what makes a buck drop his horns?

[Maverick]

So really no one has a clue! 

[huntnnw]

Whats the latest you guys have seen?  Ive seen deer in April on 2 different occasions still sporting racks.  One was by Spokane falls cc, he had a full rack.  Then a couple years ago on beacon hill I saw one with a halfer still hanging on.  It was strange.

was it a muley? not uncommon for them. I saw a 4 pt near Clayton,WA in Early april one year.

[buck man]

Well in my neck of the woods they are about 2-3 weeks later than they were last year. I started finding them at food plots on the 9th of Dec last year. The earliest that I saw any shed this year was the 20th of Dec and at least half if not more are still packing.
They also dont shed the same time every year. I have one buck that shed on the 7th of Jan in 2009, Dec 14th in 2010 and this year he shed on Dec 20th.
I have also heard that it has alot to do with the level of testosterone in them.

1
 
 They are later this year than last

[NWBREW]

I saw a whitetail down at the river off maraski that still had antlers in april. I wanted to follow him till they fell off. 

[billythekidrock]

Consensus in the science world is light.

 

[boneaddict]

So really no one has a clue

I told you the answer.   


The amount of light is what influences hormones and chemicals which triggers when the antlers will fall off(its also responsible for the rut).  If you think about it, light is probably influenced by the weather.   I through health in there because it can make an animal shed earlier or later.   I have seen both deer and elk still packing in May.   Course I have also seen a bull in full velvet in February that never shed his velvet, so stranger things happen.

[billythekidrock]

So really no one has a clue

I told you the answer.   


The amount of light is what influences hormones and chemicals which triggers when the antlers will fall off(its also responsible for the rut).  If you think about it, light is probably influenced by the weather.   I through health in there because it can make an animal shed earlier or later.   I have seen both deer and elk still packing in May.   Course I have also seen a bull in full velvet in February that never shed his velvet, so stranger things happen.

 

[huntnnw]

if it was light than all deer would shed in the same time period year after year... I know one factor is if the buck to doe ratio is way off..lotta unbred does in a given area the rut will last longer and the testosterone keeps flowing once the testosterone stops producing in a buck  a thin membrane begins to form over pedicle and the antler falls off

[trophyhunt]

The new year's antlers pushing the old ones out.

:yeah:jThat's what I've always thought.

[boneaddict]

Many would argue that the rut happens at the same time everyyear as well, though anecdotally I might disagree.   It is also driven by light thus might also be affected by weather as mentioned about the antlers.  Kinda makes biological sense.  Imagine how out of wack things would get from year to year if deer reacted due to soley the weather.   Nature is designed so that a majority of babes are born roughly at the same time.   

Again, anecdotally, I can make observations either way.  It seems like the peek breeding season is roughly the same time every year though, whether we perceive it that way or not.   Essentially does have two cycles to get hit otherwise you see things like spotted calves at the feeding station(yes thats a cow not a doe).   In other words, things do happen outside the norm, but generally we go by the norm. 

Every animal is going to have slight variations.  Kind of like comparing woman and how they handle hormones, men how they react.    Compare me to the student I have right now.  I'm 6 5 275pounds, my student is 5 foot, 85 pounds.   We have different diets, etc.   Try to lump us into one category. 

[Bigtine96]

Search youtube for lowlandmulies and theres a video of steve alderman from muledeercountry.com explaining it very well.

[groundhog]

Light definitly has an huge effect. Scientist have taken bucks and by changing the amount of light they were able to alter when the buck dropped.
I agree with Huntnnw, I think Testosterone plays a bigger roll in the difference from one year to the next. The more an animal participates in the rut the earlier he drops. Usually the older mature animals will shed first but there is always the exception of a big buck or bull that holds on to them for what seems like forever. He wasn't as active during the rut. It is also not that unusual to see a young animal shed early. This animal was active.
Bucks and Bulls do not always shed on the same day each year. I have seen animals drop early one year and then 17 days later the next year. You really never know from one year to the next.  Maybe the reason the animals seem to shed early in some areas and not in others has to do with doe to buck ratios.

[C-Money]

I have saw a spike bull still packing antler in mid April, during turkey season. I looked at a BUNCH of elk last weekend and only saw 4 small bulls. I hope the big boys were some where els, or already dropped.

[Elkslayer]

I have saw a spike bull still packing antler in mid April, during turkey season. I looked at a BUNCH of elk last weekend and only saw 4 small bulls. I hope the big boys were some where els, or already dropped.

The big boys, "Elk" aren't even close to dropping yet.

[boneaddict]

moose...whitetail.....muledeer.......elk

I assume blacktail are somewhere near muledeer.