Missing Tule Elk drop tine found ?

[Glass eye]

Ok, here's the story first and then tell me what you think.
In july of '06 I got a letter from the CA F&G that I drew a tule elk tag so I went up to scout it and saw a nice bull in velvet with double drop tines. He was on private property and a local guy who shed hunts took me there. He later called me and told me that soon after he shed his velvet that he had broken the smaller drop tine. He said that he saw him in the evening with both drops and then when he saw him again in the morning the left drop was gone. He had an idea of where he broke it off at and said that he would look for it in February when the grass would be short from grazing and he begins his shed hunting.
Last week he went to the area where he thought it might be and immediately found this.
Question; Do you think that it looks too old and cracked to be just 7 months old ?
As to the color, if he broke it off fresh out of velvet it would be bone white with a little blood stains and this orange color would be from the red clay.
I'm not convinced that this is the drop tine, What do you think?

 

[tychios]

I'd say could be from the same buck but laying a few years, not the same antler.

 

[fossilman]

Nope......

 

[buckhunter24]

No way that is off from that years rack!

 

[7mm RM]

 

[victorvan13]

it does look like it could be his but not from the same year u took him. looks way to old.
lets see some more pics of that bad boy.

 

[Glass eye]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (horns antlers and big racks @ Feb 24 2007, 08:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

lets see some more pics of that bad boy.[/b]

You can see pics and read the story in an old post in the Elk hunting forum entitled; Home with some ivory, Tule Elk. Last post was 5th November 2006