Bucks With Broken Antlers: Shoot or Pass?

July 31, 2024 By: Cole Gander

Hunters have long been intrigued by deer antlers, and rightfully so. From the countless hours spent sifting through trail-camera photographs to observing bachelor groups of bucks basking in the summer heat and gorging on lush greens each summer, we often invest a great deal of time and energy into providing for deer. Among many goals, we hope to harvest a mature buck in all his glory and with all of his antlers. 

Unfortunately, this vision does not always come to fruition. As the velvet is shed and the rut begins to heat up, bucks begin breaking the very antlers that fascinate us. In the late season, they may even shed an antler early. Should a buck with broken or missing antlers receive a free pass until next season? Follow along as I run through this age-old debate and my firsthand experience from last fall.

Causes of Missing and Broken Antlers

Before diving into this complex topic, let’s look at the causes of missing and broken antlers. Every winter, increasing daylight and decreasing testosterone levels cause bucks to cast, or drop, their antlers. Most bucks cast their antlers in January or February and start new ones in March or April, but that is not always the case. Some drop their antlers early as a result of injury, physical exhaustion from the rut, poor nutrition, or a combination of the latter two. Others tend to carry their antlers longer due to the continued presence of estrus does or frequent fighting that prolong elevated testosterone levels.

Antler breakage rates for 487 left-side shed antlers collected and analyzed by the Auburn University Deer Lab.

Prior to and during the rut, bucks use their antlers to lock heads and push each other around to establish dominance. Antlers are the perfect appendage to accommodate this style of fighting, but breakage is still common during the most intense fights. To investigate these antler breakage trends, researchers from Auburn University collected and analyzed 487 shed antlers (left side only) from bucks on the Three Notch Wildlife Research Foundation study site. Over the 10-year period, approximately 30% of antlers were found to be broken in some way, with the brow tine, G-3 and G-4 being the most likely to break. Though these breakage rates are likely greater than most free-ranging populations (due to a confined study area and skewed sex ratio favoring bucks), you will likely see the same patterns as to which points are most likely to break while out in the woods this fall.

My Missouri Hunt

My true inspiration for writing this article came in early January as Missouri’s late archery season was quickly coming to a close. The early archery and firearms seasons had come and gone, and despite multiple encounters, I couldn’t seem to seal the deal on a 5½-year-old 8-point I had been targeting for months. With temperatures in the single digits and 8 inches of snow on the ground, any hope of filling a second buck tag was slowly slipping away. Not one to give up easily, I shook off the cold and headed to my stand for one final hunt. 

Cole got this photo of his target buck on January 9, during Missouri’s late archery season. At this point, the buck still carried both antlers.

As the evening progressed, I watched as nearly a dozen immature bucks and a handful of does and fawns filtered into the grain sorghum food plot. Just before sunset, the old 8-point finally made an appearance. It was a situation I had been praying for all season: my target buck following a doe fawn toward my stand. Yet, there was one problem. The buck was missing his left side. 

In all my years as a hunter, that evening marked the first time I had a target buck walk by my stand during the season while missing most or all of an antler, and it forced me to make a decision I had never been faced with before. Should I draw my bow back and attempt to harvest the buck despite the missing antler, or enjoy a bowl of tag soup and let him walk on by? Ultimately, I chose the latter, and the buck lived to see another day.

Choosing to pass an adult buck until next season comes with risks. Natural mortality rates run high, especially among mature bucks.

A Gamble With No Guarantees

On the drive home that evening I found myself wondering if I had made the right decision. After all, the life of a whitetail buck is tough. They face immense hunting pressure, risk of disease, hardships of the rut, harsh winter conditions, natural predators, and the list goes on. In fact, a Texas tracking study of 86 adult bucks found 15 to 20 percent mortality rates in each age class from 5½ to 9½. None of the bucks survived to 10½. Simply put, there is no guarantee that the buck will make it to next hunting season and, if he does, it is another big assumption to say we will cross paths again while I am hunting. What is guaranteed, however, is the buck would not have been around next season if I released an arrow that evening. 

Why I Passed the Buck

So, why did I elect to let the old 8-point walk by my stand that evening when it was not a guarantee I would be graced with another opportunity to harvest him? In the early stages of my hunting journey, I would have relished the opportunity to harvest a partially shed or broken-up buck, or any other buck for that matter. Like many hunters, my early hunting days were guided by the motto “If it’s brown, it’s down.” Hunting was about the venison and proving that I could provide food for my family. 

Since then, I have matured and the need to prove myself has been overtaken by a newfound love and respect for the animal I am pursuing. The desire to further my understanding of the biology of the white-tailed deer is my lifelong passion and, aside from time spent in the stand during the fall, I invest countless hours into caring for the deer year-round by implementing many habitat management practices. Quality deer management (QDM) is now a standard practice among members in deer camp, and an additional emphasis is now placed on antlerless harvest to ensure healthy herd management. 

Cole found the buck’s missing left side in late January while replacing the batteries in a nearby trail-camera.

Food is no longer my primary motivator to hunt and, while I certainly won’t attempt to hide my love for a delicious venison backstrap, I did not need to harvest the buck with a missing antler for my dinner that evening. Instead, I enjoy focusing on doe harvest to fill the freezer. Not only am I able to provide food for my family, but I am able to do so in a biologically sound manner. Plus, harvesting a wary old doe is no easy task, and they are just as much of a trophy as their male counterparts. 

A New Realization

My years of hunting have led me to many realizations, but none were more important than realizing that a successful hunt is not dictated by whether or not there is a harvest. Though I certainly enjoy spending time in the woods each fall in pursuit of a mature buck or wary old doe, I no longer hunt to kill. Instead, hunting has become about the people with whom I share the experience. 

A detail I neglected to mention in my original hunting story is that my father was with me the evening I decided to give the old 8-point a free pass until next season. The best times we have had together have been in the woods, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Every year, we spend a great deal of time preparing for the coming hunting season together and it is always rewarding to hunt together and witness the fruits of our labor come to life during the fall. So, despite the freezing temperatures and the cold bowl of tag soup served at the end of the evening, the hunt was still a success because we got to share the experience together. I can honestly say that, along with mentoring new hunters and sharing deer camp with great friends and family, passing the buck with a missing antler with my dad is one of my most fond memories of the season. 

No Wrong Decision

Ask yourself, would you give a buck with broken or missing antlers a free pass until next season? There’s no wrong answer to this question. It’s up to you. Some hunters would choose to pass the buck, some would not. The variables and circumstances that affect this decision are numerous. The hunter’s experience level. The buck’s age. Public or private land. How much venison is already in your freezer, and many more. That’s why it’s a personal decision. 

For me, choosing not to harvest the mature buck with a missing antler was a difficult decision but one I can justify when looking back at the evolution of my hunting journey. Because I elected to pass the buck, there is still hope that he will survive to this fall, and we will cross paths again while I am hunting. 

Though this is no guarantee, I am now confident that I made the right decision that evening – for me. I didn’t walk away from the hunt with a successful harvest, but I did come away with a memory that will last a lifetime. 

About Cole Gander:

Cole Gander is NDA’s Deer Outreach Specialist for northern Missouri. He earned a bachelor’s degree in natural resource science and management from the University of Missouri-Columbia and formerly worked as a natural resource technician with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Cole is an avid hunter, angler and habitat manager. He and his wife Michaela live in Hannibal, Missouri.