Never seen a rack like this before...heads up, dead bloody deer in photos...

[FLHTCUI]

Not my deer. I just happened upon the hunter as he was field dressing it.

My bad...thanks for the heads up...
I missed that small detail,lol.
All the same Thanks for posting the pic and story.
Rob

 

[Hoakster]

Poor thing.
That hunter probably ended the world's longest toothache.

 

[156821]

I have heard that damage to the nuts will cause some weird antler growth. Maybe this was a case of that?

 

[blasted_saber]

I would say this is more then likely caused by an injury to the antler during growth.

Hormonal injuries typically cause the antlers to not drop in the fall, causing them to grow wildly as the deer never sheds the antlers. If you've ever seen a castrated moose (I have) or deer you know what I mean.

We've got a similar rack at the camp on the wall. Nicknamed the "screwball buck"

 

[1963beretta]

Look at this poor bugger

 

[Chuckbuster]

Yup, Mother Nature and Darwin like to hit the sauce every once in a while. They can be pretty mean drunks.

 

[VPELT]

Good on him for taking it. So many people forget the actual readon to hunt and wont harvest it cause its 'ugly'.

 

[Superbrad]

The testicle / hormone theory makes sense.... If anyone has ever seen an antiered doe grown past spike level they would understand....

 

[Royzo]

The testicle / hormone theory makes sense.... If anyone has ever seen an antiered doe grown past spike level they would understand....

A couple years back, shot what was thought to be a doe. Rolled it over and there was a full set of marbles. Looked at the head again and there was absolutely no evidence of ever having horns. Had to show my hunting partner the gut pile, he thought I was joking.

 

[blargon]

 

[Mattones]

A buddy shot a buck with two antlers like that but they weren't in the jaw. I'm trying to upload the picture

 

[rookie wildcat]

Three years ago, this buck was pushing 4 does. A single, gnarly, 5" spike. A good look through the Binos and I knew he had to go.

 

[the keepa]

My son shot a young buck that had antlers similar to the OP's . After skinning the head he found that the drooping antler had been broken off at the skull taking quite a bit of skull cap with it . The broken pieces of skull were starting to fuse back together , even though the antler had rotated almost 180 degrees .
We watched him for a couple of days(he acted quite normal) before deciding to shoot him .
Must have been a ##### to rub off his velvet...unless the injury was done after or during that process .
We have pictures someplace .

 

[9.3mauser]

 

[BigUglyMan]

Not a particularly old buck. If i was to guess, i would say some sort of traumatic injury when the horn was just forming, twisted the root and misdirected the direction of growth.

Exactly what I was thinking...antler took a bad hit in velvet and charted that bizarre course. Good on the hunter for taking him...that had to be painful.

 

[Raton57]

Shot a mule doe once near Drumheller and when I rolled it over is was a big male. His left front leg was injured and bent permanent so that he ran on three legs. He was running with a big buck which a assume was probably his brother. That's why the tag says antlerless mule deer. Also as a kid a neighbour shot a doe that had this tiny set of antlers with many many points that he carried in his pocket all the time to show people.

 

[jimmyjazz]

So after he sheds will it grow back normal or the same ?

 

[fenceline]

Why would bury him like that?

 

[Chuckbuster]

So after he sheds will it grow back normal or the same ?

I would think in many cases that would be so, unless there was permanent damage to the pedicel as a result of an injury, or, the hormonal impairment was a chronic condition. But without being able to follow up on any actual cases, that's just an educated guess.

 

[KMG Canada]

I have never seen one like that but a few years back I shot a small buck with his antlers facing backwards on one side ... I will dig out a photo later.