I have been reading Jefferies on Red Deer (1871) again to try to educate myself about the mysteries of antlers. There is quite a lot of history to the terminology and not always agreement as to the correct terms. You begin to feel like a novice student of heraldry.
This one, weighing two and a half pounds, found this morning in a favourite 'secret' spot, seems to have four obvious points plus what I would call a spur between the top two. If the spur qualifies as a point then the beast is a ten pointer (five on each side) but I'm being cautious and calling him an eight pointer until I find more authority. I think the spur could be what Jefferies calls an 'offer'. The main stem of the antler is called the beam.
The lowest point is the brow point. Then comes the bay point and above this the tray. Older beasts have a further level of points. Things become further complicated by the fact that unusual formations can happen. Those writing about these things are not always consistent, leaving one sometimes in doubt even whether they are talking about the total number of points or referring to just one side!!
1 comment:
WOW, congratulations on finding an antler. I've heard that it is difficult to actually find antlers once they fall off the deer.
Is this the first antler you've spotted on the ground, or have you spotted others?
Post a Comment