I live out in the country in Tennessee and have critters on my place. There are a couple of young bucks, a 4 and a 5 point, that have been coming in since last fall. These guys still haven't lost the antlers yet. It's almost April, and they're the only hard horned bucks around!! To my experience bucks generally lose their antlers around the end of February. So here's the question, has anyone seen bucks still carrying their antlers this late before? ???
Yes. I have seen bucks with antlers while turkey hunting and our seasons typically don't open till mid-April.
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Quote from: Happy on March 27, 2024, 05:53:44 PM
Yes. I have seen bucks with antlers while turkey hunting and our seasons typically don't open till mid-April.
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I've only seen it a couple of times. Thought it was just an anomaly.
I would say it is a little unusual. Like hair, some just seem to be able to hold on to it a little longer than others.
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Seen one the other day here in Penna. Had 5 on one side and dropped or lost the other set sometime earlier in the year.
Weird, here in NJ 2 weeks ago, (2) 8 point bucks still have their horns....
Yep.
Some of the bucks here will shed in early December. And then I've seen them carrying into early April. It's just individual to the animal.
Odd you ask this. Saw a 3 on one side buck last night on the way home.
I saw 3 different bucks with antlers last week in PA. We were out shed hunting last weekend and we only found 2. We used a shed dog for extra help and still only found 2.
Interesting. Thanks for the replies fellas. :icon_thumright:
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Most of TN had an incredible acorn crop last fall, which, combined with a relatively mild winter, had bucks coming through winter in really good shape. It's not uncommon at all for me to see bucks into April still carrying their antlers, but this year there seems to be a whole lot of them still carrying, more than usual.
I've seen our deer still chasing does in March too, so you never know.
Saw a big buck (for our area) Sunday night and he still had both sides. Usually already shed.
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Most are losing or have lost them by now where I live . But February would be pretty early. March is about right.
I've seen them drop as early as the week between Christmas and New Year's and I've seen them still have them in April. I'm not going to pretend to know why.
Photo of last buck with horns was taken 18MAR; on a lease in GA
I have seen more bucks with horns still on this year as well. Theres still red oak acorns around in wv an pa where i have been scouting. Couple that with the easy winter we've had
Is my theory as to why.
They are holding them longer in my area as well. I saw a buck with one horn day before yesterday. About a week ago, wife saw 3 bucks. All 3 had both sides!
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Some will keep antlers till the velvet pushes them off. Sometimes if a bucks been injured or is very old they might not drop and I've heard antlered does don't drop
Some still in Iowa and Pa
Yes Sir. A few years back I was checking the area around our lease and saw 3 bucks in 2 days. One really nice buck, but one buck had one side off and this was end of March in OH.
I Still some packing as of today in Ky.
Young eight point about a week ago in the North Carolina mountains. But they do tend to hold longer here.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240330/69ab9922a5434246a82b6401b41b140c.jpg)
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Most of the time the younger deer will hold on to their antlers a lot longer that mature bucks will. I had a guy tell me one time that the mature deer shed their horns soon as they are done breeding for the year and the testosterone drops. I don't know if there is any truth to that or not but I've noticed that the milder the winter, it seems like the earlier the mature deer shed
I know very little about deer... If they drop later, do they start growing later as well? I thought that the new antlers growing in pushed the old ones out?
We had a 3.5 yr old 8 point carrying antlers in the last week of April last year with another buck that had shed and already had buds starting in the same trail cam pic. No obvious reason for the difference given the same food sources and location.