Antlers Fly Off After Buck Shot During PA Deer Drive - NW PA Hunting Stories

Damn. That’s kinda early for them to start dropping.

that's what I thought at least for the area I'm in I've never heard of one this early. that's why I wanted to ask just curious.

@Joseph thats what i was thinking too..

Sometimes they’ll run into a tree and knock them off. I’ve had them do it in bow season before

right on! clean off like that though? did they break or the whole antler came off like that?

David, I too am from NW PA. It’s probably pushing 10-12 years ago now, but a fella I used to work with was showing me pictures of a big buck he had on camera. The deer lost its first antler about a week before Christmas, and the other was gone within a couple days. Anyway, both antlers were shed by Christmas. I’m an avid shed hunter, and I always seem to find a mid January shed, but I put a lot of miles on to get it. And then I typically don’t find another one until March when the snow starts to taper off.

right on thanks for your input! I know around here it's usually winter time just thought this guy was early. keep after them sheds they're fun to find you can learn a lot from shed hunting!

Always early to mid December here in my part of Missouri.

I found a fresh shed once on December 10th.

Did you notice if the deer had any prior injuries? We had a deer shed early one year and the only thing we could come up with was bc of the injury he got in bow season

There have been some pics of deer in NH that have dropped as of a week ago

I have heard if they have an injury the will shed them early.

actually he did loose one of his dew claws and his hoof was all swollen and infected... I never gave that a thought but just made me curious to what others have seen I know there's a wide range of time for them to drop and circumstances but I appreciate the input have a good night

Something similar happened to me around this day last year, but I think it was from the buck slamming its head on the ground after it got hamstrung by coyotes. There’s a pic and story in my trophy section. Crazy stuff. Antlers came right off, no blood or anything.

Did he have an injury? They shed early sometimes due to that. Like T.D. mentioned.

It’s all about stress, I chased this guy 2020 in PA and he had a very very hard rut, front shoulder injury I assume from fighting and continued to chase extremely extremely hard (I believe he was a 3 year old at the time). He dropped his antlers around first week of rifle. He was around a 150” 14 point that year.

Myself and a buddy both had the same thing happen to us a couple seasons ago in late November. His had lost one before he shot and lost the other while we were hanging him, mine the antlers were laying under him when I got up to him.

@Fraternal north central PA

Same. NE PA, 12/1. Maybe the warmer Temps and lack of acorns? Gypsy moths hit the area pretty hard

nice buck!

@Tyler I’ve never understood why those deer shed so early. I stopped coming on late hunt because of it

gypsy moths are no good

That’s not unheard of. I’m in potter county and it’s typical for a few to shed in rifle season. It’s more prominent to happen on a year the food might be a little tougher to find. The years we have good feed, they tend to hold a little longer. I passed one last week that was shed.

@Wade always early December here

Last of February in Alabama