I pulled the cards from my trail cameras on Sunday and in addition to antlerless deer, there was a portrait of a nine point looking right into the camera. The date was March 9th.

A friend who has a deer farm told me years ago that he had bucks hold onto their antlers into April; drop them; then start their new set within a week or two. But I never saw them that late in the wild.

I spotted two bucks while hiking during that last heat spell we had that I would have sworn had new growth 5 or 6" tall already. In the pass I've seen half racks in February.

Got a scrub Wye on film last week of Feb. but that 9 would be a beauty.

Still have that three legged doe running around too. I figured the dutchies would of taken her out.

Down this way the bucks are getting together again. My sons place had 5 with horns. & 1 baldie that I think had horns but dropped them. The big 8pt. that he hit, but didn't find was amongst the group with no sign of injury except the scar visible above the lungs. He hit it the first week of the early season.That was last week, this past week my buddy's camera had 9 deer shown at once, 5 of them had horns including 3 very nice 8pts. Too bad that I can't walk enough to look for sheds later this month,I have to settle for cam picts.  sam

Pulled the cards again today and there is a seven-point, not the previously photographed nine, showing up on both cameras with a date of 4/21.

That seems really late since other photos show new antler growth on other bucks.

 DarDys and others, My that is late. I found a fresh shed years ago in Doe season when doe season followed Buck, so what a span for that phenomena. The latest I ever saw a buck still carrying antler was around the first of April. I do not have trail cameras which are a great learning tool.

Here is the photo of a fully antlered buck on 4-21.