I dont believe there is any rhyme or reason for a deers antler color except for maybe genetics. I was hunting this past fall over a corn field on my private land and watched a herd of does and two very nice deer, one with very dark antlers and one with large pearl white antlers push these does around in the pre-rut. I know that both of these deer are living in the same habitat and using the same food sources so i dont know if those factor into it or not. Just my two cents.