Anyone sheding antlers yet?

The buck from my avatar just shed his right side today, i also found one in our preserve on the 29th of Dec. pic to follow

This far South they shed March-April. We still see antlered deer in turkey season.

I have a 1.5 old buck that thinks he lives with my deer even though he really lives outside the fence. Lost both sides already but we have had a abnormally cold winter this year i thought that may have had something to do with it.

I am in central PA, i have 9 antlered bucks, they all still have their racks.

I have three that have lost one or both sides, but still 20 something that have both sides. Two of the three have had recent health issues, so that would explain their losses, but I think like Trigger said, it's been really cold. I'll be anxious to see what happens on these earlier-dropped bucks.

I am with Trigger also on this one for Oklahoma we have had a hard winter a couple of our bucks have lost their antlers and I have seen a few of the wild deer missing them also .

We have not lost any on the farm yet but we only have 4 antlered bucks and 9 button bucks. Last year i cant remember for sure either the first one shed on Feb. 24th or the last one shed out on the 24th. Although on the Cuddeback i have several pictures of half racks and others with no antlers and bleeding pedicles.

It seems that the wild deer shed before the penned deer...I've always thought that it was a stress issue. Mine usually don't shed until March and it's been below zero here for a few weeks.

I have a yearling that has shed his left side, and have a buddy that got a trail cam picture of a good buck that shed his left side also.

About 2% of our bucks have lost their antlers.

I have found out cold weather only plays a small part of when a buck looses it’s antlers. Feed and stress plays the biggest part especially in captive deer. If it is sick, injured or moved the buck is stressed. I have found threw experience if I move Bamby from his one acre pen where he is familiar with his surroundings food, water, hay and the routine of daily life going on outside of his pen. And move him into a large hunting area in December with ample feed. Bamby will loose his antlers with in four weeks. If I move him the first of January he will shed in two weeks or less. Bucks moved in late season find a sunny southern slope and seem to loose their desire to eat as compared to when they were in their pens. I figured this out after years of experience and calling the owners of Bamby and they all said the same thing. Bamby always lost his antlers in Feb, March or even April.

If we move a shooter into a hunting area in early fall they seem to keep their antlers longer as I feel they have become familiar to their surroundings.



If any one isn’t bored by now and wants to know why wild deer usually loose their antlers early when there is a banner year for acorns. I will also tell you what 35 years as a logger and avid hunter has thought me.

Cold weather has every thing to do with it and then again nothing

Well, the deer on our breeding farm still have their antlers - those we didn't saw. We have picked up a few sheds on the hunting ranch though.

There beginning to drop!!

five have dropped so far, two half-ers running around.

Rancher shed last Wednesday. He was acting funny, not holding his head up for a coupla days. Rod was starting to get concerned. I called him to see what was up . Rod was in the pen with his cell. He told me Rancher still had his head down. Then he said oh one side just shed ....the other side just shed ! Well he is holding his head up kust fine now ! So he saw both sides fall right off and he grabbed the sheds and headed for his tape measure

How did he score?

Thanks Matt, I must be getting old He scored 260" gross and 230 typ. Rod did put a straw on W. E. this week seems as he finely scored him. I don't remember the details of his score but he did have a G-2 that was 14-4/8"Rod was glad he shed so he can put his antlers on the scoreing table at NADEFA in March.

button bucks and adults started shedding last week

I have more adult bucks than ever this year (9 of them) and I still havent had one shed yet, If they do shed now i wont find them in the 30" of snow anyway. I am getting anxious to score a few of them, I am sure it will be any day now.

One of the yearlings finally shed his left side last week, the right side is still holding on, i am anxiously waiting for this guy to drop his so I can get a score, he went 100" as a yearling last year.

All of the buck shed antlers the end of December through to the middle of January. Most have established buttons now. I've been selecting stock that shed early as this tends to add a few more days/months to the growing cycle.



Now I just have to figure out how to get these name brand, fence crashing deer to grow antlers somewhere close to their advertised specifications. They didn't come with any instruction manuals on how to tune em' up.