Anyone getting photos of velvet bucks yet?

[Hoytvectrix]

Most of the bucks around us still just have nubs. This guy is a good couple of weeks ahead of the others.

 

[bwoods11]

I have a few pics yes!

 

[Tree Spud]

No photos as cameras not out. Glassed several last nite in our fields after dinner with velvet horns.

 

[PatinPA]

This was from a few weeks ago. The far buck was the biggest but you can't really see. Don't make fun of my garden fence cages. HaHa. I got some remesh I'm going to replace them with. Actually the deer don't really seem to bother them.

 

[Tamarack]

5 nubbies so far. Maybe next week.

 

[Bill]

A couple starting..

 

[Tamarack]

Here's one of the bigger ones:

 

[buckdeer1]

Mine are starting to show potential

 

[PatinPA]

Mine are starting to show potential

Wow you just broke my heart with that pic. Haha. I got a pic of one last week that had brows and just started to Y off and I thought, oh ya that's going to be a good one. Then you post this. Good luck with him this year.

 

[Native Hunter]

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Wow! Normally with velvet photos you kind of question how much mass the buck will have. There is no doubt that buck is carrying some weight on his head!

 

[Native Hunter]

Wow! Normally with velvet photos you kind of question how much mass the buck will have. There is no doubt that buck is carrying some weight on his head!

Yep, I felt the same way about his mass. Anxious to see him again in a few more days.

 

[DJN]

One of our backyard bucks is once again way ahead of the pack as far as growth. He did the same thing last year, growing roughly a month head of the rest. The other bucks are just beginning to split at their brows. He injured his base (didn’t look bad, just some noticeable blood one day) just as he was started into velvet and grew this split beam as a result.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

View attachment 34923
One of our backyard bucks is once again way ahead of the pack as far as growth. He did the same thing last year, growing roughly a month head of the rest. The other bucks are just beginning to split at their brows. He injured his base (didn’t look bad, just some noticeable blood one day) just as he was started into velvet and grew this split beam as a result.

Did he end up shedding his antlers before the other bucks as well?

 

[DJN]

Did he end up shedding his antlers before the other bucks as well?

Yes, he was one of the first to drop (each of the past seasons). Would have velvet nubs while half the crew is still carrying around full racks. Which was how we suspect he may have injured his base - he wasn’t shy about fighting others even after he shed out.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Yes, he was one of the first to drop (each of the past seasons). Would have velvet nubs while half the crew is still carrying around full racks. Which was how we suspect he may have injured his base - he wasn’t shy about fighting others even after he shed out.

Maybe others can chime in, but I think that's a genetic component - the timing with when they drop old antlers and start new antlers. I know there are many known factors affecting shedding antlers, but it seems like it is the same bucks every year. Seems like for the bucks we've been able to track, the ones who drop early are nearly always the first ones to start their new growth, and vice versa.

 

[DJN]

Maybe others can chime in, but I think that's a genetic component - the timing with when they drop old antlers and start new antlers. I know there are many known factors affecting shedding antlers, but it seems like it is the same bucks every year. Seems like for the bucks we've been able to track, the ones who drop early are nearly always the first ones to start their new growth, and vice versa.

100% agree. We have one that has been one of the last to drop the last 3 years, holding until near April every year.

 

[Native Hunter]

Better pic of the one above:

 

[DavidHunter2001]

 

[roymunson]

you guys are WAY advanced than we are here. I've seen a couple with forked brows and starting to work out the beams... But nothing like native and david