dropping antlers at the end of April??

[bowhunting23]

I was out turkey hunting at my food plot and found a shed to a young deer. I know it just dropped because I hunted my food plot one day then went back the next day where I always walk on the trail and it was laying there. Dropping antlers at the end of April?? people say that they have seen deer that have nubs where new antlers are growing.

[jmarriott]

I know that mice and rats ect eat horn. I saw my first groundhog in the field yesterday could such a critter carry a horn maybe. A late born male deer might have grown horns late and shed late also. Normally a very small shed.

I have not seen antlers much after feb. Maybe I was just seing does.

[petey]

Saw a few bucks in IL this past weekend with 4-5" nubs already. They're gonna be nice ones for sure. I typically don't start seeing velvet until into later part of June in PA. Seems kind of late for deer to be dropping horns...but you never know.

[bowhunting23]

yes it does seem late for deer to be dropping horns. When my grandpa raised deer he said his deer always dropped there horns after april fools day. but like i said ive walked this same trail in my food plot for the last week turkey hunting and just now found it. It dont have any chew marks at all where a squirrel might have chewed on it. Im 99% sure that it was just dropped. and ive antler hunted all around my food plot (not saying that i didnt miss any antlers) but if a squirrel would have carried it out in my food plot im pretty sure id be able to see marks on it.

[Jonesy]

A couple weeks ago i saw a little buck with one side of his rack. I see bucks every year that always amaze me that they still have their rack on or one side still on much later then you'd think. I've tried to figure it out to a science, but just can't seem to do it. I've found shed antlers that were fresh around new years and find fresh ones first part of April in the same area. Too many variables as far as I see it, age, nutrients of their food, weather, health of the deer........could be about any dog gone thing.

[gd357]

I've seen deer killed in December that had shed their antlers, and I've seen them with both sides still attached as late as April. There are probably too many variables to identify and quantify how they affect antler loss such as: Nutrition, temperature, geographic location, date of the peak of the rut (hormones are involved), etc.

gd