[ChasinTail]

I had just posted these photos in a thread in the big game hunting forum:
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1501031#Post1501031

Thought some of you might be interested in seeing them if you didn't see them there.

I just finished these two today. On the left is the "vampire buck" and next to it is another buck for comparison.

 

[SpiritNugent]

Very unique indeed.

You do very nice work Frank. Thanks for sharing.

 

[3D Hunter]

man that is cool I wonder what happen there, chupacabra maybe?

 

[foxtrapperwoman]

It's rare, but it does occur in some bucks. I've seen about 7-8 of them. Got 2 in this season alone, however on 1 buck they were not erupted, but he had an odd bulge on both sides in that spot, so I removed the flesh and there was a pair of "floater whistlers". Another buck I had some years ago, only had 1, none on the other side.

Chasin Tail, that example shows a fully formed and erupted "whistler", very nice.

The only other deer I have seen small whistlers on are the Japanese sikas here in MD, but they are closely related to elk and red deer, which are well known for their ivory whistlers, so it is 100% normal for a sika stag to have these tusk teeth. On whitetails, it is apparently some sort of primitive throwback.

 

[ChasinTail]

I hadn't noticed the teeth or bumps when I prepped the head though they may very well have been there. I had 6 more heads waiting to be prepped so I wasn't looking at them all too hard.

SpiritNugent, thanks for the compliment.

 

[mackgee]

That is really weird, cool looking though!!

 

[arrowhead]

Re: "vampire buck"

Some mighty fine looking skulls there. In all the years I've been doing taxidermy, I've never seen that. Ivory ? or teeth? Interesting.
Sent you an email.

 

[Fly Guy]

Excellent work first of all. That is a unique trophy - I never saw that before. Who knows maybe next year the "whistler" will have to be 1/2" to be legal buck (only in 2B of course)

 

[ChasinTail]

But we'd have to figure out a way to make 'em smile before we shoot!

Thanks for the compliments everyone. All I do is skulls...and I try my best to do them very well.

CT

 

[CW-Egad]

Ive done several deer like these in the past also....the teeth are actually canine teeth, or ivories, just as in elk. The happen in white tail deer about 1 out of 1000 times and are causes by a recessive gene that pops up. Apparently all the deer species have this gene but it is no longer used (thats why its recessive i guess). I have had thes pop up in deer from all over the country. Its really cool.

 

[Falcon Four]

Chasintail,

Your beetles do excellent work!!!! Do the beetles get EVERYTHING up in the nasal cavities as well or do you have to dig around up there? I've got to keep you in mind for next season. I boiled my skull this year, I'm happy with it but I had to remove the nasal bones because I couldn't get all of the meat out.

 

[ChasinTail]

They clean out ever last little piece. Thats one of the perks to using beetles, no nasal bone destruction.