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RE: This one puzzles me a bit!
Are you sure about that Duke? There are several conditions that can influence when a buck will shed his antlers. For one, social status can change. Within a healthy herd, dominant bucks will have been replaced every 2-3 years generally. Dominant bucks shed far sooner than subordinate bucks because of the stresses their body endures in becoming that dominant buck. A 1.5 yr. old 6 pt. may not shed his first rack well into February or March. However, once he becomes the main man in his land, he'll shed far sooner..let's say January 10th for example. Also climate conditions play a role as well. A harsh cold snap or extended periods of snow cover or any other weather related incident that causes stress on the body will force him to drop early. If you can show me some documentation or research that says bucks will generally drop around the same day within a few days I will stand corrected. As far as documentation. I've read it much more than once in my lifetime. But.. because you ask... here's an article written by Alsheimer on the subject. Although he only includes mature bucks in this article... La Rue has documented it for years with several age groups. The Blood of Autumn.. Charles J. Alsheimer. Deer and deer hunting magazine. Sorry no link. I just no longer do another mans searching. I've wasted too many hours doing this over the past. One last note.. I too notice the same occurances. And fully believe its mostly true. However mother nature doesn't follow a written book and each whitetail is different from the next. This way.. the deer survives. It would be easier to hunt deer that all behaved the same way.. wouldn't it..?? |
RE: This one puzzles me a bit!
quote: Are you sure about that Duke? There are several conditions that can influence when a buck will shed his antlers. For one, social status can change. Within a healthy herd, dominant bucks will have been replaced every 2-3 years generally. Dominant bucks shed far sooner than subordinate bucks because of the stresses their body endures in becoming that dominant buck. A 1.5 yr. old 6 pt. may not shed his first rack well into February or March. However, once he becomes the main man in his land, he'll shed far sooner..let's say January 10th for example. Also climate conditions play a role as well. A harsh cold snap or extended periods of snow cover or any other weather related incident that causes stress on the body will force him to drop early. If you can show me some documentation or research that says bucks will generally drop around the same day within a few days I will stand corrected. RockinChair.. that's where I stated (as long as he has health.) I thought that was self-explanatory. |
RE: This one puzzles me a bit!
ORIGINAL: dukemichaels Are you sure about that Duke? There are several conditions that can influence when a buck will shed his antlers. For one, social status can change. Within a healthy herd, dominant bucks will have been replaced every 2-3 years generally. Dominant bucks shed far sooner than subordinate bucks because of the stresses their body endures in becoming that dominant buck. A 1.5 yr. old 6 pt. may not shed his first rack well into February or March. However, once he becomes the main man in his land, he'll shed far sooner..let's say January 10th for example. Also climate conditions play a role as well. A harsh cold snap or extended periods of snow cover or any other weather related incident that causes stress on the body will force him to drop early. If you can show me some documentation or research that says bucks will generally drop around the same day within a few days I will stand corrected. As far as documentation. I've read it much more than once in my lifetime. But.. because you ask... here's an article written by Alsheimer on the subject. Although he only includes mature bucks in this article... La Rue has documented it for years with several age groups. The Blood of Autumn.. Charles J. Alsheimer. Deer and deer hunting magazine. Sorry no link. I just no longer do another mans searching. I've wasted too many hours doing this over the past. Like I said.. I havent read the article.. but I still find that hard to believe with so many variables that can come into play. Social structure being the biggest with possibility that a once dominant buck will drop his antlers at the same when he was subordinate as he will when he was dominant. I look forward to reading the article. Thanks for the info. |
RE: This one puzzles me a bit!
I misunderstood you as well dukemichaels, as even though dominance or stress may change, a buck can still be in good health. Perhaps in a changeless environment in which there are no stresses or unforseen disturbances in the basic biological cycle of the buck, then the antlers will be dropped annually around the same time. However, as Lee Rue says, "The one thing we have learned is that many different factors determine the timing of the casting of a buck's antlers."  |
RE: This one puzzles me a bit!
ORIGINAL: oakcreek ORIGINAL: TJF ORIGINAL: oakcreek ORIGINAL: TJF Fawnbucks shed their buttons just likeany racked buck. While we have never found a button... we have found winter killed fawns that had shed their buttons. Antelope sheds the sheath ( outside layerof the horn ) but not the whole horn to my knowledge.It is weird. Tim This must be a new strain of antelope!! Tim Tim |
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