I know axis grow their headgear year round but how long does it take for them to grow a set? I've got a monster that dropped his antlers in October and saw him a few times the last 2 months and he hasn't started growing yet. Is it safe to assume he'll be in hard horns the same time this year as he was last? I've also got a pretty nice one that is growing and he's just starting to split at the caudal, how long before he's done growing?

This is the one that's bald right now.

You should be seeing some small growth right now or your seeing another buck you don't know about that has dropped his antler. Kind of hard to say unless you have really good pictures of the same buck with and without antlers. The picture you have is no bueno.

It is my understanding that all deer species start growing as soon as they drop their antlers. The initial growth is very slow and it might take a month or two before you see anything.

Eddie

Antler growth can be extremely fast. I've seen both WT and Axis grow 3-4" of antlers in one week. And it seems the bigger they are in a year, the faster they grow. At least, on all the properties that I hunt, I can identify what are going to be the WT biggest racks by the end of May or early June.

They start regrowing almost immediately, but as others mentioned, they start slow at first and they finish slow. I figure it takes 4.5 months to look nearly done, and another month or so to finish out and shed the velvet.