...reasons. The main one goes like this: They (like trophy bucks) are around for a reason. They are survivors, and are likely to produce off-spring for a long time (no menopause for them). Lately, I have seen fewer large does.

The buck I got in Uvalde Co. was by no means a trophy, but he had one large fork antler from a single pedicle (the other antler was a normal 4 point). This, according to L. LaRue (Ph.D.) is a genetic fault which is passed down generationally. It seems most other antler oddities are the result of injuries during velvet stage. So, I had no problem killing him after I got a good fix on his horns.

I wanted to take an axis, but couldn't get a clear shot. They roam freely through the Nueces Valley (the 200 acres I hunt lie a few hundred yds from the Nueces River; a veritable expressway for exotics and whitetail, and turkey.) Whitetails are still in the rut in early December. A hundred miles north, not so much.