Question About Antler Growth
Hello, we have a lease in North-Central Texas where we deer hunt. When should we start seeing antler growth in bucks on this property? Some of the bucks on our lease have several inches of new antler growing, but it seems that some do not. Interested to know if this seems a little early? Really looking forward to hunting whitetail this fall. Any info appreciated.
Timing of Antler Development in Texas
I was observing two whitetail bucks in the front field a few days ago and both bucks were splitting off at the G1’s. It is not unusual to see a decent amount of antler growth by now, although not all bucks will be at the same place. Some start earlier, some later. It seems most years that you see two different stages of growth in a herd no matter what the age of the bucks are.
Seems to always be a group that is 2-3 weeks ahead of the rest of the other bucks and these are mostly older bucks from my experience. Not always the case, but usually. I have seen bucks with very little antler development in early July turn out to be really big bucks by the time fall rolls around. Some grow early and some grow late, but the majority are early.
Also, it’s a numbers game. A 100-inch buck has to only grow about 3/4-inch per day while a 150-inch buck has to grow 1.5-inches per day, or something along those lines. June can be the peak of edeer antler growth in Central Texas. Under ideal conditions a buck can develop up to 45 percent of his antlers in that 30 day period.