Dark Antlers Vs Light Antlers ?

[Trigger50]

I have always wondered why you will see one buck deer w dark brown antlers & then the next one you will see in the same area has real light antlers ? Anybody ?

 

[MThuntr]

Essentially all antlers are white but I think it is a product of what they are rubbing on that gives them color. For example a deer that rubs to the sapwood of a young pine could essentially end up with sticky sap all over for dirt and organic matter to stain his antlers.

 

[hornart]

Mthuntr is correct, the antlers are colored by whatever the animal chooses to rub their antlers on, this will include blood and sap from the trees and dirt and anything else they come in contact with. dark antlers are usually caused from the animal rubbing on pitchy type trees and lighter colored antlers are usually from rubbing some kind of hardwood type tree. This is just my opinion based from my own experience.

 

[luvhunting]

Yes you are both correct.

 

[greatbasin]

I shot this buck in mid Oct. with very pale antlers and he also had some velvet left. He never rubbed on much of anything anything as far as I could tell.

 

[RUT JUNKEY]

A lot of things will help determine their color. 1) sometimes the color is determined by the amount of oxidized blood on the antler due to the velvet shedding and partly from chemical reactions between the blood and the juices from plants etc that they come in contact with.... if a deer rubs his antlers before the blood and velvet have completley dried it will result in a darker color. As many have said, it also has to do with what type of tree they are rubbing, so, whatever the predominant tree in an area is will determine the color. 2) a bucks genetic make up may also determine his antler color ( I believe this to be the case 90% of the time). 3) the time of year also plays a role, as the color may lighten over time due to the bleaching effect of the sun, moisture or extreme conditions. As long as they are huge, I don't care if they are bright green!!

 

[rhomas]

I go along with the type of tree and vegetation rubbed while shedding velvet. Swamp bucks down here usually have darker antlers and even darker coats than deer from agricultural areas. It's the difference between the Cypress and mud compared to the sand and hardwoods.