Hey, this is proshedhunter again, your whitetail fanatic. I saw an eighteen inch ten pointer on Sunday, March 13, and it still had both sides of antlers! I am just curious to know when the typical shedding season is. When is the last time you saw an antlered deer?
Sooooo, “proshedhunter” doesnt know when they shed??? 
Just jerkin your chain, its usually in late January into February 
Generally speaking it varies from animal to animal and their testosterone level. Stress can greatly affect this testosterone level. Stress could be from lack of food, pressure, injury, etc.
I have seen Deer in very late March still holding on tight!
The big ten pointer I was after dropped his antlers Dec 22.:( Thats the earliest I’d seen.
Seen a few around these parts last year in March that still had their racks, Id bet very few if any in April.
Quote:
Generally speaking it varies from animal to animal and their testosterone level. Stress can greatly affect this testosterone level. Stress could be from lack of food, pressure, injury, etc.
I have seen Deer in very late March still holding on tight!
Rob,
I’m beginning to think that it has everything to do with genetics. Nothing more.
I think. A group of deer in a specific area are littered with the same genetics and it has everything to do with when they drop em’. I just don’t understand how a group of deer in way north MN can all drop before mid Jan while a group near the metro hang on til’ late Feb. Then the next guy from SE MN says That he doesn’t waste his time shed hunting until late March.
Maybe one thing I’m missing is not the stress of the winter,, but the stress and intensity of the RUT. MAYBE,, we should be looking further into this and look at buck to doe ratios in these areas. The more balanced buck to doe could mean that bucks need to spend an extensive more amount of energy chasing and breeding does,,and that they drop earlier in the winter!???? Hmmm, could make sense.
Ahh, I just talked myself into some reasoning that makes sense.. Turns out I have a special mind…just sayin’
Dale-
“Don’t call what you see. Call what happens.” I don’t have any clue what it means but i thought it was appropriate to say.
I had my Bushnell Trophy Cam out last week and pulled it Saturday to find videos of four different bucks and one buck had one side and the other 3 still had full head gear! No wonder I can’t find any sheds in that valley! 
I’ll be checking it again this Saturday and if they still have their horns I may have to 
to get them to drop them!
I saw two saturday march 13.
WB5 interesting thought I do believe that may play part in it, but I believe it is more due to drop in testosterone, which is caused by stress like mentioned previously, but also very well could be genetics also????? However I have seen a buck drop in early January on a particular farm and some drop late January all the way through end of March. So this makes me think genetics not such a big part. Ol’ Splitter from ND and his Dad or older brother(Dagger) would shed over a month a part and their genetics were almost exactly the same. In the past I have noticed multiple times a particular buck drop his horns within a day or two from year to year. Splitter shed his horns on Feb 26&28. His Dad/Brother Dagger was January 20-21 & 23rd.
That’s a good way of defusing the genetics thing,,I was going to ask you when Splitter dropped his year over year.. within 2 days is amazing. So do you think he was under the same stress levels each year? Maybe it all has to do with the individual deer?
Rob is rite on the money with this one…TESTOSTERONE LEVELS are the key here! Stress (Food, Habitat, Pressure, Herd balance, etc.) plays a huge roll in how there levels are affected! Let’s not forget that every deer has it’s own personality and these factors may or may not affect each deer differently!! 
3-16-10 
Quote:
3-16-10
WOW…..that thing is huge 
The post wasn’t titled “When do BIG bucks shed thier antlers” 
A couple guys I know went yesterday and the day befor and found 10 of smaller sizes and their saying alot of the bigger bucks are holding onto their antlers longer this year for some reason. They seen 5 nice ones that sill had both sides, just one had one side and the other was gone, a couple were over 140″, one was 170″, so the bigger ones are still holding onto them. Maybe its the amount of nutrition that forms and builds the bone at the skull and around the base of the antler where their forming and a constant supply of nutrition all season befor they harden off in the fall. Maybe part of it is they have to have good solid bone growth in the skull area where the antler attaches to hold them longer. Metabolism is what makes them drop, maybe nutrition and stress and the amount and age of the does is a part of it too.
In Gut’s area , NEVER 
I saw what I believe to be a 120in 8 pointer off 494 near Minnetonka on Saturday afternoon. Antlers where very white and I couldn’t believe they were still hanging on.
they are all over in that area. Saw a 150+ last fall cross minnetonka blvd one block east of 494. his sheds probably fell in someone’s backyard.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
