A little scouting

[midwesthunter]

Looks like you will have some nice options, Hope you can find the one you are after when season gets here.

 

[wytex]

They all grow at different rates based on genetics, weather, feed, etc. From now until August I've seen bucks put on 3" of length - very rare. I've seen bucks that didn't appear to grow at all. For 95% of the bucks, from now until August, they'll grow anywhere from 1/2" in length to 2" in length. A lot of them you can kind of tell what they'll do. If they're prongs appear relatively low, like the last buck you posted, they'll probably grow at least an inch. For bucks where they look fully grown, they may not grow much at all. From a biology standpoint, they technically don't stop feeding their horns until their hormones change when the rut kicks in.

Here's a clip from a book

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Here's an example of a buck that grew a minimum of 2 inches in length from May 21 to Oct 4.


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Below is an example of the summer horn growth ring on a buck. The first buck didn't grow much during the summer. The second buck grew quite a bit. Some bucks these can be very hard to locate, others they're fairly easy to see.


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Thanks Eli, that's what we needed, someone who has put hands on bucks with known growth. I was thinking that they would grow until testosterone starts kicking in for the rut.
That is a great book, wealth of info in it.
Sounds like you need to keep track of those bucks gbfan, they might be quite interesting by season.

 

[jnd1959]

Nice goats. Not too far away from the beginning as dove season is only 3 months from now. Wyoming is only 4 1/2 months away for us assuming we draw. Good luck in New Mexico. Someday I will hunt there.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Eli, What causes a "summer growth ring" on a pronghorn?

 

[EliAGrimmett]

The biologist told us it's when the weather changes a lot going from cold to hot during the dry summer. So basically from now to August in Arizona and New Mexico. I'd guess bucks that don't have the visible ring are either in climates that didn't change that much when summer hit, or those particular bucks didn't grow much at all. I'd think what is happening when that occurs is a brief blip on the growth cycle where the buck's horn started to dry and didn't grow for a day or two causing the next spurt of growth to form a ring. Maybe it coincides with the summer cape growing in? Where the nutrients are shifted to feed another part of the body for a bit? But that's just a guess.

 

[LukeDuke]

I didn't realize antler growth would be that far along. I wish I lived out west so I could better understand the seasonal patterns and habits of goats. Me and my wife applied 63-1 for antelope in the special draw with 6 pts each. Should have good chance for tags.

I’ve hunted that unit a few times. We drove by a lot of antelope to get there, which prolonged our road trip by a few hrs. You’ll have some fun. Good luck on the draw. Eli...cool stuff and thanks for sharing.

 

[gbfan]

The biologist told us it's when the weather changes a lot going from cold to hot during the dry summer. So basically from now to August in Arizona and New Mexico. I'd guess bucks that don't have the visible ring are either in climates that didn't change that much when summer hit, or those particular bucks didn't grow much at all. I'd think what is happening when that occurs is a brief blip on the growth cycle where the buck's horn started to dry and didn't grow for a day or two causing the next spurt of growth to form a ring. Maybe it coincides with the summer cape growing in? Where the nutrients are shifted to feed another part of the body for a bit? But that's just a guess.

Thanks for the pictures and the insight. I've been trying to read a bit more on antelope, as I've just been building points in some states and never really hunted them.

 

[bowhuntmontana]

They all grow at different rates based on genetics, weather, feed, etc. From now until August I've seen bucks put on 3" of length - very rare. I've seen bucks that didn't appear to grow at all. For 95% of the bucks, from now until August, they'll grow anywhere from 1/2" in length to 2" in length. A lot of them you can kind of tell what they'll do. If they're prongs appear relatively low, like the last buck you posted, they'll probably grow at least an inch. For bucks where they look fully grown, they may not grow much at all. From a biology standpoint, they technically don't stop feeding their horns until their hormones change when the rut kicks in.

Here's a clip from a book

View attachment 107463View attachment 107464







Here's an example of a buck that grew a minimum of 2 inches in length from May 21 to Oct 4.


View attachment 107466





Below is an example of the summer horn growth ring on a buck. The first buck didn't grow much during the summer. The second buck grew quite a bit. Some bucks these can be very hard to locate, others they're fairly easy to see.


View attachment 107468



View attachment 107467

I would trust Eli on this. The man knows his stuff when it comes to antelope. Cool info and examples. Thank you.