Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Bucks Shedding already....????

deeraddict

deeraddict

PMA Member
I have had a few guys a work tell me they have seen shed bucks during shotgun season, One group even shot one, and another shot a buck whos one antler came off when they grabbed it to get a look at him. Any one else seen any of this already?
 
I hear it every year. Most times I suspect that the buck is sick, injured or just completely stressed out from the rut.
 
JNRBRONC said:
I hear it every year. Most times I suspect that the buck is sick, injured or just completely stressed out from the rut.
Click to expand...


Good points. I never even thought about stress or sickness. Was thinking more that biological timing was causing it.
 
I'd also suspect that it'd be due to stress or less than ideal health....heck, they're still breeding some.
 
Couldn't agree more, Kaare. I watched a decent buck chasing a doe two nights ago with two smaller bucks in tow. It happens every year, some bucks shed earlier than others ... some others shed even sooner yet for the reasons that have already been mentioned.

-Longspurs-
 
just wait a few weeks and people will be screaming that the bucks are shedding everywhere. Meanwhile I will still see bucks carrying in April.
 
My buddy watched a buck 3 days ago with one side and then last night he dropped the other. Its a 150s 8 pointer. He is gimped though as suspected with puss coming out of his neck.
 
yea, I agree stress as well as a long hard rut can bring on early shedding. Two of the bucks we shot first season shotgun were really thin missing lots of hair on ther backs and just plain rutted out. They were both mature bucks too! But I've also seen alot of buck carry them till april.
 
deeraddict said:
Good points. I never even thought about stress or sickness. Was thinking more that biological timing was causing it.
Click to expand...
Shedding is controlled by hormones. As mentioned, there are many things that can upset the hormonal balance in an animal: stress, fatigue, diet, injury, illness, and other factors. Considering the sheer number of bucks in Iowa, 178 shed bucks reported harvested doesn't seem too far out of line to me.
 
I will have to respectively disagree with you fellas comments.

It has come to my attention hunting over the years that the whitetails in Iowa are evolving. Every year, more and more of the whitetails seem to be shedding their antlers earlier. I believe the smarter bucks will shed their antlers before all the gun hunters can get cracks at them. Think about it... if they look like a doe, they can blend in with the crowd. Over time, I think you will start seeing more and more bucks shedding their antlers early... even in the end of November.

If we could get a gun season into early November, then I think we can head off this evolutionary path before it gets unmanagable. What do you guys think?
 
DANNYB0Y said:
I will have to respectively disagree with you fellas comments.

It has come to my attention hunting over the years that the whitetails in Iowa are evolving. Every year, more and more of the whitetails seem to be shedding their antlers earlier. I believe the smarter bucks will shed their antlers before all the gun hunters can get cracks at them. Think about it... if they look like a doe, they can blend in with the crowd. Over time, I think you will start seeing more and more bucks shedding their antlers early... even in the end of November.

If we could get a gun season into early November, then I think we can head off this evolutionary path before it gets unmanagable. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Huh? :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom