If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

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bowhunter15
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If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:04 am

I thought the answer to this question was rather obvious, but I was talking to someone who showed a picture of a yearling 6 pointer with double droptines, making it an 8. Probably had a 12" spread. He asked if I would shoot it and I said I would likely pass given the situation, thinking about what he'd look like in another couple years. He said something along the lines of, "You never know. The drops could just be a yearly thing. At least this way I can say I shot a buck with double droptines."

As we all know the trophy is in the eyes of the hunter and he was proud of his deer and I congratulated him on it. But as for his statement about the droptines magically disappearing with his next rack, that can't be right can it? I was under the impression that unique rack features like that always stay with a buck. After all, how could guys who glass and collect trail cam pics follow a particular deer year after year, right?

The only thing that made me wonder a little bit on his side was that I've heard certain trauma's or injuries can cause deformations on a rack. If they healed, I'm not sure that the same deformations would continue to grow as they aren't genetic, only environmental factors that caused them.


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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby dan » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:26 am

I have noticed bucks that didn't have drop tines get them when older, but most deer that have them one year have them the next.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby Spysar » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:29 am

I hope they come back. I passed up a double drop tine this year hoping he gets bigger. I got good footage of him at least.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby BigHunt » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:33 am

Spysar wrote:I hope they come back. I passed up a double drop tine this year hoping he gets bigger. I got good footage of him at least.



:shock: :shock: :shock: WHAT :naughty:
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:58 am

I'd like to think the droptines stay through the life cycle of the deer. I pass up a lot of deer every year thinking they'll be even bigger next year with the same character. Many of the bucks I pass I see the following year with the same character. At that point, I usually give them a name.

I passed up a 2 year old this year with split g2s and small split starting on his g3 on WI public land. I haven't picked a name, but I hope to see him next year. He could explode into a heck of a buck.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby muddy » Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:26 pm

Drops come, drops go, sometimes they switch sides, etc. I had a buck that was 4 years old before he developed a drop and has never had one since. I know it's the same deer because he has a notch in his right ear and have a number of years of history with him

Nice work on the pass Spy, a drop doesn't necessarily mean shoot, gunna be a tank next go around.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby Bucky » Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:27 am

No from my experience...
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:50 am

I think the chances are slight he may have them again. Points aren't memory retentive like injuries to racks in velvet are. That said an 8 pointer isn't always an 8 pointer. A 12 pointer isn't always a 12 pointer. So you never know. The chances are better for a buck that has had drop tines to have them again than a buck that never has had them.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby headgear » Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:24 am

So obviously drop tine bucks are rare but how rare are they in your area? Depending on genetics I am sure some areas have plenty of them and others extremely rare to none. Several years back a guy I hunt with shot a buck very similar to the one bowhunter15 described, main frame 6 with 2 drop tines, probably a two year old but not a huge rack. I confirmed with elders and neighbors that was the first drop tine buck shot in the area during the 50-55 years they have hunted there. So its nice to know it is possible, however I don't hold much hope for myself actually tagging a mature drop tine buck let alone see one.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby dan » Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:32 am

They are pretty rare by me... I can only recall one 8 frame that had matching "S" shaped drops. I only seem him one season, and never got him in range.
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Re: If it has droptines once, will it always have them?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:03 am

I'd agree they are very rare. I've never seen a double drop tine buck. Only a single drop tine that I unsuccessfully hunted in 2007. Like Dan, he disappeared on me.

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