No Brow Tines

[brianlg31]

Am I correct in thinking that a buck with no brow tines, will never have brow tines? Especially this year, with all the rain we have had.

I've been worried on how to decide what to cull this year, 1st yr on new lease south of Ozona. But I'm sitting in the stand this morning watching a 6 point, without brows, trying to take out a mesquite tree. Actually have 16 deer in front of me, there is a cool wind blowing and they are all acting like little kids in the snow. Lol. They have been here since before lite, it's incredible.


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[DRT]

If he is only a year and a half old I wouldn't worry about him yet. See if he has any identifying marks you can keep up with him on. Now if he is three and a half and has no brows on a good wet year then I would probably take him. However I've seen a lease go from having half it's deer with little or no brows during the drought to almost all of them having brows the next year so it can be nutritionally based. And adequate nutrition isn't always there just because of a wet year. What he got the year before could still affect him if he hasn't matured yet. They put into bone in their bodies before they really build on the bone on their heads.

[BURTONboy]

In my experience, yes. No brows after there 1st set of branched antlers and they seem to never push them out. A young 4 point dont pay mind to. But if its a 2 yr old 6 that should have brows to make him an 8, in my mind that will be how he turns out every year.

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[TP3]

We hunt the same area and have found that the buck:doe ratio is not what most are used to.
Basically there are more bucks than does. State biologist said that is due to the harshness of the environment. He said that buck fawns are typically a little hardier than doe fawns, so under tough conditions they are more likely to survive.
We seemed to have excellent fawn survival the last 2 years due to the rain I'm sure.
I missed a monster 6 with my bow last season. Would have been a cull worthy of mounting. If you are allowed 2 trophies I would hold out for good deer because they are out there. Alot of our best bucks have been killed the last week of the season. If you are allowed 1 trophy/1 cull then I would say it really doesn't matter what you cull as there are more bucks than does anyway.
It's amazing to watch those deer appear and disappear out of the brush out there.

[Slick8]

That region seems to produce a lot of those deer. I once thought it absolutely needed to die but a couple of serious herd managers showed us differently a few years back showing that they can add brows. I'd say can but not always, plus if they do, it's still just a 8.

Its really hard to say without knowing more about the place and being new to the lease what the manager or local biologist recommends.

Btw-I was south of Sonora on Friday and Saturday, that late season rain has it feeling really good out there.

[BolilloLoco]

Killem all after they turn 2.

[Big pig]

I am not a biologist, but it appears to me that no/tiny bows is a trait that is noticeably present in some areas. I don't think taking out that one buck will affect the herd much. I also suspect there is another out there with worse genes - unless he is older than 2.5.

BP

[PondPopper]

Killem all after they turn 2.

This unless you like no brows^^^ I've seen the results of NOT doing this. Not good.

[rg2]

anything 2+ or older w no brow tines gets the axe @ my buddys' hi fence ranch.

[KingsX]

They can and will grow and loose browtines. At any age.

[Chance Love]

Totally depends on his age. If he's 18 mo, then it doesn't really matter what is on his head. At 2, he better have brow tines or he is likely to go on the cull list, unless he has a really big frame. At 3, no brows = gets shot no matter what.

To answer your other question, I have seen numerous deer with no brows end up growing some later in life. They were short, but it's totally possible.

[Boomerang]

Cull.

[Capt.Bryan]

It comes and goes, 3 years ago on our brady lease almost all the deer had no brows or one brow, the following year didn't see a deer without brows, so I wouldn't cull a deer just because of no brows. Noticed the same thing on a few deer back home in southeast texas last year that didn't have brows and they are normal this year. And last year was really wet here.

[bphillips]

Can come and go. Wouldn't even think about it unless they're 4+ and not what you want frame wise

[venado]

This is what TPWL has to say.