Buck or doe?

When 13-year-old C.J. Nowling of Jay, Florida took aim at a deer earlier this month, the boy thought he was about to bag his first buck. The whitetail had a decent rack - six points - not bad for a first tier.

But when Nowling and his grandfather started to dress the deer, they realized that the youngster had really shot an antlered doe. Nowling had the deer inspected by the a veterinarian and a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission technician who confirmed that the 110-pounder was indeed a female, despite the fact that it had a hard, well-polished rack.

According to the FWC, in rare occurrences, female deer do develop antlers, which are usually malformed and stay in velvet. But Nowling deers, a doe with hard, polished antlers (typical of a buck) was indeed a rare occurrence.

Nowling shot the deer on a 2,000 acre tract of land near Escambia County called the Downey Ranch. The eight grader saw several deer that afternoon, but when the six pointer stepped out of the woods, he dropped it from 175 yards away.

Later, when Nowling's grandfather was helping dress the deer, he noticed something unusual and said "Houston, we have a problem," according to the FWC.