Bucks dropping antlers now??

[SNEAKER]

It doesnt matter what time of year you kill them.

Odds are (if you are killing enough does) you can't kill enough without doing it relentlessly all season long. If you go on a hunt this time of year and see more than one or 2 does then you have too many.

And check the head for bloody pedicles before shotting them in January.

[arduckslayer]

It doesnt matter what time of year you kill them.

Exactly. Dead in bow season before they're bred or dead in January and pregnant is still dead and not producing a fawn (or 2) no matter how you look at it. Not shooting them in January becuase they may be pregnant is the most ridiculous arguement I've ever heard.

To answer the original post, I've seen them drop as early as mid December and I've seen them still with horns in April while turkey hunting. There's no exact date as to when they will drop. And anybody that shoots a 200+ pound buck with no horns for a "really big doe" needs their eyes checked.

[BIG TIMBER]

that booner looking for that last hot one is behind her somewhere

Could not have said it better myself!!

[hdforester]

You shoot em early to get them off the food supply early. Right now until late March deer are hungry and looking for groceries. Shooting them late just allows them to eat up the browse that would be available now when they need it most.

[Kenny Boone]

Had a buddy shoot a 130's 10 pt. last week and the antlers were laying beside the deer when walked up to him.

[SWAG]

As far as antlers dropping off...I have always been told that this happens when there is a drop in testerone. This happens when no does in heat for an extended time or the body health of the buck declines to a certain point.

[REBEL DUCK]

I would like to see season end a little earlier in north ms. Most folks that are still hunting have killed way over the limit.

[Seymore]

On our place we were told by the biologist to pop as many does as we could regardless of when. Early season, like first of November, he toured the property and said the browse line was already head high. Basically, the deer were eating in early November what they should be eating right now. There's another reason to take out does that hasn't been mentioned. When the population is such that deer are in close proximity to each other, the passing of disease become more prevalent. A case of blue tongue which can wipe out a heard in an area will be much worse if the population is high versus not.

Not to get the "to bait or not to bait" argument started but disease transmission was another reason given for no baiting. Deer congregate around a feeder and swap body fluids and making the transmission of disease that much easier. It's like a bunch of kindergarten kid that are all snotty and coughing. They don't cover there hands and don't use germex and the next kids that gets close enough to them is going to get sick. In those states with Chronic Wasting Disease baiting is banned for this very reason.