No, this isn’t a story about that little shack outback of your neighbor’s house, but rather this is about the antlers that our bucks begin to shed or drop every year about this time. I’m not much into shed hunting, but I have some friends who go out every year searching for dropped antlers. I’m told that even with the heavy snow, finding sheds is still possible since recently dropped antlers will often lay on top of the snowpack. Having a trail cam will also help in locating bucks and, in turn, their sheds. Looking in areas where deer frequent like the sunny side of the mountain, well-used trails, and areas where deer yard up are good places to hunt sheds.

So, what’s the biology behind the yearly shedding of antlers? Increases in the amount of the male hormone testosterone in late August and early September cause blood flow to the antlers to stop; the velvet dries and is eventually rubbed off. Testosterone levels continue to increase throughout the breeding season until they peak in November, which coincides with the peak of the breeding dates. After that period, testosterone levels begin to fall, and when they reach a low enough level, the antlers are shed.

Generally speaking, the shedding of antlers occurs earlier in northern states than in southern states. It also appears that spike bucks tend to shed their antlers sooner than bucks with branched antlers. These factors suggest that age, nutrition, and other factors may also play a role in addition to the lower testosterone levels in the shedding of antlers. A friend of mine, Charles Alsheimer, who unfortunately passed away in recent years, was an excellent deer hunter, wildlife photographer, and lecturer. He also raised deer in New York state. He noted that when a buck’s nutritional requirements are met, and the buck doesn’t have to breed too many does, he will drop his antlers at nearly the same time each year. Several of the bucks he raised consistently shed their antlers within 2 or 3 days of a certain date every year.

The idea for this week’s story came about when I began wondering if there was still a chance that I might see some good bucks roaming about. What’s interesting is that about the same time I was wondering how many bucks might still be carrying antlers, two different individuals showed me photos from their game cameras. One camera recently placed near where I hunted deer this past fall revealed three different bucks, with one sporting a pretty good set of antlers. Where was that buck when I hunted there? When I viewed the other person’s game photos, camera bucks kept showing up — at least five different bucks and a couple with pretty decent racks.

Obviously, there are still a fair number of bucks that haven’t shed their antlers yet. Some bucks may even go into March before dropping their antlers. A number of years ago, I was out doing some photography when I drove by a field with a deer standing in the middle about 75 yards away. When I looked closer to my surprise, it still had an antler on one side, but this was the first week of April!

While the shed hunters are out scouring the woods for dropped antlers, there are a lot of us who are still hoping for a chance to spot a few deer still carrying a good set of antlers.