Legal Buck

December 29, 2022

Question: This past deer season, my hunting friends and I got into a heated debate about whether the buck in the photo would be legal to harvest. What would CDFW say? The photo is from a trail camera on a ranch where we have permission to shoot.

Answer: Great question! Thanks for the photo. Yes, the buck – or male deer – in your photo is legal to take during deer season with a proper deer tag for the zone and a valid hunting license. A California deer tag that allows the harvest of a buck has a minimum requirement of a buck that is forked horn or better. California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 351 defines a forked-horn buck as a “male deer having a branched antler on either side with the branch in the upper two-thirds of the antler. Eyeguards or other bony projections on the lower one-third of the antler shall not be considered as points or branches.”

While the deer in your photo is missing an antler on one side, it clearly has a branched antler on the other side with the branch in the upper two-thirds of the antler, which makes it legal. If the buck is still out on the landscape, he will likely look much different next season. Male deer shed their antlers annually and regrow them through the spring and summer. Deer antlers get bigger each year so this should be a fine-looking animal if you’re lucky enough to encounter it next deer season.