Others believe if a buck lives in an open environment, his antlers will be more bleached -- due to the sun -- than a buck that lives in a thick swamp or pine plantation. Still others believe an antler's color is a product of genetics or the species of tree a buck is rubbing. What-ever the actual reason for an antler's color, Adams points out, "Even within the same environment, you'll always have light, medium, and dark antlers."

CJ's Summary:
Antlers are actually secondary male sexual characteristics, and the fastest-growing bone in the world. If you're regularly finding bucks that drop their antlers early, chances are the area is nutritionally stressed and needs some help. But remember, early casting by dominant bucks in the North is more common than in the South.

Although many variables such as nutritional and social stress, age, disease, and parasites can affect antler drop, many times it is a bodily injury. More often than not, rear leg injuries cause a deformed antler on the opposite side of the injury, whereas front leg injuries can produce a malformed antler on either side.

Sometimes a deer's antlers may not be shed and remain in velvet. This is generally the case with hermaphrodites (does with antlers). This condition is caused by excessive testosterone or the absence of ovaries. One study showed that 1 in 20,000 does grow antlers. With bucks, dysfunctional testes with no testosterone can cause permanent velvet.

Whenever I give a deer seminar, it always amazes me how many hunters get the following question incorrect: "Which antler characteristic always increases throughout the life of a buck: the number of points, inside spread, or antler beam circumference (ABC), measured one inch above the burr?" If you said ABC, you are correct. Even during a nutritionally deprived year, when the number of points or inside spread can be severely compromised, the antler base must form over the previous year's pedicle, thus increasing in size or circumference. In fact, research has proven that next to a deer's teeth, the ABC is the best indicator of its age. Therefore, finding sheds and measuring the ABC can give you valuable information on the age structure of your bucks.