Sika skull deformity

I was lucky enough to shoot a sika at the end of September. When I came to prep him, I noticed he has a skull deformity, in that the position of his antlers doesn’t match. What would have caused this, and will it have an effect on it being scored?

It’s an impressive and very interesting trophy, and no it won’t influence it being scored beyond one antler being longer than the other, balanced by the fact that the misalignment looks to have increased the inside span measurement.

As to possible explanations, it’s interesting to speculate. I wonder if this has been caused while the foetus has been developing as the pedicles are certainly very misaligned, yet the antlers look to be relatively balanced. It might be that the animal has suffered and survived some severe head trauma resulting in the right-hand pedicle being pushed sideways. Alternatively, this has been caused by some sort of genetic defect. It might be worth checking if any other animals from the locality have been seen to have a similar defect in the way that the pedicles lie. However, once it’s fully cleaned you may find some evidence of skull damage which would give a clue as to the cause. IW

Early season woodcock are fewer in number and more than likely to be home-bred DEER HEADS

The antlers are clearly misaligned on the skull