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HUNTING: Antler Augmentation Inbox

 4 weeks ago by Chris Munchow 

Modified 4 weeks ago at 4 weeks ago

About That Antler Growth…

Pope and Young Executive Director, Justin Spring, shares insights on the topic of antler growth
by Jay Anglin

MUSKEGON, MI (June 11, 2025) – Deer hunting seasons extend from late-summer through midwinter
around the country, but deer hunters talk deer year-round – and there certainly is plenty to talk about:
Compound bow vs. crossbow, best rifle caliber/round, treestand vs. pop-up blind, etc.
Another topic that comes up regularly around the campfire is antler growth. In fact, there is an entire
business built around the best supplements and types of forage to encourage maximum antler growth,
and many regions of the country are heralded as possessing the exceptional whitetail genetics for
producing huge racks.

But are genetics really that important? Is providing supplemental feeding necessary? Executive Director
at Pope and Young, Justin Spring, has some great insights on the topic of antler growth every whitetail
hunter should be interested in.

“Historically, antler growth was very focused on genetics, but realistically, age is a very important factor.
It turns out a very diverse heard is going to have the genetics for big deer,” Spring said. “This brings us to
the environmental side of it. Antlers are a secondary sexual characteristic, meaning the deer is going to
ensure its survival until it has met its needs, and then shift the nutrients to antler development.”
Spring explained that an abundance of resources is going to allow deer to grow anyway, and this
includes antler development. “A good example of antler growth and nutrition – and we see this quite
often after the EHD outbreak for example – is following an event when the deer population drops, we
see some big bucks. My hypothesis regarding this scenario is there is an abundance of resources
available to the remaining deer – as those resources were not all consumed by other deer in the herd,
and this allows those deer to grow bigger antlers.”

“A species could have unlimited protein, but without the minerals required for protein to be digested, it
doesn’t do any good. In the case of deer, to build antlers the whole system must be in excess, which
includes plenty of water and the minerals and crude protein necessary to grow antlers,” Spring
explained.

“Obviously, on the environmental side of things, if they don’t have all of that it doesn’t matter what
their genetics are, because without the minerals and proteins to express antler growth, you know
they’re never going to achieve full potential. So, assuring deer have those things available in excess is
very important.”

According to Spring, supplemental feeding can help, but looking at the big picture is important because
pouring money into food sources alone will not necessarily solve the problem.

“What you see commonly – especially in areas historically known for big deer – is enhancing the native
vegetation deer can forage on. Generally, just throwing excess mineral and protein via supplemental
feed at them isn’t going to get the same results as building a native landscape. That doesn’t mean there
is no place for artificial mineral or protein, especially if there is one thing missing,” he explained.
Understanding which native plants are beneficial to deer, and which plants are invasives, is a wise
practice, especially when removing said invasive species. While food plotting can enhance an area for
wildlife and create an ideal setting to hunt deer, promoting and restoring native vegetation growth
nearby is also important. For example, deer may use native warm-season grasses and shrub thickets
year-round to rear fawns, for bedding and escape cover, and of course to feed on a variety of vegetation
they have adapted to long before agriculture and supplemental food was available. This is a great way to
maximize the protein and nutrients available to deer and potentially benefit bucks while they reach full
maturity.

Can supplementing be detrimental? According to Spring in terms of forage, it is not an issue, but
problems can arise when large numbers of deer congregate in a relatively small area, which can
perpetuate the spread of disease such as CWD and EHD. This is very region specific and in areas where
deer are drawn to plots from miles around the risk of creating a disease pathway is much higher.
Conversely, in highly fertile areas with multiple food sources nearby, deer will not be as inclined to
travel long distances for food, thus reducing the risk. This is another reason to diversify forage sources
and include native species deer are happy to take advantage of if supplemental food sources dwindle.

THE TAKEAWAY

The bottom-line is white-tailed bucks allowed to reach full maturity have a good chance of growing a
nice set of antlers, especially if deer have sufficient nutrition available for bucks to attain maximum
antler development. The fact is, bucks are regularly harvested by hunters before reaching the age
required to carry big racks, but the genetics are baked into the cake, so to speak. Managing properties
for diverse habitat and food sources, as well as sufficient water may be the baseline, but if management
includes restricting target bucks to fully mature animals, it’s much more likely antlers will obtain true
trophy status.

ABOUT NEXUS OUTDOORS

Nexus Outdoors, headquartered in Muskegon, MI, USA, is a leading worldwide designer, marketer and
distributor of performance, hunting and casual odor-controlling apparel, footwear and equipment under
the ScentLok Technologies®, OZ®, Blocker Outdoors®, Whitewater Outdoors® Hard Core® Waterfowl
Hunting Apparel and Tree Spider® brands. It also owns American Range Systems, manufacturer and
distributor of the world’s strongest and safest bullet traps. Nexus Outdoors is the only company with
access to all scent-controlling technologies, including their patented Carbon Alloy TM and Cold Fusion
Carbon TM technologies, which provide superior success in the field. ScentLok and Blocker Outdoors are
pioneers in the hunting industry, which many credit with creating a market focused on superior scent
control to get closer to big game.
MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jay Anglin
Traditions Media, LLC
[email protected]
Steve Allie
Nexus Outdoors
[email protected]