Its that time of year to start looking for sheds....well, at least I thought so. Usually by the first week in March, most, if not all, of the bucks have shed their seasons headgear. But this year is a little different. Lately I, and other hunters as well have noticed several bucks with their antlers still attached. This is not the first time I've seen this. The following is my theory on some of the reasons bucks shed when they do. This is strictly my opinion based on over 30 years of studying whitetails in southern Indiana. I have kept log books ever since I started hunting, logging everything a guy could possibly think of and over the years some definite patterns have become obvious ( I recommend every hunter to keep a log. It definitely has helped me to bag some nice bucks). Anyway, I believe there are three key factors that determine when a buck loses his antlers; Nutrition, Health , and Buck /Doe ratio. Now most of the bucks I'm talking about spend most of their time in hardwood timber, bedding and feeding. First Nutrition.....Ive noticed that when the acorn production is low most bucks tend to shed as early as the first week or two of December. With the opposite being true on bumper acorn years, with most bucks hanging on to their racks til well into march and even in to April. When there is good acorn crop the deer around here are fat and healthy. Now nutrition kind of goes along with the acorn crop production in my area, but if its a low acorn year and a buck can get into some exceptional feed that he can eat until things start to green up then he may shed later. If a buck is in poor health or injured this of course can cause him to shed early. And finally, I believe the buck to doe ratio effects shed time also but not as strongly as the other two. When the buck doe ratio is way out of balance, with there being lots of does for the bucks to breed, almost all the bucks get into the breeding pool...even the young 1 1/2 olds. So testosterone levels in most bucks are high. On the other hand when then buck to doe ratio is closer to even, or what we call good, then only the more dominant bucks get to do the breeding, with testosterone levels low in young, non breeders and high in the dominant big boys. Possibly causing the dominant bucks to hang on to their antlers later, that is providing that he is not too run down from rutting activity, then especially a bucks nutrition becomes important to the equation.
Well there you have it....just my opinions. Here is a couple of tips for finding those boney treasures....
Hunt south facing slops.......hunt where you know bucks spend most there time in the late winter/ early spring ( bedding, feeding, trails or routes between)......but wait til you KNOW they have shed or you'll bust bucks out of your area before they drop.......hunt on overcast, cloudy days, I prefer a light rain, makes them stand out more.....lastly carry a shed with you and throw it out there every now and then to get your eyes trained again on what to look for...kind of like finding that first mushroom, once you find one the rest get easier.
Well good luck looking for those amazing antlers!
Next I'll give some thoughts on buck/ doe ratios and doe harvests.
See ya in the woods!
Are you kidding me???? Let me clear this up for you. Bucks hang on to their antlers longer and longer every year because without the headgear, they get mistaken for does. Then the bucks with antlers start trying to sweet talk them bucks without antlers and thats when everything gets all screwed up. Ain't nothin that messes up the breeding more than bucks trying to breed bucks! ha ha!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm kidding. You never know when people might take some of my goofy posts seriously.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is its FRIDAY, and its GROCERY night! Yeeee Hawwww. You know your getting old when grocery night is the highlight of your week!
I'll put my 2 cents worth in on this. And like Brian this is opinion and a little research the buck doe ratio is a large part of when big bucks drop there antlers. If the ratio is about even the larger more dominant bucks do the breeding thus depleting their testostrone levels and they drop their antlers earlier the younger buck who do very little breeding will have a higher testostrone levels thus hanging on to there antlers longer. In higher doe concnetrations and all the bucks are in the breeding pool they should all drop their antlers at about the same time. Testostone is what starts the antlers growing and also plays a role in when they drop their antlers.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Brian I enjoyed reading it and having the opportunity to put my 2 cents worth in.
Jim "Pointerman" Beasley
I agree that the buck doe ratio plays a part in when they shed but in the area in which I hunt I believe that nutrition (acorn production) is more of a deciding factor. Just think about this question..... If the ratio is about even, and the more dominent bucks are doing most of the breeding, wouldnt it make more since for the bucks to hang on to thier antlers later as they would still be doing battle for the late does coming into estrus? Good thing about nature.... what makes since is usually true.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think that its the drop in testostrone levels that trigger shed time more so than the level. Still in my experience acorn production is the key with other factors harder to pinpoint.... especially since most big bucks are individuals with different personalities.....some rut alot more than others....some have large home ranges, some dont....so to generalize them can be tricky at best.