped instantly and I thought he was all mine, but as I approached through the brush he jumped up and ran off never to be seen again....

When I got to the location all that was there was this nice 4 point antler - it's still a trophy of sorts to me...

Oh yea. So sure he was dead, I went over with just my knife. He got up and I killed him with my pocket knife.

A friend of mine witnessed it years ago in Colorado. The guy he was hunting with shot a Mule Deer with a .30-378 Weatherby. Knocked it down, and he said he was looking through binoculars at it. Said he could see the antler base explode.

I shot a buck one time that was behind a big tree looking for me and hit him right below the ear hole with my Whelen. He hit the ground and wallowed out a big circle running on his side in the leaves before he died. One of his antlers fell off in the death throes.

About 20 years ago I was on a guided mule deer hunt in Wyoming. In camp there just happened to be a newspaper sportswriter from a town close to where I grew up. He was testing a new rifle/ammo combo to write an article when he got home. The second or third day he shot an average 4pt. but didn't say much about the hunt. The guide later told us that he first gut shot the deer followed by shooting off half an antler before finally dropping the deer. A few weeks after getting home I found his article and it made no mention of the gut shot or antler. Basically, he wrote that the rifle and ammo performed perfectly, and the deer dropped at the perfect first shot.

Crossed a pair once as the deer raised up when I shot.

Best antler shoot I've witnessed was a guy with buck fever shot a big bull in a spike only area, he started shooting points off and it was in a large sagebrush area where about a dozen hunters watched with binos, Busted and not cheap.

I prefer aiming at the heart/lung area.

Many years ago hunting our ranch in the A zone of Cal where the regs state fork horn or better I shot the fork off of a buck that was a spike on the other side. Took ten or fifteen minutes of searching to find that fork all the time thinking "I'm sure I saw a fork when he jumped up".

Yep. A small 8 point years ago

yep. 4 point(western count). spined and dragging itself.

A buddy of mine just got 2 deer with one shot. The deer weren't even in line and were 8 ft apart. He shot the cull buck right through the shoulder, the bullet deflected on the pass through and exited, dropping a yearling off-set 8 feet away. He said the cull buck jumped and ran 30 yards before falling over, the yearling dropped in it's tracks. Good thing he still had available tags.

I prefer shooting in the ribs as well but sometimes in thick woods you don't get ideal shot angles. 25 years ago here you were lucky just to see 2 or 3 bucks a year where I hunted. When you saw a buck you best be trying to find a way to line up a shot. If you wanted to eat some venison.

I didn’t see it but there’s a story going around with the guys that have been in the club longer than I have about this.

Seems a guy wounded a six point late in the afternoon. After a short search, now in the dark, the search party found the buck with its head still up. So he took out his 38, and with the aid of a flashlight, shot and blew off one antler causing the buck to get up and run a short ways. They found him again and the guy took another shot and knocked off the other side. DOH! ! ! 😳

They finally finished the antlerless, “trans buck” 😁 with one of their rifles.

In all my years of hunting and guiding I have seen 6 or 8 antlers shot off by hunters and 1 shot off on purpose by a friend with a .45 ACP 2 locked up bucks, Miles Patton And Ed to many letters a me watched them fight for about 5 min. they got down and couldn't get up, Ed said I can shoot a antler off with my 1911, I said have at other wise we will have to kill them both or the Coyotes will tonight, Miles and me sat in the Jeep and watched Ed walked out and from about 8-10 yards away shot the antler off 1 of the Bucks they jumped up and ran in two different directions Ed has the antler he shot off. I've got a couple of pictures of the bucks locked up and the antler, but I can't find them maybe Miles or Ed will post a picture?? Rio7

I never have, but someone tried to. This is the buck I got in 2022.

Now that is astonishing! Can you imagine watching that buck run off after the shot?!

Now that's neat.

my dad (RIP) shot a decent 7pt and when he got it, he thought he shot doe. he looked around and found the antlers laying next to the buck.

That is. I'd want a euro of that.

Inadvertently busted up antlers when i hunted with my 12 ga master blaster with buck shot..