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Do you see more basic 8 or 10 pt frames.

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Nick Habes

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While hunting in Iowa, I have seem far more basic 8 pt bucks than 10 point in adult deer.
I am curious what the group thinks, are their more 10pt frames in certain parts than others??
 
I have hunted this great state of IA for 26 yrs. and I can honestly say that I have seen a lot of 8 and 10 point racks. I am in the Western part of the state, maybe other parts are different but there is a good mix of both. Even see a 12 point once in a while. Hope this answers your ?
 
In the past my hunting area has been mainly 8 pt bucks but in the last 2 years the only bucks we have been seen and killed are 10 pointers. Im definitely not complaining about that change though but Iam curious how the genetics seemed to have changed all of the sudden. Maybe the 10 pointers just became the dominant bucks there i don't know though. Does anyone have any answers to this?
 
Shed hunting has taught me that genetics vary widely even over a small area 5-10 square miles.What I am curious about is at what age is a 8pt destined to stay an 8pt.
 
Alot of the bucks that we see are younger ones that haven't had a chance the sprout those extra tines. Also, most of the mature bucks that do have ten or more tines don't show themselves as much during the day. Alot of the sheds we find are big eights, though, so I tend to think that even when they do get old, quite a few just never grow more than eight points.
 
Where are you fella's hunting?....all I see are 12 and 14 pointers....heehee
 
Here in Kansas, I see more eights than tens. I have two sets of sheds from the same buck that were shed almost in the exact same spot two years in a row...one year he grew ten points, the next year as he was getting older he reverted to eight.
 
if my memory is correct, i think that the basic 8 point frame is what most whitetails have, i even think that some purists think that anything other than an 8 point frame should be considered non-typical. i don't agree with this but i know i have heard it somewhere. This may explain why the majority of whitetails seen are 4x4's.
 
Most of the top deer biologists and researchers in the country believe that a whitetail buck's natural biology and genetics wants him to be a typical 8 pointer and anything else is not the norm. Check out books by Kroll and Marchington. Mature Buck
 
I think it's probably true that there tends to be more 8 point frames than 10 point frames across the board. However, local genetics plays a major role. In one area I hunt, most of the larger bucks are 8 point frame, while another area, a few miles away, the bucks tend to have more 10 point racks. (Unfortunately, a few years back, I missed a "gimmie" on one of those big 8-pointers but at least I found one of his sheds which scores in the low 70's as a typical and has a 15 inch G2. Unfortunately for me though, that's the last clue of him I've turned up to this point!)

Personally, I'd rather shoot a big 8 than a 10. Eight pointers in the 140 inch and above range, especially, to my eyes, look so much bigger than a similar scoring ten, mostly because of increased tine lengh.

Good Hunting...Rich
 
I happen to see quite a few 8 pts here in Wisconsin. I see a few 10s, and this past season I saw and harvested the first 12 pt. typical that I've ever seen on the hoof.

Some people believe that genetically, deer with 8 pts. are genetically predispotioned to be 8s for their whole life. I used to think this is true, but don't believe this anymore. Does anyone know of this from firsthand knowledge, or studies that hold this to be true or false?
 
Honestly..I see more 10's..We do see alot of 8's and that is what gets shot, but all the 10's get away...We have several 12's seen every year...along with 2, 14's this year..there are some monsters....
 
One of our farms shows more eights and just five miles away more tens. These are the properties we spend ther majority of our deer and shed hunting on and the difference in genetics over that short distance is clear.
 
I saw more 8 pt frames this year but I harvested a 10 point with the bow and with the muzzleloader! Go figure! =)
 
My Iowa places seem to have more eight point racks except for the very mature 4-1/2 and older bucks which are relatively few. However on my Missouri lease, tens, tens and more tens,at only 2-1/2 years! Unfortunatly few of these ever live to see thier third fall. This situation is, I think, changing slowly as more and more people are becoming aware of good management practices. Maybe in the not too distant future we will be able to offer "out of staters" trophy hunting at least somewhat comparable to whats North of the line.
 
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