Deer Antler Question?

[jemche]

i have always wondered what makes an antler "chocolate" colored, and why other antlers are white?

also, Do deer have the same color antlers from year to year?

[austin ensor]

good qestion id like to know to!!!

[weekender]

I don't know, as far as the year to year, I think the answer is yes. The guys in the midwest that have sheds of deer for several years running, color seems to be the same. I don't think it's area related cause we have dark horned and pearly white in the same woods here in NC. I think it is similar to us having some folks with fair really light skin and others with much darker skin. We need a biologist on this board.

[FXRScotty]

Depends on how much sun they get. And how much rubbing they do. Sounds good anyway. The buck I took this year is very dark racked too. Swamp buck. Scotty.

[Buckeye]

I would tend to agree with Scotty. Sunlight, what the eat and what they rub on and how much the rub. I would also believe the would tend to be the same each year. I also think that if the hold them on the head late i the year they tend to get lighter.

[weekender]

the reason I don't think that the color is "rub related" is that really dark racks are uniformily dark all over. They are just too even to rub the rack all the same all over. Quite often you will see dark bases with very white tops. So if the rub theory were the case, how could a deer rub half on one and half on the other. Just a thought, good discussion here, hope we can get some expert to share his knowledge, I'm sure not one.

[TunaTeaser1]

not sure either. Swamp/marsh bucks seem to have darker racks but i dont know why or how they get that way. Food source would be an obvious answer i would think.

[Bird Dog]

I'm not positive but I think it's their food source

[sushi42]

the color on any particular set of antlers is directly related to the bleaching or non-bleaching from the sunlight that the animal may be exposed to. We have a fairly early bow-season here in CT and ALL of my early deer will have very dark chocolate looking antlers and bucks that are killed later in the gun season(december) will be bleached out (very white). The chocolate coloration is a direct result from the blood that is needed for antler growth. There are certain animals that will spend the majority of their time in a swamp or in very thick cover therefor not receiving as much sun as most. These deer will hold onto that chocolate color longer than most. Hunt hard,work less!

[Jared D]

Interesting... I always heard from my uncle that dark was due to rubbing more on pine sapplings than light bone. I never questioned it, but Weekender brings up a good point.

So while we are pondering deer mysteries.... you think its true that if you see cattle bedded, then the deer are as well, (as they have the same stomachs!?!).... this was another point my same uncle told me. Just curious, as whenever I see cows up and moving in the middle of the day, I drive all the faster to get to the woods. No sense getting a ticket for a myth!