2014 muley buck

I got my 2014 muley buck back from the euro taxidermist today. I am quite pleased. Not a monster by any definition, but he was my first mule deer – and the best buck I had a crack at during a very, very difficult hunt which happened to me my first, so it is special to me.

A friend of mine did the mount, and I highly recommend his work, as his euros are the best I have seen. His attention to detail is second to none.

Love the contrast in color between the skull and the antlers. Is that the actual color of the antlers or did he darken them? Well done and a trophy indeed! RR

That’s awesome.

Thanks guys!

RR – no darkening. They were dark antlers to start with, but the photo makes them look darker. Not sure what they rub on when stripping theor velvet, but it stains them pretty good!

Here’s a question:
What contribution does diet and mineral availability have in antler color? The area I whitetail hunt in MN is the Aitkin Co popple/spruce swamp country. It mostly produces dark antlered deer. My impressions are the driftless areas of MN/WI produce a lot of ivory antlered deer. One area has a lot of tannic water with more iron as opposed to spring creeks with more calcium.

I think alot of it depends on environment as well. Western whitetails on average more white racked timber deer more dark. A prairie buck spends all day in the sun. – QB

There are a few studies done on antler color that say the main reason is how much sun did the antlers get during the velvet stage. A deer that rarely is out in fields and is in more cover then open spaces has a darker rack than a deer who likes to show off in fields during the day. This is how you get two different rack colors in the same area. If it was there diet they would all have the same color racks.

So QB you are on the right track because what is out west? More open areas that receive more sunlight. Who knows if this study is true I think it holds true, but I bet that isn’t the only thing that contributes to color.