Velvet Bucks?

[hunter5054]

Will bucks still be in velvet for the yourth hunt this year or will it be gone?

Thanks Mike

[Matt B.]

I'm certainly no expert, but based on my observations (trail cam, buck sightings ect.), most bucks should shed their velvet the 1st part of Sept.

I suppose it is possible to have a few in velvet, but most should be shed.

[hunter5054]

alright thanks man

[Backwoods-Savage]

Some yes, some no.

[uptracker]

They'll be out of velvet by then. The youth season is Sept 23-24. Some will be losing it within the next few days!

[D.C.U.P.]

They'll be out of velvet by then. The youth season is Sept 23-24. Some will be losing it within the next few days!

:yeahthat:

I've seen many bucks out of velvet by 9-1. Further south, you may see velvet later in the season. But in Michigan, it shouldn't be too much later, as it's based on photoperiod, or amount of local daylight.

[Liver and Onions]

Around Sept. 1st you start seeing the new buck rubs and start to see bucks in the fields with bloody antlers. Once they start rubbing, it comes off within a few days. The first 2 weeks of Sept. are a good time to see bucks with bloody antlers and the velvet hanging off. I can't recall ever seeing a buck that didn't at least have some of his velvet off by the first day of fall. Some years ago, we had a doe with a small set of antlers running around with her fawn. She never rubbed off her velvet and was taken the opening morning of gun season by a neighbor.

L & O

[uptracker]

I can't recall ever seeing a buck that didn't at least have some of his velvet off by the first day of fall.
L & O



??????
Typo?

[Liver and Onions]

??????
Typo?

No, I don't think so. I can't remember ever seeing a buck on or after Sept. 21 that had not started rubbing his velvet off. As I said, it only takes a day or two for bucks to remove the velvet from their antlers once they start rubbing.
It is not like any of us have kept notes while looking at deer, so maybe we have seen a buck in velvet in late Sept.
Our hunting area is currently a high deer density area, so over the past 25 years we have seen hundreds of different bucks. From our observations, most buck antlers stop growing around July 20-30th. Velvet removal from late Aug. to Sept. 10th.
Central Michigan area. Zone 3

L & O

[uptracker]

My fault, I was thinking that fall was Oct. 21. I thought you were implying that you saw bucks with velvet after that.

[lifehanger]

I arrowed a spike buck once on the first day of bow season, Oct 1, that was still in velvet. It had 4 to 5 inch spikes and was a 1-1/2 year old deer.

[old graybeard]

Most if not all will have hard antlers by then.

[jme]

In Rob Wegner's excellent book "Deer and Deer Hunting" there's a great chapter on velvet. In it he has a chart that shows velvet loss dates for 293 bucks. The study was in Texas so dates might be a bit different up here. He broke the bucks into groups based on antler points. One conclusion they reached is that the bigger buck, in terms of antler points, the sooner they shed their velvet. Here is the average date of velvet loss for each group:

Points - # Bucks - Velvet loss date
2 - 40 - Sept 17
4 - 31 - Aug 11
6 - 28 - Aug 10
8 - 162 - Aug 7
8+ - 32 - Aug 4

BTW: This is a GREAT book. I bought it off Amazon (used, for around $4!) earlier this summer and have reallly enjoyed it. John-Ypsi