What causes a buck to shed its antlers so early?
Opening day in S. Wisc. I shot with my 44 mag revolver what I thought was a big doe with bumps on its forehead or a deformed buck. Turned out it was a buck that had already shed its antlers. The so called bumps I saw was the pronounced forehead on a buck, actually between the eye and where the antlers had been attached. The holes in its hide going to the skull were only an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, so I assume it was a yearling buck. Its wasn't dripping blood or anything but looked if it had happened in the last couple of days since it wasn't scabbed over.
It must be the pits to be a teenager running around the woods during the rut thinking you just might get lucky and then your antlers fall off. Now the bucks are coming up to sniff you. And then even worse somebody snuffs you out with a dirty harry gun.


Dan