velvet deer in late oct ????

[harder rd]

I was told that there was a buck in velvet shot last week end in the Princeton area. I call B.S but thought I would ask and see if any one has seen any think like this . So what do you think?

[todbartell]

must be something wrong with it, injured or some sort of brain disease (sort of like what Gatehouse has) :)

[RMG]

Wouldnt call BS, I have seen deer still in velvet on the thanksgiving weekend, and shot a moose near PG that was still better than 50% velvet in early Nov. it was an ugly set of antlers on a very mature bull. So deer now, quite possible.

[twoSevenO]

must be something wrong with it, injured or some sort of brain disease (sort of like what Gatehouse has) :)

LOL!

I read about the injury case too. Apparently that's how you get non-typicals too ... is that true??

[Mulies]

Nontypicals can be genitic, or some bucks get stickers and other junk when they get older or injured. An injury to the left side well affect the right antler.
Friends of mine shot a whitetail last year in november with velvet still on it. It was a good size deer but it was just a spike.
When they started to clean it they found that it had very small genitals. Its testicals were up inside the body cavity.
Maybe a bioligist could answer the question in detail but we think that the deer likely had low testonstorone levels and never would shed it's velvet.
The other thing that can happen is you can sometimes get a deer with both male and female traits. A doe with horns. I've seen this once, when we were hunting in november and another hunter shot a 2 pt. doe in velvet. There is some weird stuff out there. Don't be in too big a hurry to yell B.S.

[hunter1947]

I myself have never seen Velvet on any deer this late in the year ,but with the climate change i guess anything is possible.

[huntermike]

The deer I shot on oct17 had a very little bit of velvet remaining at the very base of the antlers.

[GoatGuy]

The couple I've seen have been hermaph's.

One was a 4 pt, tall and spindly, grizz hauled it down in November - full velvet. Buddy shot one 2 years ago.

Old man said his buddy shot a moose last week still in full velvet and yes it was a boy. He said the liver was all buggered up too.

[Fisher-Dude]

Some bucks/bulls who have injuries to their "sensitive spots" will get their hormones thrown out of whack, and become "cactus bucks" or retain their velvet. All antler growth is hormone triggered. It has nothing to do with weather or climate change.

[bighornbob]

I have heard that if the deer is castrated (for whatever reason i.e. injury, born like that) that they will usually never peel their velvet.

When I was 17, I took the old mans truck into the woods with a buddy to go look for deer. I was brave enough to take his truck with him not being home but not stupid enough to take a gun as it was deer hunting. Sure enough we see a good whitetail buck with a couple of non-typical points and still in velvet. This was early november.

BHB

[bigwhiteys]

I saw a spike blacktail 3 nights ago that was still in velvet.

Carl

[3kills]

i think it might be a cactus buck...

[Fisher-Dude]

Spike elk usually retain their velvet through their first year because they aren't sexually mature yet. Thus, there is no hormone trigger to peel the velvet off.

I got screwed up on a 2x3 immy moose once in late September...when I was first checking out his points, it looked like he wasn't legal, but then I noticed that some "points" were just shards of velvet hanging from his antlers - he was a perfect 2x3! By that time, he had enough of the Chevy's grill and bailed into the willows. :frown:

[harder rd]

I was told that there was a buck in velvet shot last week end in the Princeton area. I call B.S but thought I would ask and see if any one has seen any think like this . So what do you think?
well it sounds like it's not B.S after all glad I did not bet on this one.

[one-shot-wonder]

The old man once shot a large 2 point muley, (appeared to be on its way down) on Oct. 31 and it had most of it's velvet dried hard and crusty to its antlers. No injuries noted and it tasted fine.
Reminds me of some ol' crusty buggers I know....:lol:

[Mark_S]

I shot a 4 point on October 23rd a couple years ago that was with a 2 point that was still fully in velvet.

[J_T]

I have heard that if the deer is castrated (for whatever reason i.e. injury, born like that) that they will usually never peel their velvet. Is this perhaps the difference between men with hair and those without. Those without have a prevelance of testosterone and have "peeled their velvet" and those with hair, have something wrong with their junk?:eek:

[#1fishslayer]

I read a magazine article on this, in" Booners " on stands till dec10-07. 39 scorable points on a whitetail shot in Dec 06. Full Velvet. They named him BIG NASTY. Turns out he lost his ummmm manhood, and that alterd antler growth.

[St Marys Elkaholic]

saw 2 mule deer bucks this past weekend still in velvet and i ll admit i was amazed.

[dana]

Just because a buck is in velvet doesn't mean it is a cactus buck. The simple answer is sometimes some bucks are just lazy and don't bother to rub. Young bucks would be more prone to this. Highly likely those little antlers aren't as itchy as big antlers when the calcification occurs.
Another possible answer is the buck wasn't a buck but was in fact a messed up doe. Does with hormone imbalances can grow antlers. When they do, most of the time they will be in velvet till the shed their antlers.
The other possible answer is the buck in velvet is a cactus buck. Cactus bucks tend to have a hormone imbalance as well, normally the result of an injury to their nuts, or the fact they are old and their nuts don't do them any good any more and pretty much shrivel up smaller than peanuts. Cactus bucks antlers continue to grow when every other buck is hard horned, and their antlers are normally really bizzare with tons of bumps and points (thus the name Cactus). It is a missbelief that catcus bucks never shed their antlers and they continue to grow year after year. I have Yanky friends that have found Cactus buck sheds. They normally are almost hollow and have a bubbly look to the inside of them like a Crunchy bar. I've never seen a cactus buck here in BC. Seems like most get killed in the desert states like Ut and Az. There is legend that says they are a result of cowboys roping buck fawns, casterating them, and then letting them go.