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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 15,885
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 15,885 |
With the buck to doe ratio being as screwed up as it is in Michigan some does don't get bred until December. At least that's what I've read from Dr. Ozaga (sp?) I've seen dinks carrying half-a-rack into March in Saginaw County. YMMV... Secondary rut, the doe fawns will get bred then. Pretty common. That's beyond secondary rut. First rut here is in September, does won't stand for bucks. The major rut is late October~early November. The third rut is late December, have actually heard of a later rut (rare) in January. The fawns produced from the December/ January rut don't have a high survivability rate for their first winter. Depends on snow cover...
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 67,653 Likes: 75
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 67,653 Likes: 75 |
Depends on nutrition and overall health of the buck.
See them till March often and even one time in early April.
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Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,841
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,841 |
Uninjured, start dropping mid Feb here.
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 18,354 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 18,354 Likes: 2 |
Blacktails around here seem to keep them until about March/April when they start growing new ones.
Carpe' Scrotum
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,296 Likes: 7
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,296 Likes: 7 |
here in PA i see them into april. In NJ depending upon the year I;'ve had good bucks drop them in mid-late january and others hold them past Feb. Antlers still on here in NWNJ
Quit giving in inch by inch then looking back to lament the mile behind ya and wonder how to preserve those few feet left in front of ya. They'll never stop until they're stopped. That's a fact.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,858 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,858 Likes: 10 |
Not unusual here. The biologists put the peak of our rut in the first week of January.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 42,946 Likes: 16
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 42,946 Likes: 16 |
Blacktails around here seem to keep them until about March/April when they start growing new ones. Weekend before I was in the yard just having returned with a trailer full of a ton of gravel.... dozen does come running by.. like something had them spooked.... looked in that direction for a coyote or something... instead come running past me and never even looked at me was a Blacktail buck... he stopped long enough like 20 yds from me to count the 7 points on each antler.... he crossed the creek, the does took off again.... guess the rut is still in full swing down here in So. Oregon...
"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC
“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,611 |
Saw a fork horn blacktail buck yesterday on the Olympic Peninsula, with a doe, still had antlers on both sides.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,045
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,045 |
Still have bucks with antlers on my cams in Northern IN
The beatings will continue until morale improves
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 96,094 Likes: 19
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 96,094 Likes: 19 |
Blacktails around here seem to keep them until about March/April when they start growing new ones. Weekend before I was in the yard just having returned with a trailer full of a ton of gravel.... dozen does come running by.. like something had them spooked.... looked in that direction for a coyote or something... instead come running past me and never even looked at me was a Blacktail buck... he stopped long enough like 20 yds from me to count the 7 points on each antler.... he crossed the creek, the does took off again.... guess the rut is still in full swing down here in So. Oregon... Lets see, thats 7 times dos in Texas so iirc that would be 14 stickers, huh? Nice. Real nice. Id put out alfalfa for that boy chasing does. He needs more than pine needles to pass on those genes. You know what they say: Give Back.
Last edited by jaguartx; 01/23/21.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I Dindo Nuffin
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 5,529 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 5,529 Likes: 2 |
Heck the rut is just starting where I hunt in Alabama.
Life can be rough on us dreamers.
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 15,623 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 15,623 Likes: 10 |
In the SW, late March into April seems to be shedding time for deer and elk. Some do seem to drop early. Have been told that is due to T3 level.
NRA Member - Life, Benefactor, Patron
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,383 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,383 Likes: 2 |
A few years ago saw a really big buck running a field with a couple of doe here in PA at the end of March.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,974 Likes: 11
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,974 Likes: 11 |
The healthier the buck the longer they hold Just the opposite with our mule deer. Big old robust bucks drop in Feb and the wimpy little guys might hang onto theirs into April Had a group of four 4by's just behind the house this morning. Cookie ran out to get a couple images of the largest. Did not get close enough for a portrait, but did hit the shutter a couple times. Not one we had seen around here before. Other three have been regulars, and I can still see them bedded out the back door. A bit nippy out, and they all savoring some sunshine in a spot out of the wind. Have seen elk here still carrying in early May, and some images from Wy feed grounds with both hard and branch velvets in the same frame.
Last edited by 1minute; 01/23/21.
1Minute
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 869
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 869 |
The healthier the buck the longer they hold Just the opposite with our mule deer. Big old robust bucks drop in Feb and the wimpy little guys might hang onto theirs into April Had a group of four 4by's just behind the house this morning. Cookie ran out to get a couple images of the largest. Did not get close enough for a portrait, but did hit the shutter a couple times. Not one we had seen around here before. Other three have been regulars, and I can still see them bedded through out back door. Have seen elk here still carrying in early May, and some images from Wy feed grounds with both hard and branch velvets in the same frame. I have to agree with 1minute. Our larger antlers fall first no matter elk mule deer or whitetail. Maybe regionally it’s different. Interesting anyways. Also I have seen no correlation to health either. Seems mass alone is the biggest factor. I swear our heathy young spike elk don’t shed until the new antler pops the old one off from below. They hold into June often and are healthy as any.
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 16,183 Likes: 10
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 16,183 Likes: 10 |
I've heard that during tough winters bucks tend to drop earlier too.
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 996
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 996 |
Here in Montana, I have seen a few Whitetails that have started to drop antlers. For the most part, February and March the bucks drop their antlers. The fact that a buck made it through the season in Michigan is impressive!
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,650
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,650 |
I found a shed of a nice buck about 3.5 years old in Northern Missouri the day after Christmas. Lots of other bucks holding horns it seemed.
"Jerry is dead, Phish suck time to get a job "
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,973
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,973 |
Interesting responses, it surely varies due to latitude. This is an interesting subject, thanks for responding.
Mark
NRA Life Member Anytime anyone kicks cancers azz is a good day!
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Oh The Drama!
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Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 5,763 Likes: 4
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 5,763 Likes: 4 |
We start shed hunting usually the second week of Febuary! The bucks that come to our place have their antlers, with the exception of a small three point. He only has the drivers side.
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