Antler size is an indicator of a buck's health, nutrition, and age, not necessarily dominance. Injuries to a deer can result in abnormally shaped antlers, such as drop tines or even a third antler.

Antlers on deer grow new each year and there are a variety of reasons why they may have a unique shape, drop tine or hole. “Antlers are pretty awesome,” Jeannine Fleegle, wildlife biologist for the ...