This question comes up quite a bit when I am at hunting shows. " Do deer shed their antlers earlier when acorns are scarce and that part of the diet is gone ?"

Deer shed their antler in response to the drop in rutting hormones, I doubt that diet plays that big a part.

I agree that part of the reason deer shed is due to hormones.But I believe there is more to it than that.Lack of nutrition is another key but acorns are only part of there diet.Stress from inclimate and prolonged foul weather is another key piece to the puzzle.Add injurys from rutting activity and hunting pressure and the deer will shed early.

This is one of my favorite subjects. Last year on April 21st I had a 170" buck walk past with both sides still intact.

nutrition has alot to do with it.

Most acorns are long gone by the time bucks shed their antlers. Lots of natural forage plants are utilized by deer other than acorns, many of them have higher nutritional value than acorns.

In years of bumper acorn crops 1 of the first places I look for sheds are white oak flats.Sometimes with great success and sometimes not but its always a great place to start.