Shows my experience on the topic... those are still gorgeous bucks.

Not really sure but genetics does play a part. What they rub on makes a difference as to color as we see it. I do know that antlers bleach lighter in color as the season progresses due to sunshine and rainfall. Those bucks in late season are not fighting brush or making sign posts that often anymore either. Rainy, dark overcast or foggy weather makes them appear much darker than what they really are sometimes to us early to rut time. I do know that I seen several bucks in June and July that had light gray to a shade of dark white velvet before. One buck was very mature and his velvet covered antlers appear to glow in videos I took at feeders back in the early 90's in late June and July. He looked the same for 2 or 3 yrs previous also. Those bucks had the same or normal antler color as the rest of the bucks on the places when they shed their velvet. I have seen WT bucks in western Kansas were there very few trees and most were very light antler to white colored. Those bucks lived in mainly crops or CRP. So they were in the sun almost all day. In the same season and same area I would see a buck that looks like the ones I posted pictures of in hard antlers. Three of the best whitetails bucks I seen hunting there had very dark antlers compared to all the rest. The local bucks I saw mounts of were mainly very light colored antlers.

I made me a brush blind on the edge of tank so I could take pics of bucks coming into water. My first year on this ranch so I had no idea what any of bucks looked like except from TC pics. It was 97 degrees that evening when I got into the blind. There was a protein feeder about 100 yards from the tank and these bucks filtered in from it to water as the sun was setting. This buck had what I called medium colored velvet and this was mid August time frame on these pics. I hit it lucky that day as the next day and a couple of weeks later when I went back I did not see hardly any deer at all. That buck was killed in early Dec. also.

I have noticed that bucks in Southern and Western Kerr county tend to have much darker velvet than those in eastern Bandera or Kendall County IME. This buck was in SE Bandera County. In the first pic he is on the right side looking over the back of the buck walking to the right out of the picture. All the bucks were native to Bandera County and have the same colored velvet. This buck had darker antlers for bucks I had seen in Bandera and Kendall County. He was a 4 yr old in the mount.

Thanks. My belief is everything everyone has listed comes into play. Genetics, soil type, what they rub out on, what they eat, what minerals are contained in the soil and their diet and exposure to sunlight. I've hunted Iowa and 90% of those bucks had light colored antlers. I've hunted swamps in Louisiana and those deer have chocolate antlers. Our bucks in Webb County vary from light brown to chocolate. The reason I think genetics is so important is my experience with breeding operations that use big midwestern bucks as A/I sires. Most of those giant sires have light colored antlers. So do their offspring. Even in south Texas.

At the time, I believe that ranch had the best deer herd/acre in Texas. Feel blessed to have been able to hunt there and kill some really big, pretty deer.

I think a lot of bucks are lighter colored hard antlers at younger ages compared to when they are older. They seem to get darker antlers than when they are younger. Could be from them becoming more dominant and rubbing/fighting brush more often or aggressively than at younger ages. I do know brush or trees they rub on stain them. Bucks in Kendall County loved Bumelia trees and that bark was almost reddish buckskin to dark orange colored. Most of the bucks on that ranch had caramel colored antlers in hard horns.

I looked back at some old TC and still pictures I had a few days ago. I had forgotten how many really good bucks of all age classes were on that ranch. Even this puny little buck.....

These pics are from this summer and their velvet is about the same medium color. Here are pics of those same bucks from last year in hard horn.
This first buck has more normal colored antlers for this area and I thought he was a 4 or 5 yr old last year.

This buck has a darker color antler for this area. I thought he was 3 yr old last year or maybe even a 2 yr old.

Just took this pic on a feed run, yeah he’s in the shade. But his antlers are almost black.

And I have some light antlered deer in same pasture in same feed.

Well heck, guess it doesn’t like my cell phone

First pic is today and previous was 20 days ago. He's grown a lot and is going to get quite a bit bigger.

Some of the lighter horned bucks all in same pasture on same feed.

Here he is this morning.