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Early spring in Montana....

Was out this past weekend looking around the ranch we hunt here in Montana, lot's of critters around, we have had a very mild winter, too dry in many parts. Bulls were still holding on of their racks.

I saw a 4pt whitetail in north east ohio today.

Was surprised to see it still had bone on its head.

-Jake

I can't even look at these pictures. I would be headed out there in a week for spring turkey and back in the fall for antelope and mule deer but with this pandemic still going and border closed I didn't even apply so another year off the books oh well at least I'll have a few preference points built up for 2022 lol

I have not seen any elk yet but the mule deer and whitetail are in the midst of dropping there's. We have been seeing a lot of deer with one horn. The antelope have dropped their sheaves already.

I have not seen a rack on a whitetail or mulie in sometime. Found some mule deer sheds last weekend. In my experience, whitetails will shed in mid to late January, mulies follow in late Feb to mid March and elk start dropping mid to late March into April.

I gave up on trying to say with any logic WHEN a deer will shed its antlers
I have managed farms with same food cover, and pressure and genetics's and seen exact same deer shed antlers in early DEC and next yr hold them till April?
and see have the deer shed in Jan and rest any where from there till late April

I also see many deer with 1 side shed and the other on for months?
and have seen both come off at same time
seen them hold and shed early in cold heavy snow and low temps yrs as well as hot and warm winters

so, as far as I am concerned anymore, they just shed them when ever with ZERO rhyme
or reason
they come of when they come off I say!
all the books and studies I read all have no exact reason WHY they do
from, doe NOT being bred to blah blah blah
ALL opinions, and not proof to any of them I seen work out yet

I find then when I look and get lucky HAHA!
be it winter spring summer or fall, I have found them all yr round on the ground hung up in tree's and even in rivers and streams/ponds

I for yrs even tried building so called traps to HELP them come off, or built fences around food plots, so they had to JUMP over to get in and out of plots to TRY and help them come off
and again, they just come off where and when ever they wish if you ask me!