Shed hunting is an ever-growing activity throughout America. It’s so popular that even non-hunters participate in it. But not all who do understand the ins and outs of the activity, including the details surrounding the timing of the antler drop. Of course, this is an integral component of being successful.
As with many things in the animal kingdom, photoperiod is a driver of certain whitetail processes. That includes antler casting, in part. As daylight lengthens, testosterone also begins to drop, which is the ultimate trigger for antler shedding. It’s the exact opposite process of how deer antlers harden in late summer.
Region and timing of the rut are also factors. In the North, a defined rut means a shorter breeding window. In the South, a longer rut means a prolonged breeding window. Because of these factors, mature northern bucks tend to shed first, followed by younger-age-class deer. In contrast, southern deer herds are opposite. Younger bucks shed first, followed by mature bucks.
Buck-to-doe ratio is another deciding factor. In areas where the ratio is more skewed, and the breeding drags on, bucks in such situations routinely carry their antlers longer. This is due to testosterone levels remaining elevated for a lengthier duration.
The habitat type has a significant impact on the timing of the antler drop, too. Naturally, areas with better winter food sources and better winter bedding cover tend to have healthy herds. Deer in better habitat with elevated nutrition typically experience a later antler drop than those in poorer habitat with fewer and lesser food sources.
For example, several properties that I hunt are surrounded by big agriculture. Another is all big timber, without any ag around it. Generally, the big-timber deer herd casts antlers from late December to mid-February. The other properties tend to do so from early January to mid-March.
Barring significant environmental differences, individual bucks tend to shed at similar times from one winter to the next. Oftentimes, it’s down to the same 48- to 72-hour window. This suggests that genetics play an important role in the antler drop.
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Expected generalities aside, there are certain early drop outliers. While some early droppers (in relation to the greater herd) are genetically inclined to do so, other factors are more often the cause. This list includes disease, injury, old age, unusually harsh winters and nutritional stress.
Unless regulations keep shed hunters from starting sooner, not all shed hunters should wait super late to shed hunt. Some deer will shed earlier. In fact, while it might take until these later dates for the bulk of the herd to drop, some will lose their headgear much sooner. Consider shed hunting in low-pressure areas, such as open food sources, earlier in winter. Wait until later in the antler drop cycle to push into higher-pressure areas, such as bedding areas. Of course, public land areas and private land shared with other hunters might require sooner searches to beat the crowds.
To help gauge how far along deer are in the antler drop, consider glassing from afar. I just did this about 10 days ago in Kentucky. The sample size consisted of eight bucks. That effort revealed that about 50% of the local herd had shed.
Of course, the best and most effective method for timing the antler drop is by running cellular trail cameras. Posting these in high-use wintertime areas is a solid method for determining how far along deer are in this process.
So, for the big question—when do most bucks generally shed? And when should shed hunters start searching for white gold? That answer is different everywhere. Still, western deer typically shed very early, but many of these states have shed hunting start dates. For northeastern, midwestern and mid-southern states, 90 percent of sheds should be on the ground by the first of March. In southern states, 90 percent should be shed by the beginning of April. All being said, late February to mid-March is the best timeline to search for sheds in the northern half of the country. Mid-March to mid-April is the best time to shed hunt in the southern half.
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On average, whitetails shed their antlers annually from December into April. Most jettison headgear during February and March at approximately the same time each winter. Deer living in severe latitudes, north or south, may drop earlier or later. Plus, the strain from a severe winter may push the drop date earlier.
Antlers are actually covered in a blood bearing tissue called “velvet” when in the growth stage. In late summer, blood flow gets restricted due to an annual spike in testosterone, and antlers slowly morph into a hard bone by fall, then they are shed in spring.
As their testosterone levels drop after the rut, the shedding process is triggered. While testosterone is the hormone that triggers these milestones in a buck's antler and breeding cycle, there are other factors that regulate testosterone levels. The main regulator of the whitetail's year is the sun.
Antler growth is incredibly fast. In fact, antlers are the fastest bone growth in the world. Just a few weeks after a white-tailed deer or elk sheds its antlers, a new set begins to grow. Growth is triggered by increasing daylight and subsequent testosterone production.
Answer: Deer that don't shed their antlers are commonly called “stags”. This is usually the result of some kind of injury (or maybe deformity) of the testicl*s. Testosterone plays a role in both antler development and shedding, so injuries can really affect the types of antlers they have.
The testosterone cycle is largely governed by photoperiod, so just as decreasing daylight and increasing testosterone causes antlers to mineralize and shed their velvet, increasing daylight and decreasing testosterone causes antlers to fall off.
When the antlers are shed, a slight amount of blood oozes from the spots where they were attached. Scabs quickly form over the raw pedicels, and before long only scars remain to mark where the antlers were. Once the pedicels are healed, new antler buds form, and the buck begins growing next year's rack.
Horns are bony structures that are found outside the body of animals. They are covered in queratin and some may never grow back again if they are cut. Antlers on the other hand, are different because they fall naturally every year. They are covered by a layer of velvet and grow back every spring.
Each year male white – tailed deer, elk and other members of the deer family shed their antlers after rut or breeding season. Each spring as days lengthen male deer, bucks, begin to grow a new set of antlers.
Most male white-tailed deer live to about 6 years of age. Some live longer, some less. Females tend to live about two years longer than males. The record white-tailed deer was a doe in Georgia that lived 22 years.
If you look at a graph of average antler size of white-‐tailed deer at different ages, it is clear antler size increases until 5 years of age. Average antler size then remains relatively constant, suggesting antler size does not change much after a buck reaches 5 years old. Figure 1.
A buck's antlers grow differently from year to year. The mass and length of the antlers will increase from year to year unless a buck hurts them during the velvet season. Deer's antler size is determined by past genetics and protein input which allows antlers to grow more.
The plea comes in a bid to protect wildlife at a time of year when their resources are scarce, and energy is precious. Collecting even fallen antlers and horns can have a significant negative impact on wild animals as the act of foraging in their habitat puts them at risk of increased stress.
Shed Bucks are often harvested late in the season. These are bucks that have dropped their antlers and only the pedicel or bony base is left on the skull and is usually flush with the hairline. A shed buck is an antlerless deer and is tagged with an either-sex deer tag or an antlerless deer tag.
The removal of antlers, or de-antlering, of deer is performed to help protect other animals and handlers from injury. However, antlers are also removed in the production of antler velvet which is used for medicinal purposes.
Most shed antlers (sheds or drops) don't last long in the woods. Squirrels, mice and porcupines munch them quickly. They seem to chew down the tines first, and then go for the main beams. Actually, bones of any sort don't last long here.
Both sexes finish growing their antlers at the same time but shed them at different times of the year. Typically, males drop their antlers in the late fall, leaving them without antlers until the following spring, while females keep their antlers through the winter until their calves are born in the spring.
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