Nice bucks and mounts! The nontypical is pretty wild!
From what I've seen over the past 40ish years following B&C bucks across Wyo, fawn bucks born in years when does are healthy have more massive horns from the first year through their entire life vs fawn bucks born when does are stressed and in poor health. The moisture and weather in any given year after the fawn buck's pedicle and skull has fully developed may not matter a whole lot.
Some of the highest scoring bucks I've seen have been harvested in some of the driest years in Wyo history. I've also drawn tags in premier Wyo antelope units in a wet year and could hardly find 1 buck over 79 to 80". There is a lot more to horn growth than the weather in 1 particular year! It helps to know the history of conditions.
Although buck pedicle bone growth the year they are born is super important there obviously are some counties or areas that tend to have better genetics and nutrition than others. Some areas may not produce B&C bucks even with super healthy does and conditions. Some counties may hardly ever have bucks listed in B&C.
On a positive note, those units with a past history of B&C bucks in Wyo haven't lost their genetics. The other positive is that it doesn't take many years for a buck to grow to B&C proportions. One of the biggest benefits from all of this past year's deep snow is that the shrubs and other browse vital for healthy antelope has finally benefited from all of this year's moisture.
Shrub growth in the famed Red Desert of Wyoming has been plagued by drought and poor shrub growth for years upon years. Will this year's moisture ultimately help or is it merely short-term?
With that said, there are a gob of negatives that have led to the historic low Wyo antelope numbers across most of Wyo. Severe drought, predators, disease, and the obvious one this year....winterkill. If drought isn't bad enough by itself....add cheatgrass to the mix. I've spent time the past couple years in Eastern Wyoming and the cheatgrass problem is horrendous! I can pretty much guarantee cheatgrass growth has severely impacted shrub and other browse growth from Cheyenne north to Gillette. Add cheatgrass-fueled wildfires to the mix and there is a serious problem!
Keep your fingers crossed that the antelope have a reprieve from the combination of drought, winterkill, predators, highway/train casualties, disease, and weed infestations in the coming years. They definitely need a break and all the help they can get!
With that said, there definitely are fewer 80 to 85+B&C bucks available in Wyo than there were 5 to 15 years ago. Elli Grimmett certainly seems to find a few for some of his lucky clients every year. My guess is that this year his Wyo guides and hunters may need to work a bit harder to find the few that exist. With fewer and fewer tags available, he may also have fewer hunters with tags in their hands? I know his clients have already harvested some mondo bucks in NM and elsewhere. Only time will tell how many 85" bucks show up in future years?
