Art Answers Visitor Questions

Do you know what causes the bare spot near the shoulder blades on some mature bucks during the rut? I have heard it happens when the buck tips his antlers back to lick a branch over a scrape so that his own antlers rub the shoulder. I have never seen real evidence of that. - Tim N

This is a great question and really has two different answers.
 The first is that older, mature bucks travel more during the rut and sometimes go under fences rather than jumping them. Due to the larger shoulders and bigger bellies of these mature big-bodied deer,they have less clearance therefore catch their shoulder area on the wire, rubbing the hair off.

The second answer is demonstrated by the buck in the above photo. This buck was seen in photos from my trailcams several times at licking branches .  Once mature, he began to rub the shoulder hair off during rut by visiting numerous licking branches. I believe this deer was more apt to rub the hair off as he had longer brow tines and reached his shoulder area easier than others. I have also seen this with tight racked mature deer which  also reach the shoulder area when their heads are tilted back on low hanging licking branches.  I also believe each individual deer has its own personality, just like people, and some visit rubs and licking branches more often than others and may become more aggressive than others. These mature deer are the bucks that , I believe, make the bald spots every year. Thanks for the question.  Good luck  hunting and shoot straight.  Art

Art answers the common question of how to choose the right broadhead.

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