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Antler Color
#5978546
10/15/15 01:33 PM
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067
titan2232
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067 |
I've always liked the dark antlered bucks. Anyone have any ideas on what makes one antler darker than another?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978587
10/15/15 01:56 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
Iv always herd its from blood stain and time of progression when they start scraping it off...
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978589
10/15/15 01:57 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
Or I guess what type of tree they are choosing to rub on...
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978595
10/15/15 02:04 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
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.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978597
10/15/15 02:05 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,426
DuckCoach1985
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,426 |
I always figured it was from different levels or different types of nutrients like yard eggs having darker yolks than store-bought
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978600
10/15/15 02:06 PM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 759
Aggieman775
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 759 |
I have always heard the very white antlers means they are jacked up on protien.
TSmith
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: stxranchman]
#5978604
10/15/15 02:07 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
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. But I win
Last edited by Navasot; 10/15/15 02:08 PM.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: Navasot]
#5978611
10/15/15 02:11 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
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. But I win And your prize is in the mail...
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978619
10/15/15 02:14 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091 |
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.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978666
10/15/15 02:35 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294
8pointdrop
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294 |
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5978677
10/15/15 02:39 PM
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067
titan2232
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067 |
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.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978679
10/15/15 02:40 PM
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 259
shadams
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 259 |
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?
"If the Truth becomes Outlawed, then Outlaws we must become..."
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5978681
10/15/15 02:41 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck? yup
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: shadams]
#5978682
10/15/15 02:42 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,426
DuckCoach1985
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,426 |
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? you sir, are a gentleman and a scholar
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5978686
10/15/15 02:44 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck? Yes I have.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: stxranchman]
#5978689
10/15/15 02:46 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091 |
Anybody even seen color change through the years on the same buck? Yes I have. They identified differently. That's cool now.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978692
10/15/15 02:48 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
IME it seems most bucks antlers will darken a bit with age. Some will darken a lot.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5978706
10/15/15 02:54 PM
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 67
Alim
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 67 |
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.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5979462
10/15/15 11:12 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650
Pitchfork Predator
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,650 |
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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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 17,117
MikeC
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 17,117 |
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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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,886
txshntr
T-Rex Arms
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T-Rex Arms
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,886 |
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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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,874
Enter Standman
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,874 |
I suspect that it has to do with being a good deer or a bad deer in the deer community.
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: stxranchman]
#5981856
10/17/15 10:38 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,024
Western
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,024 |
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??
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: titan2232]
#5982255
10/18/15 05:19 AM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 16,796
S.A. hunter
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 16,796 |
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?
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Re: Antler Color
[Re: S.A. hunter]
#5982322
10/18/15 12:19 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 14,949
don k
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 14,949 |
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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