# check this out!



## bttmline (Apr 7, 2004)

i know this should be in the hunting forum but i wanted everyone to see these. my buddy was hunting monday morning, and came across these in woods. THESE ARE DROPS FROM THIS YEAR. they were on a path about 10 ft apart. there are 14 countable points. i just have to wonder why a buck of this caliber would drop already.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Are we missing the picture?


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## crankus_maximus (Apr 14, 2004)

All that I can say is WOW!


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

Incredible. Maybe that buck somehow got smart enough to drop something that impressive before the lead started flying and he became a no. 1 prime target.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

It is possible that these were sheds from the prior year. I have seen at times for some reason where sheds will remain intact for a very long time. Last year in bow season I found a skeleton of a buck lying in the woods. There was no hide or flesh left at all, just bones. But the most interesting thing about it was that the skull and antlers were still perfect. I took it home and kept it as a western skull mount.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Odd things do happen in the deer world. There were two bucks shot down where I hunt this gun season that were still in full velvet.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

If it were one from this year then something must have happened to the deer to accelerate the shedding process. From what I have read the shedding is a result of lowered testosterone levels from the rut ending. However, that should not be the case yet in any areas. Perhaps he was just getting old and tired of chasing the girls around.


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## James30 (Apr 13, 2004)

Bucks do shed their antlers when their testoterone levels drop late in the season, but what would make a buck like that stop breeding. I have seen bucks killed as early as late December that have already shed thier antlers, but it was a very healthy deer. I think the reason it shed it's antlers that year was because of an very early harsh cold winter. This deer may be injured by either a car or bullet that was not fatal but enough of an injury to turn the buck from breeding to survival mode and he dropped his antlers.


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I would love to harvest something with a rack like that!


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## beatsworkin (Apr 12, 2004)

My buddy shot what he thought was a massive doe on Saturday of gun week. Turned out it was a buck that had shed his antlers.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Though it's unusual, some deer do drop this early. A while back my cousin killed a large body deer in early Dec. that had dropped both antlers. A friend at work this year killed a big 8 pointer opening day of gun season that shed one after hitting the ground. If the deer are stressed, their body tells them it's time to settle down. In the wild, it's most often the stress caused by the rut.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

How could anyone be stressed running around getting to do what these bucks do for a couple of months straight? That is many guys' dream.

Seriously though, injury or stress seems to be the only thing that could make sense as to why they would drop them this early when most areas still have does that have not been bred. It seems to be a pretty common occurence during muzzleloader season and late bow season. Those bucks are probably dropping them like normal. But it would seem to me that if they dropped them in early December that something unusual may have happened to him.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

I saw a nice 5 point half rack last week grazing in the cornstalks. He would have been a great 10 and a pretty mount if he had both sides. 

Like all these guys said stress from something has probably gotten to the early shedding bucks. I've seen a number of bucks over the years missing one side before gun season even started. And we always spot a half rack during the blackpowder season.


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Like evryone else said..If they are sheds from this yr. it was more than likely caused by stress from a injury. I've seen several deer killed in late bow and muzzlelaoder that ended up being bucks that had shed and in all cases they had a prior injury.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

While an injury is indeed possible, it's not necessary for a buck to drop his antlers at this time of year. Just the stress from the rut can, and does, cause some bucks to drop their antlers early. Contrary to popular belief, not all bucks lose their antlers in Feb. They'll drop them anywhere from early Dec. to late April. Every deer is different.


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