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redblood

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Sorry for the low quality. It was very foggy and misty this
Morn. Picture was taken today-june 3. Seems like an unusual amount of growth for this time of year. Deer usually stay in velvet here till about sept 15th or so. Is this an early bloomer or is he likely to grow a lot of antler.
 

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I've seen a lot of antler growth already this year which surprises me too!! I was seeing some bucks still sporting racks into late February. I'm not sure what's going on around here. I'm in upper East TN.
 
cm1021 said:
I've seen a lot of antler growth already this year which surprises me too!! I was seeing some bucks still sporting racks into late February. I'm not sure what's going on around here. I'm in upper East TN.
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Improved nutrition and/or health. How long bucks hold antlers is heavily influenced by their condition post-rut. The better shape they're in, the longer they hold antlers.
 
Difficult to explain that much antler at this time of year. It's hard to tell from the picture but I have seen deer that had a hormonal issue keep antlers in velvet the whole time. Specifically I have seen deer in parks and zoos that are castrated always have antlers in velvet that never Harden and are never shed. Could be?
 
rifle02 said:
Difficult to explain that much antler at this time of year. It's hard to tell from the picture but I have seen deer that had a hormonal issue keep antlers in velvet the whole time. Specifically I have seen deer in parks and zoos that are castrated always have antlers in velvet that never Harden and are never shed. Could be?
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If this were a "cactus rack" buck, his antlers would be very oddly shaped. In essence, extremely nontypical. I just think this is a buck that started early. Was probably already growing velvet antlers by mid-April.
 
@fulldraw said:
IMO, wet springs produce the best antlers.
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Outfitters we've hunted with out west have always said the same thing...in their climate (Wyoming/Montana) they notice more mass on the bucks taken in the fall in the years where the spring/summer rain fall is normal or above average...verses drought years.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Outfitters we've hunted with out west have always said the same thing...in their climate (Wyoming/Montana) they notice more mass on the bucks taken in the fall in the years where the spring/summer rain fall is normal or above average...verses drought years.
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In the near-desert environment of West and South TX, antler growth is directly correlated to rainfall. The wetter the summer, the larger the antlers.
 
I see dozens of bucks everyday in the crop fields around my house. Most of the bucks have 3 or 4" nubs forming right now. This one just kind of jumped out at me. We had lots mature bucks we videoed after season, 3.5 and 4.5s. So deer with lots of antler doesnt surprise me. Im just not accustomed to seeing one deer so much more advanced than the others, so early in the game
 
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I'm always amazed at the wide variety of "antler hardening" dates I see on a single property. And by "antler hardening," I'm referring to the time at which antlers stop growing and begin to calcify (turn to bone). This can be seen when the growing tips of the tines stop being bulbous and narrow down to a point (but are still in velvet). In TN, some bucks are already calcifying by August 1. Others won't start calcifying until September 1.
 
redblood said:
Sorry for the low quality. It was very foggy and misty this
Morn. Picture was taken today-june 3. Seems like an unusual amount of growth for this time of year. Deer usually stay in velvet here till about sept 15th or so. Is this an early bloomer or is he likely to grow a lot of antler.
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Agree that he's got an early start and is likely to grow an impressive amount of antler....or at least it appears he's going to be wide! hopefully you get more pics and can keep us posted.....if you nickname bucks I guess you can call him "bloomer".....or you can go with a Indian name and call him "wide-one"...lol
 
BSK said:
I'm always amazed at the wide variety of "antler hardening" dates I see on a single property. And by "antler hardening," I'm referring to the time at which antlers stop growing and begin to calcify (turn to bone). This can be seen when the growing tips of the tines stop being bulbous and narrow down to a point (but are still in velvet). In TN, some bucks are already calcifying by August 1. Others won't start calcifying until September 1.
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Fascinating....I've got to pay closer attention to when the growing tips of the tines stop being bulbous and narrow down to a point....very interesting.
 

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