Dumb question maybe? Antler Growth?

[daverp]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-26-07 AT 05:31PM (MST)[p]I'm curious....when a mule deer buck grows his antlers, is the growth equal throughout the rack, that is to say all 4 tines (assuming a 4 pointer) will grow at the same rate? Or, would the mainbeam and tine "finish out" first with the rear forks completing their growth last, like on an elk? Just wondering if short fronts and longer rears could be accounted for by a dry spring and wet summer and fall, or visa versa in the case of a buck with large front forks and smaller rears?

Just something I've wondered, and would answer a question for me....

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Difference in forks is more a matter of genetics, but a bad year could make for some shorter tines, or no tines at all in the case of bucks losing, say, a g3 point from year to year. The overall frame will be the same. A buck will grow at a pretty even rate from the bases to the end of the tines throughout the summer. This is just what I have observed while watching bucks grow.