Roe doe with antlers?!?

270Buck

Well-Known Member
I was sat my 2 man highseat this morning with one of my friends. In the half light and fog we could make out 2 roe deer about 150 yards away.

Whilst we were waiting for them to come closer a cock pheasant flew out of the cover with a vixen in hot pursuit. She stopped long enough for me to drop her on the spot about 40 yards from the foot of the seat.

The deer we had been watching stayed stood exactly where they were, seemingly unperturbed by the shot. After another very cold 20 minutes they both very slowly passed the seat 96 yards ahead of us. It was a very old adult doe and this years buck youngster. She was a good animal to take, I shot her broadside with a predictably good reaction to the shot. She ran 50 yards into the cover, with the youngster making its way a further 200 yards or so into the copse. We sat and had a cup of coffee, before we went to retrieve the fox to be later burnt in the incinerator.

We found the .270 130 grain sierra gameking boatailed bullet strike. There was good signs of bright red blood with pieces of lung and white foam, we easily walked through the still heavily frozen cover and found the doe. I dragged her out onto the open ground. When I was about to start gralloching her I noticed some small 1" long buttons exactly where the pedicles would be on a buck?

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I have kept the head and will boil it out properly and see what it looks like under the fur.

When she was weighed in with hocks off and head on she was 51lb.

She had an amazing amount of fat surrounding the kidneys, more than I have seen on any deer, including big red stags and fallow bucks.

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I know it has been documented before with roe deer but I am wondering if anyone else has also shot or seen a doe or hind, of any species with any signs of antlers.

To top the morning off, after I had gralloched the doe we look out across the open field and spotted a dog fox. I made my way through the cover and laid prone using my bipod took the fox at 130 yards straight in the boiler room. When we got up to it, it had one of the landlord’s English partridge in its mouth! He was very pleased when I turned up in the yard with the bag from the morning. :D :D :D
 
Did you notice whether the Doe was pregnant, It probably wasn't.
Old maids are often found to have 'Nobs' which appear to be the start of a set of antlers but I have never seen them come to full hard horn.
The weight was certainly indicative of an old maid, they tend to put on weight, a bit like a barren cow or capon chicken.
 
Pregnant of not?

She defintely was not carrying young although she had a youngster from this year with her.

She had a very hunched back and still donned some of her summer coat, she was clearly an old animal which fitted the bill perfectly for my cull quota. Under inspection her teeth wear was substantial.

http://www.deercountryimages.com/photo_571626.html

http://www.mdwfp.com/Level2/Wildlife/Game/Deer/Articles.asp?article=120

I have just found this on some other websites.

Looks like it is quite a rare occurance which happens mainly to older does.
 
Had a pal shoot a doe earlier this month that had antlers. It was the first that I have seen. I will try to get a photo of it.
 
I have shot a doe in scotland with an one antler i will try and see if i can find the photo or i will sort the head out a take some photos.
 
I shot a roe doe this morning with antlers, about 1 1/2 inch high in thick velvet with distinct pedicles. She was a big beast and appeared fit and well, there were twin foetuses and one of this years young in attandance.

I'll try and post some pictures at the weekend.
 
More photo's

<<<<Please also see other thread on the Deer Welfare section of the forum>>>>

This has been very interesting to find there are more of these antlered does being recorded.

As promised please see the photo's of the head boiled out.

Morena has given me an explanation of how this may have occured on the other thread in Deer Welfare.

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In a way it would have been interesting to shoot this doe closer to the end of the season to see if the antlers would have developed any more.
 
Shot a huge doe last week exactly the same. Nearly crapped myself when I ran my hand over her head. Had to look a few times to make sure it was a doe! When I gralloched her there were twin foetuses starting to develop and plenty of fat. She was definately the heaviest doe I have ever shot. Someone told me it was a Hummel(?) and very rare - definately one for the game book.
 
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