2014 Antler Growth article by ORG

[bonecollector777]

Here is some good info for anyone that has been wondering if this dry winter will effect the bulls next year. http://orghunt.com/2014-southwest-antler-growth-drought/

[Flatlander]

Good info. I think everyone is wondering about this but I doubt very many folks don't apply.

[couesmagnet]

Nice article, and thanks for putting some good info together for us all. There is another factor that i think can be just as important as rainfall totals. This factor is the spring time temps and how fast in general the state warms up over all coming out of winter. If you have a long cold spring, i think this can be detrimental to antler growth also. On the other hand if you have warmer than normal nightime temps up north and it warms up earlier in general, this can be a very good thing , possibly offsetting some of the rainfall factor. Just my 2 cents. Spring time temps matter.

[bonecollector777]

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Good info. I think everyone is wondering about this but I doubt very many folks don't apply.

Agreed. . We all love it too much to try and wait it out for a year! And regardless there will be big bulls hitting the ground around the state.

[CouesWhitetail]

Excellent article Craig, thank you!

[Seldom Drawn]

Good article,

 

But you guys get to caught up in moisture,we had 17 inches of rain this summer and 33 inches of snow so far here in Flag,that is one inch less then last year at

this time I can take you to areas that it hasn't snowed since Dec 22, that still has 7 inches of snow how do you think the antler growth might be in this 3 mile section

90 percent of the hunters I take all talk about shooting a 400 inch bull but get trigger happy to kill the first 300 inch bull they see, the elk will be back to there normal year after year pattern,this year the places when we don't get much moisture,gets the best food growth,so the big time outfitters will kick butt this year they struggled so bad last year because 17 inches of rain had them scattered all over the units and they were so use to scouting there hot spots the elk weren't there,they didn't have a clue how to find them.Genetics is a major factor with antler growth, a lot of big bulls will find the food source,if you get drawn and don't have a lot of time to scout

you might struggle finding a big bull this year ,sure wetter winters just means a lot more big bulls,if you hire an outfitter you should have a chance a a toad.this year they will kill some big ones.

[cmbbulldog]

Nice article, thanks for posting.

 

I hope people dont apply, better odds for me.