Originally Posted By: 2Dogs
Originally Posted By: gobbler
Originally Posted By: bigt
I know age and nutrition is important, but genetics plays the biggest role in antler potential. Where I hunt you can let them live to 5.5 + years and the average buck will still be in the 100-110" range with the very occasional freak.


Here is the experiment I would like to see. Take a 5.5 year old dallas county buck that may be 140" on good habitat. A 5.5 year old Iowa buck may be 160". I would guess that a 5.5 year old dallas county buck living in Iowa all its life will be around 150". Take a 5.5 year old Iowa raised in Dallas county, I bet will still be 160". Would be interesting


As I remember , that is what the study the QDMA article is about. And you are 1/2 right, your big Iowa buck would go backwards. And the Dallas Co buck shows an improvement and by the second generation your Dallas county bucks would show quite a bit of improvement.

I don't understand why one would think an increase in nutrition will help the Alabama buck but a decrease wouldn't hurt the Iowa buck at least a little.


Is that second generation with a local for the area doe or a transplanted doe from the same area as the buck that was only bred by the transplant buck?

83% of all statistics are made up.