Oddities in Nature

Davisburg resident Cliff Butler has seen his share of unusual critters. This last Sunday I wrote about the amazing buck Butler took.
Butler called it a "10-point with a little extra." Great description. The buck weighed 180 pounds, field dressed.
But it had one additional point. Not part of the rack, though. This antler was growing out of the front of the bucks head.
Besides this one, Butler said he saw another buck with antlers that were individually twisted. That isn't the end though," he said.
"This spring I shot a turkey with two beards." Bucks with odd antlers and a double-neared turkey are indeed something we don't see on every hunt.
These deer remind me of the buck that was recently shot that was actually a doe! Go figure. The hunter swore he shot a buck, but when it got down to field dressing, "it didn't have buck parts but lady parts," he said in an interview.
I think the DNR would probably say these were abnormalities in nature that occur from to time. That's fine so long as these things seem to happen ever so often. While I think of it, we may have bucks running around without antlers! Why not?

Separate antler shown coming out of skull above left eye. Photo contributed by Cliff Butler.

Still not to to late to get zerod in of the woods.

Time if fast approaching for the November 15 statewide deer opener. Lots of time to make lists, pack and get to the firing range.
Lists are the only way I have of being sure I have everything along for the trip. If it's not on the list chances are it's not going along.
Some last minute things you may not have thought of. Get details maps of the area up intend to hunt. And be sure to let someone back home where you will be along with some phone numbers.
Besides being sure your hunting with a safe gun, check out your tree stand for safety issues that are problematic to it.

One area we all neglect is our vehicles. Lets get the oil changed, tires checked, you know the regular going over so we don't break down to and from the hunting camp.
Be sure and feet your deer into a deer check station and have them looked over to help DNR folks monitor the size of the heard and keep an eye on the disease. Be safe and happy hunting.