Generally speaking, in the Rocksprings area, are Axis in velvet right now? When should they be rubbing it off? I have a hunt planned for late April and the rancher isn’t helping us much.

I shot one that was hard horned, my buddy actually shot another one that the velvet was in the process of coming off. The of course there were other axis bucks in velvet that will be hard horned this winter.

Our ranch in mountain home is starting to see a couple bucks rub out. Majority of them are finishing out and should be rubbing out by the end of the month.

Ask Fitzy and Spencer they saw a bunch last year in April.

The ranches I guide on have a mix of velvet and hard horned most of the time. Lots of them are rubbing out right now however. Should be good by the end of April.

Axis are year-round breeders which means they fawn year-round too and don't have a set rut. That being said, bucks will drop their antlers, typically, the month they were born each year. I have found that they will stay in velvet for about 4-5 months or so then rub out and stay hard horned about the same amount of timie until they tip out and then drop around their birthday. That is what makes Axis fun to hunt year round because youll have some that are hard in the summer and some that aare hard for the fall/winter.