I have noticed many hunter's comments on this site talking about how small the bucks racks are in the North East. What are the m

[MN Outdoorsman]

I have noticed many hunter's comments on this site talking about how small the bucks racks are in the North East. What are the main reason's for this? Poor quality deer management, genetics, nutrition, etc? Just curious, thanks.

[Louie]

Nutrition is the biggest problem, here in the midwest we have agriculture, corn, beans, alfalfa, etc. They have mountains and hard woods.

[alabamaoutlaw]

I have seen huge deer come from the most unlikely places.I don't think any one factor controls the size of the antlers,You can find deer living on the fringes of the city that crop on fertilzed shrubs and gardens,With age and environment that will allow them to build all he can be.But all deer are not equal our swamp deer here in Alabama are small genetically by design but fifty miles north in the pine hills there are big deer.Darwin at work.Not much we can do about it.Have a great New Year
Alabamaoutlaw

[BIG RED C]

I DISSAGREE WITH THIS BECAUSE THERE IS LOTS OF 160+ DEER TAKEN EVERY YEAR IN EASTREN CANADA IN PROVINCES LIKE ONTAIRIO,MANITOBA,QUEBEC AND NEW-BRUNSWIC

[MN Outdoorsman]

Hmmm... I'm sure all of the reasons stated above come into play. I was just curious as to what your guy's thoughts were. Thanks for the responses.

[bigjake]

Big Red c , there are 160"+ bucks taken in the eastern provinces you mentioned, but definitly there are not many taken in comparison to prime whitetail areas in the southern states.
The harsh North eastern winters also contributes to whitetail bucks having smaller racks.The conditions cause bucks to divert calories that could be used in antler growth into energy for putting on body mass(fat) for the long food shortages during the winter months.

[Hunter1954]

In the North East we have many large bodied deer. The further North you go the bigger they seem to be. In Northern New Hampshire for instance are where most of New Hampshires record book bucks come from every year. Many Have big racks. In the Southern portion of New Hampshire where it is more populated, the deer simply don't get the chance to live that long. It basically comes down to the density of the deer population vs the density of the hunters. There are a larger number of deer in the Southern half of the State, but the largest and most of the biggest racks come from the Northern half of the State. So, racks in the North East do grow Large as well.