Funky whitetail rack

[Rhettster433]

We have this odd young buck and i just wanted to share him. He seems very healthy. Chased does during rut. His body seems to be in great condition. He is only 2ish years old from what i can tell but his rack is just so odd. Is this one you would cull or let him grow to see how weird he gets?

https://imgur.com/a/iTdwfom

(If videos dont work let me know. I have not linked any here before)

 

[Skerhunter]

Zero reason to cull a young buck, cull doe. I would bet his rack won’t be that goofy next year and you might not even recognize him!

The only time I try to cull a buck is when I have a 4-5+ year old buck that scores lower and prevents “better” mature deer from being on my property more frequently (only room for 1-2 permanent mature deer).

Shooting a 2-3 year old is a great way to ensure you never have a chance to shoot a giant mature deer in a few years. An average 130” 3 year old is what makes 170”+ mature deer.

 

[Chris in TN]

It is utterly impossible to know with any sort of certainty that a 'cull' buck has a genetic issue. Birth timing (as it relates to pedicel formation) and minor injuries can make a genetically 'fine' deer grow weird antlers and I'd rather have a smaller-racked but mature deer walking around than to kill him and explain it away as a 'cull'.

Shoot what you want, and you don't need to justify it to anyone (unless you're in a club with harvest rules). If I were you and I saw that deer on a decently sized tract of private land with halfway like-minded neighbors around me, there's no way I'd shoot that one. But that's me and not you and I obviously don't know your situation. YMMV, a lot.

 

[Rhettster433]

It is utterly impossible to know with any sort of certainty that a 'cull' buck has a genetic issue. Birth timing (as it relates to pedicel formation) and minor injuries can make a genetically 'fine' deer grow weird antlers and I'd rather have a smaller-racked but mature deer walking around than to kill him and explain it away as a 'cull'.

Shoot what you want, and you don't need to justify it to anyone (unless you're in a club with harvest rules). If I were you and I saw that deer on a decently sized tract of private land with halfway like-minded neighbors around me, there's no way I'd shoot that one. But that's me and not you and I obviously don't know your situation. YMMV, a lot.

I am on the old family farm at about 100 acres in central bama. Nobody immediately around us hunts anymore so i am not worried about any deer disappearing unless the stud around us runs them off (we have two rather nice 3-4 year old bucks on camera). I have never had to “cull” deer as we never had enough around. But as hunters in our area either move or quit we are seeing an increase in population. My neighbor(who hunts our land with me) is a big time turkey hunter who just wants a doe or two per year for meat so herd management is something i am having to research on my own for the most part.