In my June 6 and June 20 blogs I shared with you a specific buck’s antler growth (150-inch-class buck). Today’s photo shows what he looked like on July 1. As you can see his antler size has made a dramatic jump since June 15, and in the next few weeks his antler growth will continue rapidly during the peak growth period of mid-June to mid-July.
As seen in this photo from July 1, mature buck antlers are growing fast and showing most of the points they’ll brandish this fall. (photo copyright Charles J. Alsheimer)
At this point a buck’s antlers are quite bulbous, pliable and gorged with blood. Because antlers have not yet begun to harden they can be easily damaged if the buck runs into a fence, tree branch or other hard object. If bucks fight, they’ll often use their hooves to protect their sensitive, growing antlers.
In the northern reaches of the whitetail’s habitat, all of the main points of a buck’s antlers should be visible very soon. In most cases there is only a month of antler growth remaining before antlers begin to harden. In two weeks I’ll share with you what this buck looks like on July 15. I think you’ll be very impressed.
Remember to keep an eye out for growing bucks in your area, at this time of summer over 75 percent of white-tailed deer daytime activity is during the last two hours of daylight. Now is a great time to observe bachelor groups of bucks feeding in fields just before dusk, and the perfect opportunity to learn how deer interact with each other and their habitat.
– Charlie
Game cameras can be a very effective, low-impact tool for documenting the antler growth of big bucks in your hunting areas. The Moultrie Panoramic 150 revolutionizes game scouting with three infrared sensors that cover a super-wide view – 3 times the area of a typical game camera. The Silent-Slide lens rotates silently to take photos or videos wherever motion is detected, perfect for a field or open woods.
- 8.0 megapixel infrared panoramic
- Under 1-second trigger time
- Up to 100-ft. night range
- 3 motion sensors cover 150-degree detection angle
- 5 operational modes
- Silent-Slide lens rotates to take photos or videos wherever motion is detected without spooking game
- Illumi-Night sensor provides bright, clear nighttime pictures
- Motion Freeze reduces nighttime blur
- Multi-shot (1-3 pics)
- Password protection
- SD memory card slot-up to 32 GB
- 8,000 images on 6 C-cell batteries
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DeerDeerHunting/~3/K9jxtJ9HJFo/peak-period-for-buck-antler-growth