Deer Antlers 101

Just like fingerprints, all deer antlers are different. Their uniqueness, along with the annual cycle of antler shedding and regrowth, garners a lot of attention from hunters. However, the process is little understood by most people, many of whom don’t realize antlers are deciduous.

Besides a few cancers, antler is one of the fastest-growing living tissues (while in velvet) in the world. From an archeologist’s point of view, you can make the argument that deer antlers helped the survival of mankind. From tools to broadheads, antlers were essential to early man in applications that may forever remain a mystery and are impossible to explain.

Antlers vs. Horns

Antlers are different than horns. Antlers are made of bone, while horns are made of keratin, a material similar to fingernails. Additionally, when in velvet, antlers grow from the tips, whereas horns grow from the base. Except for pronghorn antelope that shed their horns every year, horned animals do not shed their headgear. And, if a horn is injured, the animal will not regrow another horn. An animal such as a deer or elk, however, can replace and repair antlers on an annual basis.

Factors Influencing Antler Drop

Back in my college days, I was helping at a deer check station in Pennsylvania during hunting season. The region around the check station was best characterized as an ecological disaster area. It had way too many deer for the habitat. At first, I was surprised by the number of shed bucks coming into the check station. Since it was only the middle of December, it didn’t take long to associate physically stressed bucks with early antler drop.

In addition to existing habitat conditions, injury or disease can cause early antler drop. Examples include a buck that is injured during the rut, is battling Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD or Blue Tongue), survived a non-fatal shot or vehicle accident and other scenarios. Whenever a buck’s testosterone levels drop, it will cause his antlers to fall off early.

On the other end of the spectrum are bucks that hang onto their antlers well into the spring. Researchers believe if there are any adult does that weren’t bred during the rut, or any sexually mature fawns, the bucks in the area will maintain their racks longer. In general, female fawns in the South must have a 60-70-pound live weight to breed successfully, while those in the North must have a 70-80-pound live weight. Obviously, early born fawns have an advantage over those born later in the year when it comes to being successfully bred.

Whatever the reason for a buck keeping or dropping his antlers, the key hormone is testosterone. As September rolls around, a buck’s testosterone levels rise, causing the velvet to mineralize (harden). With decreasing daylight hours (photoperiod), testosterone peaks and the rut occurs. After the rut, testosterone levels start to decrease, causing the antlers to fall off.

Research has shown that if a buck has a back leg injury, the antler on the same side will be deformed. When it comes to an injury on a front leg, that could result in a deformed antler on either side, but the deformity generally occurs on the same side as the injury. Interestingly, a study by Gabriel Karns from Auburn University showed that antler deformity due to skeletal injury can be corrected over time. The problem is that many times a buck is harvested before this can occur.

Puzzle Pieces

Roger and Sharon Sigler are the owners of Antler Dogs Inc. The Siglers were the first trainers to specialize in using dogs to find and retrieve shed antlers. Every spring, they get calls from landowners requesting their dogs to search and find sheds on various properties. Even with trail cameras, finding specific bucks that made it through the hunting season can be tough, especially after antler drop.

After doing this work for 25-plus years, the Siglers know almost exactly when to hunt certain areas for sheds. In other words, the vast majority of bucks in specific areas will drop their antlers at a consistent time, year after year.

The Siglers’ findings on when bucks drop their antlers in the wild is also reflected in penned deer. Many bucks will shed both sides of their antlers within minutes, or at most within a couple days of one another, and very close to the same date year after year. It’s always interesting how penned bucks can be seen violently rubbing trees one day and the next day their antlers have fallen off.

I have a good friend who is a surveyor and plots the location of every shed antler he finds using his GPS. The data helps him find specific hotspots every spring and note what bucks survived the hunting season. He also uses the intel to key in on specific areas for the next season.

Many hunters believe shed hunting can help them track specific bucks. Although knowing an area is always important, you should realize a buck’s core area during the late winter is almost always different from where you’ll find him during the hunting season. Remember, a buck’s core area will change over time and change from one season to the next. Statistically speaking, a deer’s core area is defined as the range where it spends 50 percent or more of its time.

Years ago, I worked an area that had a high percentage of mature 5- and 6-pointers. Although I forget the actual percentages of bucks with 3 or fewer points per antler, it was significant.

Obviously, the antler sheds don’t lie, and the hunters were not happy. Although genetics played a major role in this scenario, we focused heavily on shooting adult does, and within no time higher scoring bucks eventually emerged.

Why did this happen? Because we removed a stagnant, doe genetic component where almost no adult does were being harvested. This let new doe DNA enter the gene pool, which in turn increased genetic diversity, allowing for higher-scoring bucks.

C.J.’s Summary

Deer antlers are Mother Nature’s finest work of art. While a buck’s antlers are growing, he’ll go through a brief state of osteoporosis where he draws essential minerals from his skeleton for antler development. Some bucks will drop their antlers early, while others drop them late. Factors influencing the timing of antler-drop include genetics, health, age and injury.

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