When do they stop growing

[swampdonkey]

When do antlers stop growing on deer moose elk etc. I was thinking 3 week of Aug.

[Buckmeister]

I asked this same question a number of years ago......couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone. Best one was "they stop growing the second you shot them".

Reason I asked was because I saw a whitetail with a HUGE velvet rack early in July, and I figured he had a good month and half of growth yet to come, so I was trying to get an idea of much more growth he could accomplish. Like I said, never got an answer, but I would concur with your thoughts, should slow down at end of Aug.

[Sofa King]

when the bullet hits the pumphouse.

[Sofa King]

i'd say when the rut starts to kick in and they scrape the velvet from the bone.
it's the velvet that keeps the bone alive, so i'm guessing when the velvet goes, the growing stops.

[Darksith]

they are still growing at the end of Aug most places. Maybe not much anymore, but until they scrape the velvet I believe there is still some growth there. We shot a bull up in dawson creek last aug right at the end, and his velvet was really firm still...but I bet it was about to start falling off...Ive seen deer around kamloops in mid sept with velvet still...

[kennyj]

There is no set rule. Some bucks and bulls grow their racks faster than others. Bucks at lower elevation seem to finish growing their antlers sooner that those higher up. Here on southern Van Isl the bucks have pretty much finished growing their racks by mid to late July and shed their velvet in early Aug. A little higher up at Cowichan for example, they are about 2 to 3 weeks later. I'm not sure about moose but the elk on the Island have most of their size by early July.

Another thing to look for is the tips of the antlers. If they are still round and shinny looking they will still have some growing to do. When they are nearly finished they will start to point out.
These are my observations.

kenny

[Sofa King]

^^ isn't that more from them rubbing their antlers on everything?
the antlers losing their shine and getting more pointy.

[Jelvis]

Mule deer third week in August in kammy. Moose about the same maybe the end of Augustus Ceaser. Then the rubbing begins. Jel Lapeeno Moose rut starts Sept 23rd don't forget that. Mule deer Oct 23rd it starts.

[mikek blacktail]

deer on they island are usually done growing by the beginning of august,I've been keeping track for many years and this seems to be the case:)

[ElliotMoose]

They grow until they start to shed the velvet. As mentioned above, this can be different in any given region due to differences in temps etc. I've seen it change from year to year in a specific area due to temperatures fluctuating

[Darksith]

Another thing to look for is the tips of the antlers. If they are still round and shinny looking they will still have some growing to do. When they are nearly finished they will start to point out.
These are my observations.

kenny
Shinny? No growth happens without velvet, so...

Mule deer third week in August in kammy. Moose about the same maybe the end of Augustus Ceaser. Then the rubbing begins. Jel Lapeeno Moose rut starts Sept 23rd don't forget that. Mule deer Oct 23rd it starts.
Deer are way longer than 3rd week in Aug in kamloops. Each animal is gonna be different, but when 4point starts in sept 10, most of the deer are still in full velvet not rubbing yet, so still growth happening...moose generally start to rub in early sept before the rut kicks in...

[Sofa King]

deer I've seen on the sept. 1st bow opening are velvetless.

[Steeleco]

deer I've seen on the sept. 1st bow opening are velvetless.

All the deer each of my kids have shot over the Sept LWE in the Adams lake area for the last 4 years have always been in velvet. My daughters deer last year was very hard to peel, yet my sons at the top of the mountain, fell off no issue.

Her first deer in the Kane Valley 3 years ago, survived 5 days of heat and eventually got to be dehydrated intact once we got home. Three years hence, it's still in velvet.

[kennyj]

[QUOTE=Darksith;1356974]Shinny? No growth happens without velvet, so...

I didn't mean shinny as in polished antler, I ment shinny looking rounded tips in velvet.
kenny

[Jelvis]

Once the buck reaches certain daylight time entering their eyes, the body turns off the supply of blood to the velvet and it dries and flakes off showing white bone like material called antlers. They are white when new, then the bark sap and dirt color the antlers as the buck polishes them on lil trees and brush. Third week in August for Kammy and then the antler under the velvet is fully maxed out. Big bucks drop first and grow first, so big bucks can start rubbing off from end of August and the first couple weeks in September.

[hunter1947]

Antlers stop growing velvet when the antlers are in my freezer :mrgreen:..

[markt308]

By end of July I'd say 90% or more of their growth is finished for the year. as soon as velvet is off the growing is officially donski. as far as when the velvet is off different everywhere. I hunt bow season every year and see lot's of bucks in velvet, as well as lots that are completely bare already. after the 2nd week of sept you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a buck still rocking the fuzzy stuff

[Wade]

Not exactly sure when they stop growing, but my guess would be around late August or shortly before they start rubbing off their velvet

[hunter1947]

Here is a trail picture of a 5x5 bull elk shedding his velvet time and date you can see.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/51011.JPG

[dana]

The simple answer is that each individual stops growing in their own time. Some grow fast and are done by the 3rd week of July. Some grow slow and are done by the 3rd week of Aug. Don't kid yourself, not many are still growing in Sept. Just because they have velvet don't mean they are still growing. When you actually watch a buck throughout the summer again and again and then hold the sheds or rack, you'll realize there comes a point long before the velvet is shredded that nothing more changes.

[Sofa King]

would a deer at the equator lose it's velvet?
I guess it has to since it has to shed it's antlers.
but it would sure be a different season, that's for sure.

[Jelvis]

All animals are light guided by the sun, the amount of light entering the eyes from dawn to dusk, UBC has done major studies on mule deer. They took and put a buck into artificial light and timed the light time to be opposite of the real outdoor time, and the buck dropped and grew according to their light and dropped at different time and grew different. So it's a fact. It's not a story made up. lol. The first day of Summer is the longest light then each day after til the first day of Winter it decreases by two minutes each day until the first day of Winter which is the shortest amount of daylight, then each day after the sun shines two minutes longer until the first day of Summer again, a cycle pattern. That pattern runs the animals for the day and the moon at night is full to empty, a sliver, a quarter a half, three quarters then full then empties the same portions as being full only back ass wards. The antler growth, the rut, the shedding, birth cycle, new growth all by Photo periodism, look it up on Bing or Google. It's no secret, it's called edumickaction in our forests, lands, water, and the animal life.

[hunter1947]

The simple answer is that each individual stops growing in their own time. Some grow fast and are done by the 3rd week of July. Some grow slow and are done by the 3rd week of Aug. Don't kid yourself, not many are still growing in Sept. Just because they have velvet don't mean they are still growing. When you actually watch a buck throughout the summer again and again and then hold the sheds or rack, you'll realize there comes a point long before the velvet is shredded that nothing more changes.


X2 yes you are right Dana the elk I have watched over the 4 years living up here in the EK there is no set time and date when they will shed the velvet I find that big antlered elk shed there velvet earlier then that of younger bulls all in all the big bulls all shed in a two week span at least that is what I have seen most big bulls start velvet shedding around the first week of Aug on into the middle of Aug..

A few years ago I was scouting for elk the last two weeks of Aug saw two decent bulls the bigger of the two had 6 cows with him around the 25th of Aug no velvet antlers where brown already ,,the bigger bull put the run on the smaller 6x6 bull that still had velvet on his antlers..

All in all velvet shedding for elk can start as soon as the last week of July and carry on through till the middle week of Sept the time frame for elk to clean the velvet off there antlers will very on when they shed there antlers ,,I find that the big bulls with big antlers will drop there sheds in late Feb early March smaller bulls latter on some bulls the smaller ones will carry there antlers right on through till the middle of May..

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/3421.JPG

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/6371.JPG

[avadad]

I live in Victoria and saw an urban buck with velvet hanging just yesterday, July 18th.