Is a buck with one or both broken antlers out of the ''game'' or will he still breed or even fight if he has the chance? I would think yes, if other big bucks are scarce.

[ITHACASXS]

Is a buck with one or both broken antlers out of the ''game'' or will he still breed or even fight if he has the chance? I would think yes, if other big bucks are scarce.

[Gary Devine]

He doesn't stand a chance fighting against bucks with antlers.
He can breed if he finds a lone or a young doe.
Sometimes even a doe can be very picky in choosing a mate to breed.

[deadeyedick]

A buck without antlers would be handicapped but yes indeed he will fight. You should know that most of the fighting between bucks is more of a shoving match with size and strenth more important than antler size. Deer do not breed with their antlers. OUCH ! so it doesn't matter one way or the other. Any buck will breed a doe if he gets the chance.

[jhjimbo]

He can probably find a receptive doe to breed, especially if the number of does way outnumbers the number of bucks.

[FirstBubba]

IMHO, yes.
Younger, smaller bucks shy away from engaging older, larger, more aggressive bucks, but it doesn't mean they won't.
Deer with smaller racks have been known to "whip" deer with large racks simply because of what might be termed the "inside game". Instead of engaging the bigger bucks rack, the smaller rack ends up in to face of the larger deer, causing the larger animal to "back off".

As deer mature both in body mass and rack, they become more aggressive.
As their age begins to advance, they still have the aggressive "instinct", but are less willing to engage younger deer, simply due to reduced stamina and strength.

Kinda like us old farts! LOL!

"Takes me all night long to do what I used to do all night long!"

"I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was!"

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

I once shot a small bull elk that was crippled in one front leg. It had been shattered the previous year (probably hit by a vehicle) but completely healed, though badly deformed. Didn't slow that guy down as he had a harem of half dozen cows and calves.

[Guest]

He should be killed, if he has only one antler, because the lack of one antler actually gives him an advantage. If he turns his head right, he can put a tine through another bucks eye, thus killing or blinding the deer with both antlers. I once killed a big buck with only a single long spike for a left antler, and the landowner was very glad to have him out of the herd, as there was a good possibility he could have killed another buck.
As to having both antlers broken off, I am sure he could breed, if left alone by the other, more aggressive bucks. That would be dependent upon the doe population, and the amount of territory available.

[99explorer]

When doe populations are not controlled, lesser bucks have more opportunity to breed, which tends to reduce the overall quality of the herd.

[asrenstrom]

crm3006 - interesting point on the dangers of a one spiked deer. I am posting a couple of long spikes and one-spike pictures i got last fall in the trophy room now, I could see these as being pretty dangerous to eye-gouging if they were to get in fights. I guess I always assumed these smaller deer would back off from any serious fighting, but the one spike clearly got into a decent tussle to snap off one of his spikes.