Antler Growth

Just saw a bull in Southern Utah a couple of days ago and what you see is PRETTY MUCH what your are going to get IMO.

Some of them should start rubbing in a couple of weeks. Pretty much what you see is what you get right now.

There is about a two week window between the time a bull is fully grown and when he sheds his velvet.
The outfitter i work for has a velvet elk hunt that we do and it's held around the 24th of july every year.
So yes, they are just about there right now, what you see is what you'll get at this point.
Can you beleive it's already elk season for somebody!! :333
Hunting elk in 100plus degree weather.... ](*,)

I have always heard that they will keep growing until they shed their vlevet, it isnt much but its some. anyone heard any truth to this?

9er

Last year in Colorado I saw some small bulls still in velvet on August 27th, so I am not sure when they start rubbing. Also saw some that had obviously rubbed off the velvet within a day before, antlers still bloody and white. That leads me to believe they will still grow some.

This is what I know about it (Granted, it's not much and although I BELIEVE I know what I'm talking about I MAY be wrong...and I'm sure someone will correct me...LOL):

The antler growth will stop shortly before they begin to shed the velvet (time varies slightly but usually a day to a few days). An internal signal based on testoterone fluctuations will cause the blood vessels within the velvet to constrict. This will in turn begin to "kill" the velvet and put the brakes on any antler growth. The antlers will actually stop growing and begin to solidy even before the velvet is completely dead (Once the blood flow lessens to a certain point the antlers can no longer grow). At this point the bull or buck will begin to "shed" the velvet...or more appropriately "scrape it off on anything and everything they can". The reason you still get the blood during the shedding process is because the velvet still has enough blood flow to "bleed" during the process...just not near as much as you would find during the growth stage.
The timing of the velvet shed will vary from animal to animal depending on maturity. Generally speaking, the younger males and older "past-thier-prime" males will shed the velvet last while the mature, breeding age animals will generally be the first. This is also why you get your "cactus bucks". For one reason or another thier testosterone fluctuations are messed up and they never get that internal "signal" to stop growing and begin shedding.
As for the coloring, this is caused by a number of factors. Blood is always part of the coloring process. The second is the type of vegetation that the buck or bull rubs on and the color of soil in the region. As a buck rubs on various types of brush, trees, and shrubs it helps to stain the antlers. I have also read that some say that exposure to sunlight can/does have an effect on coloring (lighter antlers in areas where the animal is exposed to more sunlight, darker in more dense areas). This is why most bucks and bulls from the same general location will have like-colored antlers. This is also why most antlers are fairly pale looking when they first begin to shed the velvet.

I hope this helps..and please, if you think I may be off base on any of this then let me know. I am an avid reader and sometimes will mix up stuff I've read over the years.

hey if it comes from AGC then i consider it as good as coming from the encyclopidia itself! :thumb [sounds pretty much like what i've heard/read too]

LOL...thanks Killer.

Actually, after making that post I went back and broke out a couple books and a study I have that were written about deer growth. One study indicated that velvet shedding may be triggered by nothing more than the overall health of the animal vice age. Since smaller or younger bucks and older "past-thier-prime" bucks are generally not as "healthy" as mature breeding age animals, they will shed later on in the process.
Just another twist on the subject although the results are the same. Just a different way of looking at it.

Yep sounds accurate to me, from my experience watch them in the velvet...mosty deer that is; they actually stop growing quite some time before the shed or rub the velvet off. By the end of July they are pretty much done. Now, they may have some slight tips to finish, but not to much IMO. They actually hold there velvet for close to a month in IMO before shedding, or am I up in the night. (???) (???)

Very well said AGCHAWK, i'm impressed!!! :thumb

I checked out some information from deer farmers to get a feel for antler growth. They claim there is about a 120 day growing period for antler starting from the day the previous years antlers are shed. Based on that I would assume most elk will be done growing antler some time between this middle of this month and early August.

I always thought deer farming must have some value. :-$

Deer have a "pause period" before they start growing, elk start immediately and grow aproximately an inch a day.
It still blows my mind how much calcium must run through an elks body in such a short amount of time!! (???)

Brett, you are probably correct. As I stated, the time frame between end of growth and velvet rub can vary from animal to animal and region to region. It's all basically a function of how quickly the blood flow to the velvet is restricted and how quickly the antlers respond through solidification.
I would assume that the window could be anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks (I know I stated a few days on my original post. I should attempt to keep from being so restrictive in my comments...LOL).

Skull Krazy, thanks for the nice compliment. I really enjoy this sort of research and spend a lot of time reading these sorts of studies, books, etc.
Hopefully, I do not come across as a "know-it-all" to you all. I just really like these sorts of discussions. Of course, I am wrong as much as the next guy...my memory is not what it used to be!

You bet HAWK, i give credit where credit is due :thumb

I found a dead 360 class bull in late August a few years back that looked like it had been dead a couple of weeks. He was 4 miles from any road, so I believe he was killed by lightning as I couldn't see any obvious cause of death, except he was under a big pine tree. Anyhows, he was still in full velvet and the 'bone' was deteriating from the velvet still being on, in otherwords, his antlers were still soft when he died. I believe they shed their velvet like their antlers, each is a little different time and although usually the age/health of the animal is a factor, some are just different. But, that is not a scientific answer, just one based on many years observing elk/deer in the wild all year long. :-k

I saw a couple of bulls this last weekend that if they aren't done growing soon, they will need a crane to hold their heads up. :not-worthy The drought hasn't hurt any of the bulls I have been watching this year.

PRO

2 years ago I called in a 350 class bull that had all kinds of velvet hanging of it. He was rubbing when I interupted him. It was the 10th of September. Pretty late for velvet. Just like Bart said, every bull is a little different.

growth is over for the most part....Monana had a wet spring and seeing the elk racks look bigger this year then in past