Nitro,
I do not think it is a tine but the central "stem" which mos likely due to some traumatism was bent or broken while still soft and in velvet.
montero

Gentlemen This forum is NOT a political one.

Very nice buck Mr. Montero. What were the circumstances of the hunt? where was it shot and Are Bucks that size usual there.

Niels

Niels,

I took him about 190 kms north of Madrid, in the province of Burgos.

Roe are not very abundant in this area and this trophy is above average but not exceptional. The pictures are not very good ones since there was no light left and I had difficulties in finding a good angle with the camera.

Had not been an "abnormal b�cke" I would guees him around 135 CIC points. Between three and five years old (�?) and his skull weighed, once well dried, 485 gramms. Bases of the horns were 19,1 and 19,2 cms.

I took it at the very last minute, almost pitch dark. I could see a whitish reflection above his head which enabled me, as well as the difference in his body size, to differentiate it from the doe that was with him.

I shot him with a 6,5x57R kiplaufb�chse and a 95grain v-max bullet from Hornady loaded at 950 m/s. I hit him in the shoulder and he droppen on the spot. The bullet did not exit.

montero

19,5cm's bases... that is from tips to bases right?
485grams weight is enough for a CIC medal buck.
Congratulations.! You say that is not uncommon in your area.
How old was he?

Interesting choise of bullet, it needs a very picky (good) angle doesn't it? What degree of meatdamage did you get?
I just went roebuckhunting myself, and took 2 good bucks from our own forrest and 1 from a friends hunting ground, all 3 yrs. or older, the best weighed 310grams and that is good for my region. Maybe because most bucks are shot too young, here in Denmark. (we will not do that, but have just taken over the terrain 2 yrs. ago)
I used Hornady SP 150gr. loaded to 750m/s in a .270w. because of the chance of a tvig or something getting in the way I feel that is a better choise for bushy conditions.

Hello Nils,

congratulations to your Nordic bucks. I have had no luck so far this season. The reason is that I want to get an old buck I had been chasing already for 2 seasons, despite many outings since the 1st of May no luck so far. I saw him once and thus know that was is still alive 2 weeks ago.

A very fascinating game animal, indeed.

Weidmann�s Heil, D.

Hi Montero,

Super nice Roe Buck!!! Are they expensive to hunt in Spain?
I hunted them in Germany but the restrictions on the hunting were so much that the chance of a shot at a big one was about like the chance of winning the lottery.

I was hunting Boar and Reds in Argentina when I saw the news of the bombing in Madrid. Having been there last Oct-Nov. I felt for my friends and wished all of you to be safe
from these mad men. It takes a cowardly bastard to blow up someone that is unsuspecting and innocent. Please be careful so that we can meet for that drink the next time I hunt in Spain.

Good Hunting,
Hawkeye47

Do you manage the herd according to general 1/3 male,female,young...or do you also cull according to antler growth? I have heard people say it's nearly impossible to change the trophy development by culling and that only the age of the animal + food quality makes trophies.

Niels: The measurement of the bases is taken around their perimeter. Horn length, or height, is a different measurement. The buck�s left horn is 28,2 cm long. 19,5 cm would be a rather short horn.
Moderate loads of V-Max bullets are perfect for broadside shots in the ribcage. They devastate both lungs dropping the roe instantaneously and not exiting. The shoulder on this one was spoiled but there was still a lot to be used.
I shoot a few roe every year and even though my family and me very much appreciate its venison, we can afford a shoulder every now and then.

Hawkeye47: Hunting in Spain is not cheap. In the different areas where I hunt roe we shoot some very good trophies every year. If you stay around, in the next days I may post some photographs of some of this season�s trophies but the film is still in my camera. One of these days I�ll have to go digital.! Hope to see you soon, and thank you for your condolences.

Boghossian: Roe are very unusual deer. Their trophy is not related to their age and you may have a 2 year old gold medal and a fully mature 5 year old which has never been and will never be a significant trophy. The size of their trophy is not related to food as is normally related with red deer, for example. It is more a matter of the individual capability of activating calcium and other mineral reserves of their skeleton that will account for a large set of antlers. It is an opportunist,its trophy will have a lot to do with multiple factors such as their intraespecific relationships, and culling will not necessarily lead to large trophies.

An extremely interesting animal, I can tell you!


Regards,

montero

Those are really nice bucks,I went stalking on Thursday night but the deer were already out feeding and I could not get close to them without spooking them,I'll have another try in a week hopefully with better results.
good hunting,
VulpesVulpes

Most likely it is both, the genetical potential as well as the available food, minerals and general climate. The potential can only realize when the proper living conditions and especially alimentation are available.

We had lots of acorns last fall plus a relatively mild winter. As a likely result, all our yearling bucks are already forkhorns. In other years there were much more spikes and button bucks.

I always found it strange that roe deer grow they antlers during the winter when things are toughest and there isn't much food about...
What if they were taken to NZ along with the red deer? (Apart from an possible ecological disasters) Wouldn't the milder weather and lush vegetation allow really nice antler growth? Guess this is a question with no real answer!

Boghossian,

I believe the climate wouldn�t make that much difference! The specie would adjust to environment but probably wouldn�t get any bigger!
Spain for sure has a milder weather than Russia (or NZ for that matter) and the Spanish roe (as most of the western European ones) is smaller than the Russian sub-specie.
It seems that the cooler the weather the bigger they grow!

B.Martins

I regret it every week the roe was never introduced successfully to Australia or NZ. Stuff the environmental impact, a few bullets could fix that.

I believe they were introduced to Australia but not successfully.