Moose antler growth

[Bear Wrestler]

I ran into this bull while camping this weekend and he looks like a pretty decent shiras to my eyes. He doesn't have much palmation on his left side however. Since it is mid-late July, any chance he will develop a nice palmated antler before he sheds his velvet? I drew a moose tag this year but this guy is not in my unit.

Any estimates on his current width. I'd guess he's right around 40 inches.

 

[WCB]

No, I think he is what he is. He will obviously grow a little more. From what I've seen they grow bases to paddle to tips/points. Not base to points then fill in with paddle/mass if that makes sense.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

He is all that he's ever going to be for this year. Doesn't look like he'll ever develop palmation during his lifetime. He's only about 30" wide.

 

[Bear Wrestler]

My first thought when I saw him was that I'd pass on him. I'm glad I was able to get a real good look at one in the field to use as a base of comparison this season.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I would also agree he's not 40.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

More like 28" at the time of picture with upward forming antler shape. Moose antlers grow about 1/2-lb of density per day during July and August. By early September that growth hormone stops being produce at the pedicle to force cartilage-to-bone transformation in antlers. That bull has an apparent antler growth anomaly on one side compared to the other's shape, IMO. He'll likely be an asymmetrical sub-40incher this year and not likely to be better developed the seasons beyond this one. Antlers often have weight symmetry even without tines and palms symmetry.

 

[VernAK]

Gotta agree with Larry......he's not a trophy bull and probably never will be.

 

[Luke S]

So to jump in... I saw a fork bull in an area I often hunt. Is he likely to still be a spike by hunting season? If he gets a 3rd point he's not legal.

 

[Ucsdryder]

So to jump in... I saw a fork bull in an area I often hunt. Is he likely to still be a spike by hunting season? If he gets a 3rd point he's not legal.

I haven’t seen a lot of moose during summer but I’ve seen a shit ton of elk. It’s impossible to say based off the time of year. Antlers grow at different rates. You might see a bull elk that barely has his fronts, then the next day see a bull that’s already a 6x6…in June! That doesn’t mean the 6x6 is going to be a monster, it just means he might be done growing…based off antler tip shape. A better indicator is horn shape. If the tips are starting to get pointy, he’s done growing, if they’re bulbous he’s still growing. Give or take…

 

[Chumsnagger]

So to jump in... I saw a fork bull in an area I often hunt. Is he likely to still be a spike by hunting season? If he gets a 3rd point he's not legal.

In previous years I’ve seen many spike moose during the first week of august that were legal on the archery opener on 10 Aug, but some would develop forks by then. Now that the season moved to 20 Aug, most become forks. This is in unit 15 with a spike- 50”-3 brow rule.