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Antler Color #5978546 10/15/15 01:33 PM
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titan2232 Offline OP
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I've always liked the dark antlered bucks. Anyone have any ideas on what makes one antler darker than another?



Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978587 10/15/15 01:56 PM
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Iv always herd its from blood stain and time of progression when they start scraping it off...

Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978589 10/15/15 01:57 PM
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Or I guess what type of tree they are choosing to rub on...

Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978595 10/15/15 02:04 PM
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Going to get a lot of different theories on this one. Some will say it is genetics. Some will say it is from the type of tree or brush they rub on when shedding the velvet. Some will say it is from the type of feed/mineral they eat. Some will say it is due to age, older bucks have darker antlers. Some will say it is the location they live in-more cover vs canopy to allow sunlight to bleach the antlers lighter in color. Some will say it is from the blood stain. Some will say it is from an older buck not rubbing his antlers much all to shed the velvet, this allows the blood to stain better. I have seen same age bucks in breeding pens all eating the same feed and rubbing on the same trees/brush or lack of any that will have different colored antlers. The only difference they might have is genetics. I have seen white colored and darker colored antlers in Western Kansas. I have seen very dark antlers and lighter colored antlers in South Texas in the same herd. If sunlight bleached out anlters then the deer in heavier canopy should have very dark antlers, but they don't always have darker antlers in heavier canopy. popcorn


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978597 10/15/15 02:05 PM
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I always figured it was from different levels or different types of nutrients like yard eggs having darker yolks than store-bought

Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978600 10/15/15 02:06 PM
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I have always heard the very white antlers means they are jacked up on protien.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: stxranchman] #5978604 10/15/15 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Going to get a lot of different theories on this one. Some will say it is genetics. Some will say it is from the type of tree or brush they rub on when shedding the velvet. Some will say it is from the type of feed/mineral they eat. Some will say it is due to age, older bucks have darker antlers. Some will say it is the location they live in-more cover vs canopy to allow sunlight to bleach the antlers lighter in color. Some will say it is from the blood stain. Some will say it is from an older buck not rubbing his antlers much all to shed the velvet, this allows the blood to stain better. I have seen same age bucks in breeding pens all eating the same feed and rubbing on the same trees/brush or lack of any that will have different colored antlers. The only difference they might have is genetics. I have seen white colored and darker colored antlers in Western Kansas. I have seen very dark antlers and lighter colored antlers in South Texas in the same herd. If sunlight bleached out anlters then the deer in heavier canopy should have very dark antlers, but they don't always have darker antlers in heavier canopy. popcorn


But I win grin

Last edited by Navasot; 10/15/15 02:08 PM.
Re: Antler Color [Re: Navasot] #5978611 10/15/15 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted By: Navasot
Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Going to get a lot of different theories on this one. Some will say it is genetics. Some will say it is from the type of tree or brush they rub on when shedding the velvet. Some will say it is from the type of feed/mineral they eat. Some will say it is due to age, older bucks have darker antlers. Some will say it is the location they live in-more cover vs canopy to allow sunlight to bleach the antlers lighter in color. Some will say it is from the blood stain. Some will say it is from an older buck not rubbing his antlers much all to shed the velvet, this allows the blood to stain better. I have seen same age bucks in breeding pens all eating the same feed and rubbing on the same trees/brush or lack of any that will have different colored antlers. The only difference they might have is genetics. I have seen white colored and darker colored antlers in Western Kansas. I have seen very dark antlers and lighter colored antlers in South Texas in the same herd. If sunlight bleached out anlters then the deer in heavier canopy should have very dark antlers, but they don't always have darker antlers in heavier canopy. popcorn


But I win grin

And your prize is in the mail... rofl


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978619 10/15/15 02:14 PM
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I have always wondered that. I have both types on my place. I have no idea what it is, but have to assume genetics since I have both.


Originally Posted by Russ79
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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978666 10/15/15 02:35 PM
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Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?

Re: Antler Color [Re: 8pointdrop] #5978677 10/15/15 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: 8pointdrop
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?


That's a great question and I don't believe I've noticed much difference in a single deer from year to year.



Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978679 10/15/15 02:40 PM
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Hey, if we didnt have anecdotal evidence, we wouldnt have anything to talk about around here. How could we possibly have pissing contests if there were absolutes when it comes to deer attactants, human piss, direction of the wind, a deers nose that can smell 9 differnt things at once, how high in a tree you have to be and on and on. How many less threads would there be if all this stuff was known without a doubt? roflmao


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Re: Antler Color [Re: 8pointdrop] #5978681 10/15/15 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted By: 8pointdrop
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?


yup

Re: Antler Color [Re: shadams] #5978682 10/15/15 02:42 PM
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Originally Posted By: shadams
Hey, if we didnt have anecdotal evidence, we wouldnt have anything to talk about around here. How could we possibly have pissing contests if there were absolutes when it comes to deer attactants, human piss, direction of the wind, a deers nose that can smell 9 differnt things at once, how high in a tree you have to be and on and on. How many less threads would there be if all this stuff was known without a doubt? roflmao

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Re: Antler Color [Re: 8pointdrop] #5978686 10/15/15 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: 8pointdrop
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?

Yes I have.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: stxranchman] #5978689 10/15/15 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Originally Posted By: 8pointdrop
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?

Yes I have.


They identified differently. That's cool now.


Originally Posted by Russ79
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.


Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978692 10/15/15 02:48 PM
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IME it seems most bucks antlers will darken a bit with age. Some will darken a lot.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5978706 10/15/15 02:54 PM
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I was scouting the day before bow season and saw 2 nice 8's together at a feeder. One, bone white, one so dark I couldn't tell he had antlers until after the sun was fully up.

Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5979462 10/15/15 11:12 PM
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If I could choose there is just something really cool about dark antlers.

I've heard a few different theories like have all been mentioned.

After thinking about what stxranchman said, most young bucks do seem to have lighter colored antlers from what I've observed.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: Aggieman775] #5979716 10/16/15 01:56 AM
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Originally Posted By: Aggieman775
I have always heard the very white antlers means they are jacked up on protien.


One of the biggest whitetail bucks I've ever seen was in Collingsworth county and had snow white antlers and there wasn't a protein feeder within miles. We had bucks on that place with all different shades of antlers, from white to really dark brown.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5979757 10/16/15 02:10 AM
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Have heard all kinds of theories and figure there are truth to alot of them.

The one about rubbing seems to have some merit to it. A few years ago when we were having all the fires, there were alot of deer coming out of those areas with some very dark antlers, much darker than average for the same areas a year before.


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5981769 10/17/15 08:59 PM
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I suspect that it has to do with being a good deer or a bad deer in the deer community.

Re: Antler Color [Re: stxranchman] #5981856 10/17/15 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: stxranchman
Originally Posted By: 8pointdrop
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?

Yes I have.


That would almost seem to correlate to mineral levels? Mineral levels should effect antler as well as plasma makeup.

I have never noticed a change from year to year to be honest, I really never paid attention. I have seen some ares that had a tendency to have darker antler than other areas though. Seems that would give some credence to the type tree pitch being used, or maybe the mineral content of the browse, or a combination of factors??


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Re: Antler Color [Re: titan2232] #5982255 10/18/15 05:19 AM
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Couldn't it just be genetics. I've seen deer with light brown coats, darker coats, and even redish ones. Couldn't it be the same for antlers?

Re: Antler Color [Re: S.A. hunter] #5982322 10/18/15 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted By: S.A. hunter
Couldn't it just be genetics. I've seen deer with light brown coats, darker coats, and even redish ones. Couldn't it be the same for antlers?
I also think it has a lot to do with genetics. I have deer with with light and dark antlers. You can usually tell what they are going to be even before they shed the velvet so to me it has nothing to do with what they may have rubbed on.

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